Autistic girl, 14, refuses to attend public school for eight months because mom wants her to receive taxpayer-funded private education...and is hospitalized with anxiety attack after judge ordered her to class

An autistic teen from Massachusetts who refused to attend public school for eight months suffered a panic attack after a judge ordered her to return to class.

Samantha Frechon, 14, was taken from East Middle School in Braintree to a local hospital on Tuesday. It was only her second day at the public school.

She enrolled earlier this week at the behest of Norfolk County Superior Court Judge Catherine Ham. This transition marked Samantha's first time attending a non-specialized institution since she was eight years old.

After the teen, who has multiple disabilities, was hospitalized, Ham released a modified order that will no longer require her to attend the public middle school.

The judge did not honor a request from Samantha and her mother, Alicja, who had asked for the teen to return to her previous private school at the expense of Braintree Public Schools.

Samantha Frechon, 14 (pictured with her mother Alicja), suffered a panic attack two days in to her return to public school

The Massachusetts teen, who is autistic and has several other disabilities, had not attended a non-specialized school since she was eight years old

Before enrolling at East Middle School (pictured) at the request of Judge Catherine Ham, Samantha had gone eight months without any schooling 

However, Ham did order the district to send the student to a cheaper private school geared towards working with disabled students.

Samantha had not attended a single day of school since the start of the academic year prior to enrolling at East Middle.

She previously attended Fusion Academy, a private school in Hingham that bills itself as 'the world's most specialized school,' according to its website.

Braintree footed the cost of Samantha's seventh-grade education under federal special education law, which requires public school districts to cover the costs of private tuition when they fail to meet a student's needs themselves.

Despite excelling academically and socially at Fusion Academy, the district decided not to reenroll her for her eighth-grade year. Rather, she was given only one option - daily tutoring at the town library.

The girl's mother has continually butted heads with the Braintree school district, demanding they help her daughter meet her academic needs.

But in her order, Ham wrote, 'It is clear to the Court that the mother only wants her child to succeed at Fusion, and Fusion only.'  

According to the judge, Braintree had argued that Fusion could not meet the demands of Samantha's special education.

Frechon was furious when the district refused to foot the bill for her daughter to return to Fusion Academy, a private school specializing in one-on-one instruction

The district argued Fusion Academy (pictured) was unable to meet her needs, but amid an $8 million budget deficit, the $90k-per-year tuition would have added further financial strain

Frechon argued the district had failed to meet Samantha's 'stay put' rights by refusing to reenroll her at that school or at her previous placement

'The Court does not want the child nor the school to have to face another similar episode, which occurred on Tuesday,' Ham wrote.

Braintree faces an $8 million budget deficit, with cuts likely. 

Appearing at a school committee hearing last month, Superintendent James Lee said the district's $75.5 million budget had swelled to nearly $84 million.

To close that pricey gap, the embattled district is considering a number of options ranging from laying off teachers to shuttering some elementary schools entirely.

Samantha's education would only put further financial strain on the district, as tuition at Fusion is roughly $90,000 per year.

Ham held a status conference with the district's lawyers on Thursday afternoon.

During the meeting, an attorney pinned Samantha’s struggles on her mother, the family's lawyer and a Boston Globe reporter who followed the teen during her first day.

Frechon previously alleged that the district violated her daughter's 'stay put' rights by refusing to reenroll the teen at Fusion or at her prior placement, the South Shore Educational Collaborative.

Those protections allow a student to stay in their current accommodation while school administrators and parents work through a dispute over a potential change.

Under a modified order, Samantha will receive 'online tutoring and services' from the public school district

Starting next week, she can opt to continue her online tutoring or choose to enroll at the High Road School of Massachusetts (pictured)

'What is happening here is a crime against my family, and it's our country that is failing us,' Frechon wrote in a Facebook post

Under Ham’s modified order, Samantha will receive 'online tutoring and services' from Braintree Public Schools.

Starting next week, the teen and her mother may choose between virtual tutoring or placement at the High Road School of Massachusetts in East Bridgewater.

On its website, the school describes itself as 'an out-of-district placement for students with a wide range of disabilities who have not found success in the traditional school setting.' 

The rate Braintree would be expected to pay for the High Road School is roughly $50,000, nearly half the tuition at Fusion.

Han's order is effective through the end of the school year or until the Bureau for Special Education Appeals issues a decision in Samantha’s case. A hearing is scheduled for May.

Amid mounting interest in her daughter's case, Frechon took to Facebook, writing, 'The horror for my family continues.

'Going public exposed us to all those bullies and judgments, but it was also a relief that I don't need to pretend anymore that everything is good. What is happening here is a crime against my family, and it's our country that is failing us.'

In a later post, Frechon clarified that Samantha was the one who ultimately made the decision to publicize her own case.

'I support her decision, and I hope we will open the door for all those kids who are suffering the same abuse,' she wrote.

'I know that it's not just us, and I'm very happy that I can be the voice for all those who are afraid. I am also afraid due to the harassment that comes with it, but the cause is bigger than my fear.'