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If your child has an IEP, PDE will provide a scholarship that covers your hotel & conference registration. Conference is Feb 28 - Mar 1 at Hershey Lodge. Deadline to apply is 1/20. This is the link for more info & to register: https://www.pattan.net/Training/Conferences/Pennsylvania-Department-of-Education-Conference If you have questions, feel free to reply with your questions. Hotel is covered if you live 50+ miles from Hershey. Lots of great info plus a chance to talk to other parents. Good food too.

Hello, Am I allowed to ask for recommendations here? If so, wondering if anyone can recommend a therapist or doctor for a teen with anxiety. If not, maybe give me your thoughts on how to find a good one or common therapy techniques. Student is 2x exceptional and has struggled with school related anxiety. Now it is overflowing into life outside of school and we want to nip it in the bud and provide tools to help manage the anxiety. Locations in Montgomery, Delaware or Chester County would be good. Don't know what to look for or where to turn. We went to the pediatrician who printed out a list of providers. But most were Out of Network for our insurance or I…

I just wanted to share that for the last year or so my son has attended his IEP meetings. yesterday my son (14, 8th grade) had an encounter with a new para who watched him take out his cell phone (essentially a iPod because it is my old phone and no cell number).We have it spelled out in the IEP that he uses music to self regulate. At one point when the school decided to ban phones they offered that he could use a school laptop to listen to music - which was cumbersome and not useful in all situations. With some push back from us He was able to keep the device. He knew the para was watching him, which is something that makes him uncomfortable and frustrated beca…

My son is in HS and attends a public performing arts school. They are taking an overnight trip. They did a similar trip last year. Per his IEP a parent is permitted to attend all field trips. The bottom line is that his anxiety and PTSD are so bad that he could never attend without a parent even given his age. Last year I had to fight to attend the trip and pay extra for us to have a double occupancy room. The total cost last year for both of us was around $1000. The staff saw how my son needed me to help with his anxiety and admitted to being wrong to fight me. This year the trip for both of us is going to be over $3000. This is a lot of money. Being a t…

Just 6 weeks ago, I was interviewed about this class action lawsuit by the Inquirer, regarding aging out of school at 21 or 22. Last night, I received an update from the Public Interest Law Center. Hi Lisa, Exciting news! Our lawsuit challenging Pennsylvania’s IDEA age out policy has settled. As part of the settlement, PDE has changed its policy to allow eligible students to receive a FAPE until their 22nd birthdays. The policy also applies to students who aged out at the end of the 2022-23 school year under the old policy. Depending on the circumstances, these students may now be eligible to re-enroll until their 22nd birthdays. As part of the settlement agre…

My 2yr old son gets services bc he is on autism spectrum. Currently receives 1 hr/wk of each special instruction, speech, and OT. He has made some progress that past year. Turns 3yrs in July, just had his transition IEP meeting. They're really skimping on services I think. Their first offer is 30 mins/wk of each and they want itinerant services. I’m not going to be able to get him to their school bc my husband and I both work FT. What’s the most sure fire way to get him into their delay classroom? My thoughts: 1)their offer cannot feasibly be carried out so it would equate to no services. 2)he benefits from consistentcy and repetition- 30 mins/wk is not consistent enough.…

Hi, My son currently 14/8th grade (dyslexia, ADHD, speech sound production disorder (aka stuttering) has Algrebra I this year and therefore eligible to take the Keystone exam. I've been doing some reading on PDE plus our school HS graduation requirement to fully understand what's needed as far as the Keystone exams. At this point, I am unsure if he'll score Proficient on Algebra (or Literature, Biology in the coming years). However, I've read what seems like conflicting information on PDE. Has anyone gone down the Keystone rabbit hole recently to clarify? It sounds that Students are no longer required to score Proficient on Keystones to meet grad re…

Hello, I received my son's RR report from the school psychologist on Friday, April 7th (school holiday). We had tentatively scheduled an IEP meeting for April 17th, thinking the RR would be complete prior; however, we just received it on the 7th. Shouldn't the next meeting be with the IEP team to review the RR with the whole team? The school psychologist called me today to review the RR, but it shouldn't it be presented to the entire IEP team before revising and reviewing the IEP within 30 days of the completed RR. Is there a link that says the RR should be reviewed with the entire team? I don't see it within the procedural safeguards or on PaTTan's website. …

My son's last triannual reevaluation was in April of 2021. Since he is in 8th grade this year, I would like to consider having another reevaluation (RR) before 9th grade this coming Fall of 2023 due to EF and Dyslexia diagnosis. However, our school replied that the RR needs to be completed by the annual IEP date, which is this April. However, based on reading the Procedural Safeguards and information I found on PAttan's website, this is incorrect. Am I correct? Any info is appreciated? I plan on replying to the school quoting Section 1414 (2) (B) of IDEA; (B) Limitation A reevaluation conducted under subparagraph (A) shall occur— (i) not more…

What is the purpose of this new SDI?: _____ will realize meaningful educational benefit from placement in a classroom in which the age range of students exceeds the range prescribed by law because (a) the placement will ensure continuity of instructional grouping in a setting as close as possible to his home; and (b) the developmental and institutional levels and needs of the students in this setting are within an appropriate enough range of each other to enable appropriate group instruction to occur

After a re-evaluation I got an invitation to develop a new IEP (even though he already has an IEP). Is it technically a new IEP?

My son has trisomy 21 and I believe could also have autism (my younger son was just diagnosed and he displays signs for a dual diag). I told the school I’m working on getting him evaluated for it (don’t know the timeline yet). The school psychologist said she could work in 1-2 additional autism-specific assessments during his re-evaluation he’s due for anyway. Is there anyway agreeing to this with them could back fire on me? We do not have an official diagnosis for Autism yet, but I do think he could have it. She said she cannot make an official diagnosis BUT could see if he meets the ‘educational criteria’ for it.

My son was “written up” today by a para. I’m not clear on what will happen from the write up after it is sent home but it is a process not in his IEP. Last year I thought we had settled that outbursts were mostly due to anxiety and specific environment in certain classes. He had been working on self regulation by leaving the class when his frustration built up. They suggested a step plan in his IEP ( designed by a para who went to training for it), which this year is being interpreted to mean a teacher sends him out of the class to “take a break” - this is frustrating to him because he feels powerless. They also prescribe how many laps around the build…

Wanted to let parents know that registration is open for the PDE conference. They offer scholarships - deadline to apply is 2/1. The scholarship covers registration & hotel (for hotel, you need to live 50 miles away from Hershey). They have a great lineup of speakers with authors Ross Greene - The Explosive Child - and Peg Dawson - Smart but Scattered - scheduled to present. You can attend virtually too. I'll be there. Look for me at the Right to Education Task Force breakfast. You can get to the registration and scholarship links from this page: https://www.pattan.net/Training/Conferences/Pennsylvania-Department-of-Education-Conference

Does anyone know of any decent advocates in the Adams County, or surrounding counties? or how to go about finding one? I’m not interested in contacting the standard places listed on the school’s procedural safeguards packet that they are required to hand out. I’m looking for an advocate who is really there for the child, not one who will just take the school’s side.