By Colleen Wixon

Alex Barton. Family photo courtesy of Melissa Barton.

The proposed settlement still requires a review by a guardian ad litem, a third party designated to consider the best interests of the child, before the agreement can be finalized in the courts.

About $200,000 of the settlement, reached Nov. 24 in Miami, is to be paid within 30 days of the court entering the order, the documents show. The remaining amount will be paid in a structured settlement beginning in 2020, when Alex is 18 years old, and ending in 2032, the documents state.

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PORT ST. LUCIE — One year ago, a 6-year-old autistic boy was brought to the front of his classroom. He left moments later feeling like an outcast.

For many, he became a symbol of how children with autism are mistreated and misunderstood.

Some experts say the case of Alex Barton, who was voted out of his kindergarten classroom 14-to-2, brought about change and awareness of how autistic children are educated. Others say there still is a long way to go. (more…)

A teacher who asked her students to vote a boy out of his kindergarten class was, but for that single lapse in judgment, one of “St. Lucie County’s premier educational giants,” a lawyer said today at her appeal.

Wendy Portillo, a 12-year teaching veteran, meant no harm and regrets her actions, said her lawyer, David Walker of Stuart.

Portillo is appealing the recommendation of Schools Superintendent Michael Lannon that she be suspended without pay for a year, returned to an annual contract and prohibited from teaching elementary-age students in St. Lucie County.

Melissa Barton, shown with her son Alex, filed a complaint seeking compensation from the St. Lucie school district.

Portillo, who didn’t testify today, dabbed at her eyes with tissues while her lawyer talked about Lannon’s recommendation.

“For Wendy Portillo, what’s done and said (here) will determine whether she can do what she loves and was born to do,” Walker said.

If she wins with the state Division of Administrative Hearings, Portillo will earn back pay from the school district. The hearing at Fort Pierce City Hall is expected to last several days. (more…)

While school district internal investigators said there’s no evidence Morningside Elementary teacher Wendy Portillo meant to cause harm or embarrassment to Alex Barton, they said in a report released Thursday there is a question as to her judgment.

And consideration has to be given on the effects Portillo’s action could have on Alex’s classmates because they were required to criticize the 5 year old, according to the report compiled by St. Lucie County School Board employment law attorneys Richeson and Coke, P.A. (more…)