s/o IEP ??

[Heathermomster]

So, I met with a friend today, and her DS was retested by the local ps system.  The student is a rising 9th grader with significant learning issues.  The school stated that he must sit for 8 weeks in a regular classroom with a "highly qualified" teacher prior to accommodations.  The school told her that their hands were tied because they were following Federal Law.

 

Honestly, I want to give this family money so that they can sue the school system.  Does waiting 8 weeks in a class for observation sound remotely correct?  The student has never attended public school before and has sensory issues , AHDH, dyscalculia, and a host of other problems. 

[OneStepAtATime]

Ugh!  Is there a state law that is in play here?  I don't think this applies at the Federal level.

[Crimson Wife]

I'm assuming that they're trying to do a 504 rather than an IEP? 504's offer less legal protection.

[Heathermomster]

No..She wants accommodations.  She is overwhelmed, and the school is being obtuse.  

 

If I purchased one book about Wright's Law and IEPs, which title should I get?

[OneStepAtATime]

I have no clue since we didn't end up getting one.  I hope someone responds.  

[Heathermomster]

I see that Crimson recommended "NOLO IEP Guide: Learning Disabilities" by Lawrence Siegel on another thread.

 

The entire situation stinks.  The school block schedules, so the child sits though the equivalent of a half year of math, fails, and then the schools obfuscates even though they know the issues existed because they provided the testing.    

[Crimson Wife]

"Accommodations" can be part of either an IEP or a 504. Students who do not meet the legal criteria for IEP eligibility can still receive accommodations through a 504. However, the 504 does not provide as much legal protection for the child as an IEP would.  http://www.ncld.org/disability-advocacy/learn-ld-laws/adaaa-section-504/section-504-idea-comparison-chart

[wapiti]

FWIW, without looking anything up, that sounds like a state law thing to me - there is some sort of similar procedure in place in our state.  However, I'd also be willing to bet that the district might be playing a little loose with the state procedure rules.

[Tokyomarie]

It seems to me that they are going to try to "prove" that the child's weaknesses result from "lack of sufficient instruction," which is something that has to be ruled out prior to diagnosing a student with a specific learning disability. They may feel the student needs to sit in a classroom under a "highly qualified teacher" before they can check that box (one way or another) but it will be to the detriment of the student. I honestly would suggest that the mother, in addition to doing her own reading on Special Ed law, get in touch with a local advocate who knows the district and their typical behaviors.

 

This is how my son's school treated us when I was trying to get a determination of eligibility for an IEP or a 504. It was 8 months into the school year and only with persistence that we finally got to the point of a determination that he was eligible for a 504.

[Storygirl]

Ugh, this is what I fear. The contact at our district specifically mentioned that they wanted my son to be enrolled before deciding to evaluate so that they could have input from a classroom teacher.  Maybe it is a common tactic. We're at the beginning of figuring this out for ourselves, so I don't have any advice, just sympathy pains.

 

Are the states allowed to add extra "rules" like this to the federal guidelines?

[City Mouse]

Without knowing how the specific district works, i will phrase this from the other point of view.

 

The district has to prove that the the the student's problems are not due to "lack of educational opportunity" of how ever it is worded. This stems from the original sped reforms back in the 1960-70's when school districts had disproportionate numbers of minorities and/or low income and/or non English speaking children labeled as "sped" who had not had sufficient instruction.

Districts have to be able to prove that the child has had sufficient instruction before sped testing. Some districts interpret this to mean that the student has to be enrolled and attending classes in the district for a set amount of time. Other districts have different interpretations.

 

Some districts will not just take the word of the homeschooling parent that the child has had sufficient instruction. Some districts will send a person to observe the instruction in the home, or allow videos, or even a portfolio of work samples to count for this.

[Mrs. Tharp]

Because the child has never been in ps before, the school may be giving him a trial run to see how the issues will play out in the classroom. Eight weeks does seem like a reasonable time frame for this.  They are doing this because the in-class difficulties are what the school actually accommodates in the 504 or IEP, vs. the issues themselves per se. The point of accommodations is "level the playing field" for the child with problems so they have equal access to a "free and public education", not to actually fix the learning issue--an important distinction.  Actually fixing it, as far as that goes, is still on the parents. :)

[Pen]

We had something like this, except that during the 8 weeks my son was doing homeschool with extra help at the local public school, though not yet an official IEP. He got some of the best help he was to get during those first weeks, since he was placed with the top reading specialist there for his half hour of reading and with the head spec. ed. teacher for his writing work. And those teachers and I had met to coordinate what they were doing with what I was doing at home, to make sure that he had an extremely intensive intervention program set up.  

