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17 responses so far ↓
CHANGE CLASSIFICATION?
Thinking I need to change how I describe our daughter who has FAS….mild mental retardation (which is true, esp in testing)as opposed to LD…which she is, but now in HS her gaps are more and more profound.
COMMON CORE STANDARDS NOT RESEARCH BASED?
Son has been in the never-ending cycle of RTI (denied IEP & 504). Full year of RTI & w/ more modifications & accommodations than we requested in 504 hearing. Have fundamental opposition to Common Core Standards due to process of implementation & lack of evidence to support (not opposed to good, high standards or progress testing) IMO, CCSS are full of untested, unproven (zero independent empirical research to support), and in some cases disproven, methods of learning. Heavy on whole language, fuzzy, convoluted “new” math. My question is do parents have ground to stand on when arguing RTI mandates proven, research based interventions but the standards themselves (what my son is to learn and how) are not based on research?
CHANGE FROM REG ED TO SELF-CONTAINED – NO PARENT NOTICE
My first grade child with DS has been in a regular ed classroom with support (in accordance with the IEP). Last year, without my knowledge, the school put her into a self-contained classroom for two hours a day. They said she would be getting the support she needed in there from now on (instead of support outside the classroom in a small group setting). I am not comfortable with her being in there because that ESE teacher told me that my child is the highest functioning student they have. How can I request that she go back to the small group setting outside the classroom and do you think it’s better? Thank you!
IEP TRANSPORTATION
7th grade daughter has ADD. She has an IEP and attends public middle school. She rides the school district bus that is zoned for our neighborhood. Bus stop to far away for her and she is easily distracted, and loses track of time. District transportation will not modify. Can I ask this as an ADA Accommodation under her IEP? Thanks
SHORTENED SCHOOL DAY FOR STUDENT PAST 12th YEAR
for a student who is attending public school past the 12th year, can the school shorten his day to only work time in the community or do they have to help him at school also? Can he be forced to graduate for employability if not ready before age 22?
STATE COMPLAINT OR OCR COMPLAINT?
My daughter’s former case manager has caused us difficulties for several years due to decisions and gossip. I made an appointment with the superintendent and SpEd director and complained about her behavior (which has included harassment and retaliation). The case manager is married to an attorney and he sent me a certified letter ordering me to retract my complaint or they would file a civil suit. I have received two more letters from the attorney. The attorney I consulted said that they can’t sue me but I think they will take me to court just to cause headaches and have me pay for an attorney. I spoke to the board and they were not aware this was going on. I want to file a complaint. Would this be better directed at OCR or state dept? All I’ve ever asked is that she leave my daughter alone (autism, non-verbal).
SCHOOL WON’T ALLOW NURSES – TX
Shay, I know that there are schools that allow this, but am not sure which specific schools. I suggest that you go to the Partners Resource Network website (the TX Parent Training & Information Center), http://www.partnerstx.org Find the Regional Coordinator for the Region that you live in. They should be able to help you. Someone in the spec. ed. dept. of the ESC that serves your area might also be able to help you. If you have difficulty getting help, contact me at: cnoe59@hotmail.com & I will try to assist you.
SCHOOL HAS TAKEN AWAY ISEP
Help!! My son has a visual perception disorder and the school has taken away his ISEP and when he was still in the private school would not set an 504 in place…my son now has been diagnosed with epilepsy and has had two seizures…he is going to high school this year and I requested a meeting after Paul’s recent hospitalization so we could get all records in order..the EEG came back abnormal (seizure coming at some point) and they put him on meds..they set up a meeting for me canceled it and now say I have to wait two months…PLEASE HELP
DOES STAY-PUT STILL APPLY WHEN NO IEP?
My daughter started high school today with no IEP and I am worried (based on a conversation with administration) that the school will recommend an alternative placement rather than provide the accommodations my child needs to stay in this program, which I feel is appropriate for her. My question is this: Will the “stay put” allow my child to stay in this program while we work this out even though there is no IEP yet? Or can they place my child in a different program because there is no IEP?
