Angela Lipsman Case

Angela Lipsman, a 15-year-old Manhattan girl, has been taking courses at the Fashion Institute of Technology and Manhattan Community College since she was 11. Carrying a 3.8 average, she has more than enough credits to receive an associates degree from Excelsior College. Citing compulsory education law, the state will not grant her a G.E.D. until she turns 17. (One can qualify for the G.E.D. by getting 24 college credits appropriately distributed and, in such cases, does not have to take the G.E.D. exam.) According to her father, Daniel Lipsman, the college will not grant her a diploma out of fear of losing accreditation from the state.

In April, Miss Lipsman represented herself before the NY Supreme court in a lawsuit charging age discrimination against the NY State Education Department. On July 14, 2003, Albany Supreme Court Justice Bernard Malone ruled against her. A notice of appeal has been filed and Mr. Lipsman has also appealed to the Office of Civil Rights of the U.S. Dept. of Education on the basis of age discrimination. A decision whether to investigate the charge is expected in November.

The NY City Administration for Children's Services (a.k.a. CPS) initiated an investigation of educational neglect against Mr. Lipsman. The investigation concluded in July of 2003 with the following: "Based on the information obtained from collateral sources the allegation of Educational Neglect is unfounded against Dan Lipsman, FA- Daniel Lipsman has exercised the minimum degree of care needed to ensure that his 15-year-old child education needs is being met. Angela Lipsman was discharged from the NYC Public School system in July 2002. She was enrolled at Excelsior College, which is a higher education private institution. Based on information obtained through the Dept. Of Education, 15-year-old Angela has acquired over 71 credits, which is equivalent to an AAS degree. She is currently enrolled for the fall semester at Borough Manhattan Community College. She is registered as a full time student and taking 5 classes which total 15 credits. As a result there is no credible evidence to substantiate the alleged allegation of Education Neglect.

Mr. Lipsman has made available a copy relevant portion of the record of the CPS investigation (565 kB - requires Adobe Acrobat Reader) and has provided the following corrections:

The ACS report isn't written in the best of English. However, I do just want to correct certain facts about the report.

The 3d page should indicate A.A., NOT A.A.S. degree; 12 credits by exam, not 3; and 30 college classroom courses, not "33 in class credits".
P.4 here should read SSA, NOT SSI; A.A. degree, AAS; and high honors, not honors.
The 5th page, again, talks about AAS, should be AA. Same criticism on 7th page.
8th & final report page here same criticism, plus family has NO "prior history"

Below is Mr. Lipsman's summary of what he believes his daughter's case means for others:

...a complaint was filed against me this year, alleging educational neglect. Had such report been deemed "indicated", I faced a possible prosecution for endangering the welfare of a minor and, if convicted, possible jail time, a fine, Angela taken away, Angela forced out of college, and Angela forced into a high school. NONE OF THIS HAPPENED. Instead, we won -- meaning a 5th option has been carved out for parents, in NY, of kids between 6 & 16. Private, public, or parochial school, or home schooling under the thumb of the local school district are now NOT the only options. Option #5 is: send the kid F/T [full time] to college. F/T is defined as minimum 15 credits in each of Fall and Spring semesters. Courses must be credit bearing. Kid need NOT be matriculated. With the advent of home computers and the Internet, it's conceivable the college credits could be taken "online". It is NOT required that all credits be taken at one college. Credits can also be accumulated via testing programs, such as CLEP, DANTES, A.P., etc. One does NOT have to account to the local school district, but, if an accusation is made, to A.C.S. (in such case just show transcripts from colleges or score reports from testing agencies, such as Educational Testing Service or Chauncey Group International). Cite the Lipsman case as precedent. Remember: state can't treat your kid differently, under the rules, than it does mine.

Asked if he was concerned that about the G.E.D. being a stigma for his daughter, Mr Lipsman responded:

As for GED, those who believe homeschoolers getting an equivalency diploma are getting a "cheap" diploma, it just isn't so. The question is: once in receipt of the GED, what does the kid do then? If the answer is: proceed to college (or other education), then that is FINE. If Angela got her GED at 14 1/2, do you think anyone would care that was an "equivalency" diploma? She's working on her 2d college degree now -- at 15.

On October 15, 2003, Mr. Lipsman delivered a scathing assessment of NY's public education system in a speech to the NYS Assembly Education Committee (requires Adobe Acrobat Reader). Caveat: Mr. Lipsman's choice of words will be offensive to some. Nonetheless, his message that the state's "one size fits all" government controlled education policy doesn't work, needs to be heard.