 

It could be that with his host of problems the 8 weeks would be terrible for your friend's son--but it also could be that they will do their utmost to give him the best they have of instruction short of special accommodations.  And if he did manage to do well with what they give, that would actually be good would it not? To discover that he can do well in a regular classroom?

 

 

[Pen]

 

Ugh, this is what I fear. The contact at our district specifically mentioned that they wanted my son to be enrolled before deciding to evaluate so that they could have input from a classroom teacher.  Maybe it is a common tactic. We're at the beginning of figuring this out for ourselves, so I don't have any advice, just sympathy pains.

 

Are the states allowed to add extra "rules" like this to the federal guidelines?

 

 

The mindset needed is to feel that you the parent, the school, spec. ed. teachers, regular teachers, and the child himself, --all the participants-- are all a "team" working to help your child.

 

For all our IEP meetings, the 3rd grade teacher would come in and at least sign off on paper work (his signature was required). Sometimes he also had contributory, useful suggestions to make.

[Pen]

FWIW, without looking anything up, that sounds like a state law thing to me - there is some sort of similar procedure in place in our state.  However, I'd also be willing to bet that the district might be playing a little loose with the state procedure rules.

 

But it also may possibly relate to Federal Law requiring placement in the least restrictive environment possible.

 

I mean, I do not know what the situation is. I presume that they are not insisting that a wheelchair bound child be without his wheelchair for 8 weeks...and I'm sure that it feels like whatever crutches he seems to need for an LD that it feels about the same to the parent that he be without whatever it is she thinks he needs as a wheelchair bound child being without a wheelchair.   But from the school POV it is probably not equivalent.

[Storygirl]

I do have some advice after all! Today I spoke to the special education department of our state department of education to clarify some things.  I would suggest that your friend do the same.  I got some very good information with just a short call, and much of it contradicted what the school had told me.  When I asked what I could do to "educate" the school, since serving homeschoolers seemed a new thing to them, she told me to have the school call their state support team for guidance.

 

Since the schools in your area must follow state as well as federal laws, there may be differences, but I'll list a couple of the things I learned, in case they are helpful.

 

* The school is required to provide evaluations to homeschoolers under the "child find" provision of the law.  We have a right to homeschool, so they cannot require enrollment, but they do have thirty days to determine whether the evaluation is warranted. If they need a teacher to provide input for this, they can send one to the home, or if a certified teacher has been involved in the child's education in some way already, that person can provide information.  I asked if our neuropsych report would constitute validation of the need to test, and she said that it should be considered.

 

*In our state, the school is required to evaluate but is not required to write an IEP or provide services :thumbdown: . States and even school districts within the state will vary, so check with your own local rules.

 

*I would also suggest that she ask further questions if she has unique circumstances.  In our case, one of the reasons we are considering an IEP is so that we can qualify for state scholarship assistance.  When I asked about this, she said that yes, the school WOULD write a IEP specifically to meet the requirements of the scholarship. So it turns out that they WILL write an IEP, even though the first answer was that they would NOT. So she should make sure she asks about her family's specific circumstances.

 

*Also, the time deadlines for the school apply whether the school is on summer break or not. They are not allowed to tell you that they will not process requests over the summer.

 

Your friend should be able to get an advocate to help her through this and make sure that the school follows the laws. I suspect your state dept of ed could provide advocate information as well (but I didn't ask).

 

I learned a lot today, and I hope that sharing it may help someone else as well.

[Heathermomster]

What is state scholarship assistance? I have never heard of that.

[Lecka]

Wrightslaw is a website written by a lawyer.  He has a book "from emotions to advocacy" (by Pete Wright iirc) that I have read from the library. 

 

Then there is also the wrightslaw website. 

 

The thing about waiting for 8 weeks before they can offer accommodations does not sound right to me, either.

 

I have seen on the wrightslaw website they have a directory by state, to find a phone number for a state office. 

 

Good luck.

[Storygirl]

What is state scholarship assistance? I have never heard of that.

 

Our state has a scholarship that one can apply for through the state department of education to pay for services like OT or speech when they are not being provided through the school. It is state specific, so other states may not have anything like it (not sure). You must use an approved service provider, and the amount granted varies according to the disability and need, but it is potentially a large amount of money, so we are looking into it.