The Wrightslaw Way

Does a teacher or service provider have the right to refuse to be recorded during an IEP meeting? Is there caselaw or code that deals with this?
An IEP meeting should focus on how to provide appropriate education to a child with a disability. There should be no conversation at an IEP meeting that cannot [...]

Last week on the Community Helpline, Kim asked “Should a child’s special education file include copies of all evaluations and reports, especially those requested for annual review?”
Sharon answered: “Your child’s record at the school district has to be a complete history of your child’s journey through special ed.”
A complete history - yikes! How [...]

Is there anything in the law that would prevent me from asking that my child’s annual IEP be postponed? The current accommodations are either not working or are not being implemented as required by certain teachers. I would like to postpone it to enable time to obtain testing results and re-work some ideas on [...]

Preparing Documentation is Essential to Good Advocacy

Your goal at an IEP meeting is to initiate or obtain additional special education and/or related services for your child. A successful outcome at an IEP meeting depends on the documentation you make available to the team. You can’t wait until the last minute to prepare documentation. Documenting events [...]

I record all school meetings. At the last meeting, the team brought in a “note taker” for the first time. I requested a copy of these notes. When I reviewed them, they included incorrect and false statements, and information about events at previous meetings.What can I do to correct these notes and/or remove them from [...]

I just reviewed your Summer School for Parents: Lesson #4. I am the mom who wrote about the need for a particular type of placement for my son with autism. Never thought that my letter about How I Got the School to Change My Son’s Program & Placement would show up there!
Here’s the [...]

We are in due process. We’ve recorded the IEP meetings. Should we use transcripts of the meetings or use the tapes as evidence in the hearing?
I always submit tapes of IEP meetings as the “Best Evidence,” i.e., the primary exhibit about what was recorded at the meeting. A transcript is simply an aid to [...]

“Effective date” means just what it says. If you write an IEP and put the “effective date” as the date of the meeting, then the IEP goes into effect on that date. If you are writing an IEP for the next academic year, the dates on the IEP should indicate that.
A special ed teacher [...]