IEP and 504 Issues and Questions

This is a 9th grader, one year in this PA district, long history of SLD in written expression, 7% essay comp WIAT4, below basic PSSA, low growth MAP scores between winter-Spring 8th grader, has ASD, ADHD….. He cannot write a paragraph, but they “revised” aka vanished that unmet goal in November. They changed it to “will write a multi paragraph essay using graphic organizers and sentence starters, and revise with editing checklist scoring a 3/4 for Style and Organization”. My emailed concerns 2 months ago included that he cannot articulate what he is learning in writing or verbally. At the meeting this week, they are recommending Honors History specifically d…

My District had started to default to virtual meetings, are there any provisions that can force all participants to be in person? I personally dislike when District participants are together in the same office for a zoom and parents are elsewhere. It seems unbalanced and ripe for sidebars parents aren’t privy to. It was convenient to have meetings virtually during covid and convenient now if someone can’t make it to school, but in person is still very much my presence.

Are the completed teacher rating scales viewable under FERPA? Scales were only given to one teacher who spends far less time with my child and school refuses to reissue observation scales to the teacher present for a longer duration of the school day with my child. (Note my child splits classrooms so neither teacher is present with the other one.)

A reader emailed me: My grandson was home schooled Part of last year and part of this year and started back to home school in January and doesn’t want to go back, his anxiety is high and emotions are all over. I feel it I because the program we used didn’t follow the school and he is feeling overwhelmed and lost. I plan on home schooling again. Should I go back to the easier basics so he is more comfortable but am worried he will not keep advancing if he doesn’t put his all in to it. Thoughts?

Hello https://static.xx.fbcdn.net/images/emoji.php/v9/t4c/1/16/1f642.png I have a 13 year old dx ASD & ADHD. School has done their evaluations and since “his grades are good is not going to give him an IEP”. He currently has a 504 and all accomidations are for my son to complete or do. None are for the school or teachers to check in with him to make sure he has understanding and correct paperwork/assignments. School has done speech eval, OT eval for sensory only and psych eval. Speech Evaluation was done virtually, and I feel lacks a lot of social pragmatics data. I Plan to ask for an IEE. Not one but 2 Private evaluations documents social pragmat…

so this is for a close pal so I need to keep this fairly generic but they handed in a IEP eval a request this AM to the district office and then met with the principal to start a 504 this afternoon (their kid needs some emotional support help ASAP) and the principal brought in the school psych and they proceeded to tell the parents that the kid could not qualify as they said he had no learning differences (they must have showed an old IQ test..only an iq test not a full neuropsych) and that they insisted that IEPs are not meant for emotional disabilities, only for academic reason. So I know this is not true..I have two ED kids in this district. The kid's struggles are a…

Posting for a reader: I have a question regarding the transportation for my son that his local public school provides. Last year at the end of the school year my son was attacked by another student on the same van. The student also pulled another child’s hair and also grabbed the van driver’s arm while driving. The other child goes to the same private school as my son but is a student in another school district, but the same county as we live in. The school is not in our county it is about 48 miles each way. The public schools have a contract with a local company to provide bus and van services. So they do not have the transportation hired directly. …

I’m at a loss. What options do I have when the behaviors of other students in the class impact the diagnosis of my kid (worsen anxiety)? It’s mostly disruptive behaviors of other kids as opposed to safety concerns.

Maybe this isn’t a specific IDEA issue, but, absent health emergencies, can (not should) a school deliver health services in private? Should school perform non emergent pulse ox and chest examination in public view of other students (on a sidewalk outside school) or in privacy of the nurses office or other private area?

I'm considering filing a Child Find violation against my school district. My child was identified by the school in 9th grade. Now, the school can't meet their needs because the needs are so great. My child was in advanced classes not long ago. Now,they're in remedial classes and not on the college track. They're failing a class and will likely need to re-take it next year. They don't have the skills to execute work, although cognitively they are able to understand and do the work. I am working with several outside specialists and spending hundreds to thousands on therapy and advocacy every month. I will need to spend this kind of money for the foreseeable future. We a…

My general education 5th grader is being recommended for a social skills group with the school social worker. He had an IEP from end of 1st grade thru mid 4th grade for Speech, which is how I know about this forum. This year teachers have observed that sometimes he forgets about personal space (his classroom does have 30 students this year...) or forgets to check in with the members of a conversation. These lagging skills are not keeping him from accessing the curriculum, he just needs a refresher. In 2nd grade this was a small concern (class size was also large), 3rd grade he was home on Zoom and last year back in the school building for 4th grade. Class size was smaller…

We suddenly have our daughter's IEP tomorrow. We can't postpone because tomorrow is the last day the yearly IEP can be held. We hope to get her into a private school next year as she transitions into middle school. I would like to include some goals that will work with the private school, or at least be tolerable for them. Regardless of whether or not she attends private or public school the need is about the same. 1) How can we write goals that will allow her to only have to complete 50% or 60% and still pass her classes. This would be across the board to include science, social studies, math, and reading. Science and social studies both have a lot of rea…

My son is in 6th grade and has several qualifying diagnoses (Autism, Health (ADHD), Specific Learning Disability (Dysgraphia), and Anxiety). He has been succeeding with a very extensive 504 plan, but things have recently taken a turn for the worst. He is currently unable to write essays at school both for a graded essay and for MCAS (state standardized testing). Further, he became distressed working on an ELA assignment where he had to come up with 8-10 quotes showing character development. The teacher changed it to 1-2 for him due to the amount of distress he was displaying. Additionally, he also wrote that he is stupid on a math test because he didn't understand what wa…

Setting Choice A is not working. It's a little off the traditional, so the regular public school system is being looked at, questions asked, etc. This also means child hasn't been attending any sort of school for a few weeks. Getting the right placement is so important, but when would truancy possibly set in?

