The Wrightslaw Way

The bottom line is no.  If you do not agree, a required member of the IEP team may not be excused. If the school asks you to consent to excuse a member and you don’t agree, write a short polite letter to explain that you don’t consent because the individual has valuable information and insights […]

Last year the school really dropped the ball on my child’s IEP. His ‘first year’ teacher left out all the accommodations and modifications. He had his worst year on record. In order to avoid a due process hearing the school has come back with a “cadillac” IEP. They were over generous in the level of […]

Wrightslaw All About IEPs is a new program (one day, five hours) by Pete Wright that focuses on the legal requirements for IEPs and how to develop SMART IEPs. This one-day, five hour program about IEPs will focus on:

My 6 year old grandson has ASD, Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis, & Hypermobility Syndrome. He is prone to fractures and in danger of re-fracturing the same bone over & over. He was physically restrained at school and received numerous bruises. The principal said he was restrained for rocking back & forth in a chair. My understanding […]

Want to become an advocate or fine tune your advocacy skills? It’s never too late to catch up on Summer School for Advocates at http://www.wrightslaw.com/nltr/09/summer.school.advocates.htm When you complete the 5 part series, you’ll find your certificate here. Need A Pocket Manual for Advocates? Get a free download…

This time of year the football chant is ringing in our heads – “We’ve got the pow-er!” This year, get some of that advocacy power! “Key changes in the special education arena this year have given parents more decision-making power regarding their children with special needs. For example…

If you are a parent of a child who has an IEP, you know that schools must ensure equal access to educational opportunities for students with disabilities and provide a free, appropriate public education (FAPE). What happens if your child’s school must close for an extended period because of an outbreak of swine flu? Is […]

Act today to share your concerns about: Closing the disability achievement gap Ensuring a meaningful education that enables every child to succeed Meaningful parent participation in IEP meetings and as equals in educational planning Using effective, research based programs and highly qualified teachers Restraint/seclusion Do it today! Email deadline for comments/concerns is Wednesday, September 9 […]

Last week we posted about using an IEP Parent Attachment to add input to your child’s IEP. We heard immediately from Daunna who wrote: The question was “How can I deal with [the school's refusal to include a parent attachment]?” Judy Bonnell’s parent attachment form is a great idea, but it’s not really an attachment […]

What can you do if a school team refuses to evaluate a child? What can you do if the school team insists that an evaluation will not provide relevant information for educational planning? When the school doesn’t want to test a child, can you force them to evaluate?