IEP services access

[Tamar]

We had a recent school evaluation recommending vision therapy. The school has said the only place they are contracted with is 29 miles away (which is often more than one hour drive each way), and wants us to go there for services weekly. That drive is not sustainable for us. There are places in our town who provide vision therapy but they don’t contract with the district due to the districts restrictive contracting verbiage. The district also isn’t making any efforts to find/ contract with a closer option.

What is the responsibility of the district to find available and usable services?

[Carolyn Rowlett]

Let's initially assume you have no choice but to go with their 29 miles away contractor.  First, the school district is responsible for transportation - not the parents.  If they have to pay for a cab or an Uber, so be it.  (Not sure how old the student is - they might also have to provide an adult to go with the student.)  Second, when are they proposing that you take the student?  Services should be provided, to the extent possible, during the school day.  But in this scenario, the student could be missing up to 3 hours of instruction time - 2 hours of travel time and 1 hour of therapy.  On the other hand, requiring the student to spend three hours of their own time attending therapy is unreasonable, as well, considering there is a viable option that doesn't require the drive time.

Which leads me to the argument that you SHOULD have another choice based on the above conundrum of either missing instruction or having to do outside of school hours, as well as the fact that one hour away is not the LRE when there are closer providers available.  Services should be provided as close to the home school as possible.  The problem will be getting the school district to agree to this short of filing for due process (which I do think you would win, but could be very cumbersome).  Here is what I suggest:

1.  Even though LRE is a substantive issue and not procedural and therefore not appropriate for a state complaint, I would still call your state department of education, special education division, and ask for their advice on this situation.

2.  Who are you dealing with at the school?  It might be time to go up the chain of command and get the special education director involved.  Maybe he/she will understand LRE better than who you have been working with and try to get the school board to contract with a local provider.  If not, send an email to the school board members and the superintendent outlining your (student need therapy, should not be forced to miss 3 hours of school) and the school district's (not providing FAPE or LRE) predicaments and asking for the simple solution of contracting with a local provider.

3.  Request a mediation on this issue.

4.  Get an attorney (there might be some agencies with the state that could do this, also) involved to write a letter and/or file for due process.

5.  If all else fails or is not doable, file for due process yourself.  The school might just back down before it even gets to due process.  But if not, speak with an advocate (again, you might be able to find some state agency that provides these free of charge) to walk you through the process and highlight the arguments you need to make.  It's just one issue, so shouldn't be too difficult.  Plus, seems like a slam dunk to me, but I'm not familiar with how ALJ's rule in California.

6.  If after all this you find yourself left with only the 29 miles away option, stick to your guns on the transportation issue - the school district must provide this OR reimburse you for mileage and time spent driving.