Preemptive strike against school district

[StPaulieGirl]

First of all we reside in CA. The budget debacle is being felt by everyone, especially the schools. I'm going to try and explain a possible problem as efficiently as possible, so please bear with me.

Separated in '99, divorced in '00.  Ex filed first and gave me total custody of the two youngest kids.  They are 16 and 9, plus we have 2 other daughters who are 24 and 21.

The ex has been physically abusive, and continues to mentally abuse us.  He is also a pathological liar, which is the basis for my problem.  The female who he was able to hoodwink(the number of gf's that the kids have met for 3 yrs is just unbelievable) is a 4th grade schoolteacher.  Being a schoolteacher, she is also a mandatory reporter to CPS.  He told her that I never cooked, I didn't buy food, that I'm a drunk, and that the house is filthy.  A social worker showed up at my door Sept. 15th, 2002 and barged into the house.  It was untidy, there were dishes in the sink...yeah if there's no food in the house, why do we have dishes that have to be washed????  

I think what saved us is that I was a court appointed, bonded conservator on my mom's behalf, serving the Superior Court.  My mom had Alzheimer's and dementia, and that's why we moved down here to the family mausoleum.  Also, without my knowledge or permission, this social worker interviewed both children at school.  The boy spilled the beans on dear old dad, but my baby doesn't want to go to school anymore.  This last sentence is extremely important!

In December, I received a phone call from CPS notifying me that they were closing the case, and advised me to hire an attorney against my ex husband.  He and his gf got married in a hasty Las Vegas ceremony, soon after.

Several months after this happened, their father exercised his legal right to access the kids school records.  My daughter's attitude and performance started an even further decline.  Unfortunately, while we were married (for 19 years), he never was involved with the kids schooling.  I did it all.  I'd like to see a judge make him recite just one teacher for each of the 4 kids.  

My son has problems and no one will come out and say exactly what his problem is.  He's been to several psychiatrists, private psychologists, school pyschologists, etc.  He had problems while he was still in diapers, and the paperwork on him since kindergarten would wallpaper my house.  He's violent at times, and definitely passive aggressive.

At his first IEP meeting of the year, I had to reschedule due to illness.  I told his guidence counselor over the phone that this whole thing is a waste of time and school resources.  The boy doesn't even have a GPA!  He's 16, he can get a job.  When he's tired of sweeping floors and digging ditches, maybe then he'll see the value of an education.

My son and I attended an IEP meeting at a later date, designed to try and intimidate me several months ago.  the whole crux of the matter is not that they care about my son, like the kids school district back home did, but that if his butt isn't warming a chair....they don't get paid.  They told me it was illegal for him to quit school, and when I retorted that I'd homeschool him, they said there wasn't anything available in this area.

I swear these people are socialists!  Anyway, my son hurt himself over Christmas visitation with his father.  The doctor thinks it's a bruised, or maybe a hairline fractured back rib. It is well documented that his absences due to illness and injury have always been above average.  The little one purposely drags her feet in the morning, and ends up late.  I have addressed this problem with her teachers, asking them to bench her during recess, or after school detention.  They tried to gang up on me, so I politely explained that not only have I been a parent for 25 years, and I've never had a child who was afraid to go to school until now.

My mom passed away in September, and as soon as I can claw my way through probate, we're moving back home.  I've read up on quite a bit of information about what CPS can and cannot do, and I want to protect myself and my children.  What their father doesn't understand is that because of his damned lies, those kids could be kidnapped and placed in foster homes.  He won't get them, and he will be hit for child support from the state for foster care.

What do I do to protect my family?  Should I hire an attorney?  Yank the kids out of public school?

If you've read this far, bless you.  I know it's long, but I wanted to give you as much information as possible.