PARAPROFESSIONAL DUTIES
Lee, the part of your question dealing with cut hours is not something I can address. As a special education administrator in the Midwest, when I found out a paraprofessional was being pulled out of instructional duties, I always called the principal to ask which regular education salary fund they wanted to use to fund their 1/8th (or whatever part of the day) to pay the aide. Every single principal decided to return the paraprofessional to their instructional duties. Sorry I can’t be of any other help.
CAN STUDENT WITH SEVERE AUTISM BE PICKED UP TWO HOURS EARLY EACH DAY?
Dionne, first, you might want to find out if there is “dual enrollment” allowed in your state. Dual enrollment states allow a child to attend school for a part of the day with home school the remainder of the day. If your state allows this persue this so that your child is not penalized. Realistically, a school district does not want to punish you for taking your child to therapies. They just don’t want to be tied to paying for them. States may require a certain number of days attendance for passing. In such cases, the IEP team can meet and determine the child passes anyway.
TRANSPORTATION HARNESS
Jasmine, transportation is a special education service just like speech services or classroom services. The IEP determines If transportation is needed, it is FAPE. Sounds like the transportation system is separate from the school district. Bottom line, it is the district’s responsibility and they have the ultimate responsibility to provide it. If the company they contract with refuses to follow the IEP the district has to find an alternative method to meet the IEP.
SCHOOL WON’T ALLOW NURSES – TX
I am the mother of twin, pre k boys in special education pre k program. The boys have 24/7 nursing services but the school will not allow their nurse to accompany them to school. Do you know of a district in Texas that has allowed this? Looking for the written policies/procedures they may have in place as examples to share at ARD.
TRANSPORTATION HARNESS
I have a 10 Yr old son with Autism. He occasional has an outburst where he will stand up on the bus, or yell. His school has agreed that he would do better with 1 on 1aide on the bus to help him through his anxiety issues, and outbursts. The bus trans dept, feel that they cannot hire someone for that. They are now refusing him transportation unless he is in a harness/vest. He is more high functioning, and his dad and I diagree. HELP
PAPERWORK MISMANAGEMENT – MISPLACED IEPS
I am a SPED teacher. I have misplaced some signature pages on some IEPs. I KNOW this is a big no-no, but it is mostly due to bad paperwork management on my side. I also failed to get all signatures from team members who werent able to attend the meetings. All the parents wanted to proceed with the meetings without all members present. Administration is claiming that I didn’t have the meetings and have sought legal advice. Also, they have not called the parents that this applies to. I am no longer a case manager because our school system finally hired someone to write all IEPs and hold all the IEP meetings, so I am not allowed to contact them. I am so afraid of losing my job. I LOVE my job and am a good, loving teacher who has great relationships with students’ parents. I need to know who I can contact for legal advice.
STATE LAW OVERRIDES FEDERAL LAW?
What does a parent do when State Law overrides Federal Law? A specific school in my state uses Federal funding but does not follow Federal guidelines yet there is no recourse for the parent with a complaint because of the State Law. The SDE says to change Legislation.
PARAPROFESSIONAL DUTIES
I’m an “Instructional Assistant” for an NJ district. I have K-5 and TSWD certification, but my contract stipulates I do not work under certification. I assist a classroom teacher to carry out the IEPs of 4-6 classified students, and supervise students during lunch/recess.
My concern: All assistants’ hours were cut from 32 hrs/wk to 28 hrs/wk so we are not eligible health ins.benefits, As we are required to do lunch duty, this takes us out of the classroom for 45 minutes of the students’ instructional time. Previously, we had a 30-minute paid break, but most of us rarely use this due to the many different needs of the students. Can a district that uses Federal special education funding use instructional assistants for lunch duty at the expense of academic time – and ensure that we are not eligible for health insurance benefits?