If a child does not have an IEP but was told the school is drafting one, can a child with behavior issues be denied to go on a field trip with the rest of his kindergarten class?

A "life skills-type class" was recently brought up as a possibility for my 8 year old with ID. What kind of life skills do they teach 8 year olds? She takes care of her own hygiene needs and I believe her other skills (except academic skills) are on par or maybe only slightly behind her same age peers. Her academic needs are significant (still considered a pre-reader or maybe beginning K reader, and working on addition/subtraction within 1-10) but she can understand and retain a lot of information that she hears (not all, but a fair amount). I don't know, it seemed to be a very "we don't know what to do with her, so how about this" type of suggestion.

I was in an IEP meeting yesterday for my daughter, it was the most contentious IEP meeting I have ever been in and I am also a practicing school psychologist. The district was not at all interested in having a discussion surrounding my proposal, and rather said they disagree, let's talk about mediation and due process. In my opinion, due process should be an absolute last resort and there should be thorough discussion of the matter prior to getting to that point. Every time they brought it up, which was multiple times, I kept saying "can't we discuss this further", and then would just continue on. Ultimately, I was able to prevail and get close to the minutes I was reques…

Hello there, I am reaching out because I am feeling a bit overwhelmed with the current IEP process for my child. My child has been diagnosed with and we have recently updated their IEP to better address their evolving needs. One area where I am struggling is understanding how to effectively monitor progress toward the IEP goals. We have set some ambitious goals; but I am finding it challenging to gauge whether we are making adequate progress and how to adjust our approach if needed. I am also concerned about how to ensure that the goals are both realistic and aligned with my childs abilities and needs. Additionally; I am seeking advice on the best practices…

This may not be the most appropriate section for this question. This one seemed to be the closet fit. I remember coming across a template for "About me" to give to a new teacher on the adayinourshoes site. If anyone happens to know where that is could you please share it? I want to start collecting my thoughts on what to give to his teacher this year. I *could* make my own if I absolutely must but I fear it wouldn't be to the point enough. I really do benefit greatly from following a template while crafting this. Thank you so much in advance!

Not a current situation I'm in, just going through the thoughts of theoreticals from a Reddit thread. I know what the school pays for any aides, technologies, etc. But what about the smaller things? Like, if students are supposed to get rewards to help with goals, or have wiggle chairs or chair bands? In the Reddit conversation, teachers were complaining about having to buy those with their personal money, but I've also never heard of those being paid for via the IEP. I hate the idea of teachers having to pay for everything, but to some extent it feels like paying for some of it is just part of the job expectations. Or are parents supposed to send those in?

This is something I have not been able to find information tied to anywhere. If there is, please direct me to the information. 🙂 A little background information tied to our situation I think will help: Our son is extremely intelligent yet suffers from processing speed issues in certain areas. Personality-wise he tends to view everything as black and white. He is extremely athletic as well and has a 3.8 GPA. He is 16 years old and has had an IEP/ISP in place since he was 11. Overall, it has allowed him the extra time he needs when doing certain things. This year we have run into major issues tied to sports. During the first two years in high school, he was able …

When talking about ADHD medications what are the pro/con of medicating the day of the test versus not? Not medicating-Will make a "controllable" diagnosis show up and since school districts now have to address the diagnosis even if mitigating measures are in place that diminishes the effect of the disability, it can be addressed as there may be days when medication is forgotten, etc. 42 U.S.C. § 12102(4)(E)(i). Medicating-The effects of a primary known disability that medication mitigates could bring an unknown secondary disability to the forefront that has been masked Is there a firm rule on when to medicate and when not to? Does it matter only on IQ test…

Like I said, I'm a general teacher. Happy to do whatever my role is. However, this year I have a parent who had a bad experience with the SPED team at her kid's last school and said she wants as little to do with them as possible. I've notified the sped team and they're trying to be as great as they can, but the parent is resistant. She says she wants all services and communication to come through me. Is this a reasonable request?

First off I am mentally drained. My child is a literal and often very inflexible thinker. 7 years old and in 1st grade. He has an IEP. No ASD diagnosis that’s a whole separate rabbit hole in it’s self. We have ran into several scenarios where he takes statements and can’t bend his thinking. He gets very fixated on what words are used and who said them. This is habitually making homework an utter nightmare. We are spending an hour to get two work sheets done. I have reached out to the teacher a few times. We are working on getting some accommodations put into place. The problem is my child won’t turn in his incomplete homework assignments. He …

Hi guys, Do any of you have an example of present levels for a second-grader in any or all of the areas below and how they were determined? We have an upcoming Initial Evaluation for Eligibility and I can't tell what the student's present levels are for any of the below. I'd also like to know if it's appropriate to ask the team for the present levels. If they don't know the present levels because she "doesn't qualify" then how did they know she didn't qualify? Spelling Reading Comprehension Written Expression Vocabulary Phonemic Awareness Basic Reading Skills Decoding Time Telling Math Problem Solving …