Brandon vs. CMS: Education battle: SERVICES DENIED; SYSTEM ADMITS ERROR, BUT PLANS APPEAL.

Byline: Ann Doss Helms

Apr. 29--When doctors told Wendy and Chris Hawkins their son was going blind, they thought their battle with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools was over.

For more than a year they'd been trying unsuccessfully to get CMS to provide special education for Brandon. His problems were perplexing, from emotional outbursts to trouble reading.

Now Brandon was losing his sight. He needed to learn Braille.

But it took CMS another year to agree that the boy qualified for help.

"We trusted them," says Wendy Hawkins. "We assumed -- shame on us -- that they knew the process to deal with a child with special needs."

The Hawkinses now know that sons Brandon, 9, and Jeremy, 5, will lose their sight, mobility and finally their lives to Batten disease, a rare genetic disorder.

The family has won a state complaint, a court case and an appeal, all saying CMS failed to give Brandon the help he was due under federal and state law.

A judge ruled in February that the district's errors and delays were "beyond any standard of reasonableness." Earlier this month, the state officer who handled the appeal called it the most disturbing case he has seen.

CMS Assistant Superintendent Jane Rhyne says Brandon's case is not typical. "We dropped the ball on this," she says.

"We really do care deeply about meeting students' needs."

That said, CMS will appeal Brandon's case to federal court.

The issue? His parents didn't sue CMS quickly enough when the boy's school denied him help in second grade, says CMS…