Michelle: My son has had a 504 plan in place for years. He failed the 8th grade this year and I found out that many of his teachers weren’t even aware of his 504 plan. Also, I thought he had an IEP put in place last year as we all met at the school, counselor, his teachers, the school psychologist, and his dad and I. In the meeting we came up with a “plan” to help my son. Now I’m being told he doesn’t have an IEP, and that it will take 5 months to put one in place. Can this be right? Does he need an IEE before implementing an IEP? How long does a school have if I formally request one to be done? HELP! My child is being left behind!
Your state parent training & information center will be familiar with your state rules & can assist you. http://www.parentcenterhub.org/find-your-center/
All in all it might take almost 5 months to get an IEP, So I’d ask for one in writing ASAP. After that there should be a timeline for the school district to set up an assessment. In my state you need to approve the plan and then they start. Your approval starts another timeline for the IEP meeting to discuss the assessment results. (If you disagree with the assessment results you can consider an IEE, but in a perfect world it would not be necessary). I am not near my references, but my recollection is that some parts of the timeline reflect state laws. Your local Disability Rights folks (Google them) may have a publication with the answer to timelines. Disability Rights California has one.
Given how the school is acting, I’d do everything is writing and keep copies from now on.