Rebecca: Am dealing with a very complex IEP that involves NPAs. Family is in agreement and ready to sign, pending input on a few issues from district case manager (just looking for clarification, all decisions have been made). Pending issues detailed and sent to district case manager (including initial request dates) and have asked to schedule a meeting to finalize and sign IEP, but case manager won’t answer emails. Neither will Assistant or Head of district Special Education. They also don’t return phone calls and avoid meeting face to face if we show up at the office.
District has no published communication policy.
Worst part, case manager is leaving for summer vacation in 2 days.
any suggestions?
The reason why they dont respond to emails, calls and face/face meetings is because of the Freedom of Information Act. As public servants EVERYTHING they do is accountable to the PUBLIC. As a PUBLIC citizen you can request to see any communications, such as email. This is a way to avoid incriminating themselves and sinking deeper into the load of crap they have made for themselves.
My opinion: If you cant handle the public and be accountable to your actions in a transparent way- You have NO business being a PUBLIC servant in any way!
I’m going thru same. IEP ignoring how my kid is. Teachers not replying to my emails, etc. Why are we told to keep fighting? Why is it they can get away with this when it’s supposed to be a law and legal right protecting our kids? What’s wrong with our Education in this country? A parent should not have to fight over and over again. The school should be reprimanded. No parent should be aggravated more on top of remote learning. What’s the point of it being a law if they don’t have to abide? There are no laws for what’s right anymore for good people and kids.
Diane, we hear you and understand your frustration. You need to document exactly what is happening — in writing.
A written / printed letter makes a much bigger impression than email – and never use texts for anything important. Face-to-face is more effective than phone calls or emails.
Chuck gave some good advice to Sarah, who posted several months ago. (see below)
I am running into the same problem. The District refuses to accommodate my son, even with his Doctor’s orders. I held an IEP meeting and I provided my Parent Concerns in advance, in writing, with the Express request that my Parent Concerns be entered into the IEP, verbatim. The school did not add my parent concerns into the IEP, and now will not respond to emails or phone calls. I have been very civil and polite in all my communications, and they are completely unprofessional.
In situations like this, parents have a number of options. You can contact the district special ed director, if you have not; use the district complaint process; use the dispute resolution processes that IDEA gives parents. (state complaint, mediation, due process hearings). This website or your state parent training and information center can assist you in learning about these. http://www.parentcenterhub.org/find-your-center
Before my district had a published communication policy, I asked my state ed department what to do about the kind of unresponsiveness you described. I was told the following: Send an email, wait three days, then write to the next person up in the chain of command, and so on, working your way up, if necessary, to the superintendent and then the Board of Ed. After that would come state ed. Remember, that was State Ed giving me that suggestion.
To use this approach it helps to keep notes of the dates of your emails so you can do your next-up-the-chain emails promptly at the three-day point.