Backroads

I am aware there is a lot of potential issues when it comes to mentioning other students on an IEP, even without name, but I feel this is something that could be put into an IEP. Working with a trusty lab partner seems reasonable enough.

That said, I'm useless on advice on how to word it.

You obviously can't select a student by name. Even "non-distracting, relatively good student" is vague (and I realize that's likely you tossing ideas out onto an anonymous forum rather than the IEP language you want). I've even heard stories where there were simply no students in the class that were suitable for the task. 

A lot of the phrases I'm thinking of are so vague they'd be hard to implement.

That said, partner work is a pretty run-of-the-mill classroom strategy, as is partnering up strong students with weaker ones. I think it's worth approaching the IEP work with an expectation of a lab partner. 

I think your best bet is to consult with the IEP team to see what this would mean for the student. I think a lot of the pros and cons have been addressed here, now it's time to see what the actual outlook for the student would be. They also might be able to come up with some alternatives. 

I like the above. 

I once wrote a request for a speech evaluation in pencil on the back of my kid's reading test (the teacher had been reading with her and was the one to think "this might be more than a cute kid speech quirk" and left a note on said test.

But if they're being weird a more formal letter should be better.

Did they send you in writing their case for not evaluating? 

1 hour ago, Carolyn Rowlett said:

Having said all that, I agree with Emily that retakes can be more about the score than content mastery, so make sure that is what you stress and have data for.  It might help if the accommodation was more specific - "someone will go over the missed items on the test with student to explain why answers were wrong before the retake" - or something more eloquent that what I just came up with. 

It's a good accommodation. I saw one that allowed for a review mini group/1:1 before the retake, and I thought that addressed the point of learning the material.

On 8/24/2023 at 8:22 AM, Lisa Lightner said:

I understand that many feel this way. However, this assumes that nothing is gained by the "peer tutor." Which is not the case, according to data. Everyone benefits from this, based on research done. Not just the disabled kiddos.

I agree it's a good teaching strategy with benefits, but that's also different from Billy being the official student helper for someone else's IEP.

I see where there is potential conflict. For example, what does extra time to complete and submit assignments mean when the teacher only has due dates at the end of grading periods? But that's also where I see it needs to be less about meeting certain bullet points and more about your child's ultimate needs. They have the whole grading period, which is as flexible as it gets. That meets the need for that time and flexibility, does it matter if the rest of the class has it? 

So, yeah, as long as the need is met, I don't think it should matter if it's an official accommodation or how the classroom simply runs. 

Any chance the doctors your daughter has already been working with have any connection to the school district? They might be able to start the conversation for your family.

Otherwise, the simplest thing to do is write a letter requesting evaluation. I'm sure the data and doctor's info already had will be useful to this. Remember, the letter doesn't even have to be particularly thorough.  They are required to respond, but as has been said, likely the school district is bare bones right now and usually the request timeline is "business days" anyway, so I wouldn't bat an eye about needing to wait until school has started, because that's when they'll actually have people to handle it and will properly be in business. 

Well, I don't think anyone should or even could go as far as putting some random kid by name in the IEP as student helper. The duty of the IEP is on the LEA, not fellow students. They're there for their own learning. I myself would be furious to find my kid doing the teacher's job. 

That said, as long as it doesn't put undo pressure on any kid to help out, I think it's fine to include verbage such as "student helper when appropriate" or something similar, as long as it's using the classroom as a whole to help the student: placing the student near good examples, including teaching methods such as partner work (without making permanent partners, of course). 

If I'm reading this right, it seems OP's daughter doesn't have anyone to consistently watch her during those recess periods no matter what the option is. Depending on how many recess periods there are a day, that's a lot of balancing and juggling of where to send Kid each day, and OP mentioned that recess is the teachers' duty-free breaktime, so it would be unfair and likely illegal to request a teacher on break just handle her. 

I don't know if I'm crazy about using it as extra tutor time, either, unless the student is really fighting for it herself. It sounds like she needs a consistent place and person to take a quiet break with. 

A few ideas that may or may not be feasible:

1. Teacher's helper or office assistant. This will take a lot of pre-planning to be consistent and not just make extra work for all the teachers, but if organized well could be useful and fun.

2. Arrange the staff so there is someone to be with her during recess breaks (without interrupting the duty-free break times) so she can have a consistent supervisor. They could sit in the library with her, plan quiet activities, etc.

3. A modification to what recess looks like at the school, which might help many other students. Perhaps another recess aide could be hired to supervise kids in an official recess-alternate spot (library, quiet area, etc). Yes, might require staff rearrangement and extra hiring, but could be well worth it for a school-wide, long-term change.

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?

On 5/24/2023 at 3:44 PM, EmilyM said:

New question: does the family have any wiggle room if they're getting slammed with "you didn't send him to school"?

I'm curious if you got any follow-up on this. 

I don't think the family has much defense if the schools truly didn't see the student enough to observe and suspect a disability and it was the family's fault the student wasn't attending. 

And I am aware that a disability could result in school refusal and it's sad  no one thought of that in time. I think many families just don't know what they don't know. 

I'm glad they're at least trying adult education. They may be able to get help through them.

In my area it's fairly common, even the norm, to have ICR placements scattered over the district at some but not all schools. Even if it's unreasonable for them to uproot their whole program, could you request for a 1:1 aide for a classroom in your home school?

This feels like one of those "it's just on the paperwork" situations. I can't think of a reason to not sign it. 

1 hour ago, JSD24 said:

In my state, I believe there is a 2 week wait for homebound services to start.  There is also a shortage of teachers willing to do this as they do it after school.  Some schools offer cyber instruction in cases like this so don't be surprised if this is their solution.  (It tends to be a max of 10 hours/week with a teacher coming to your home.)  Cyber tends to be more hours.  I'm not sure how they can accommodate sp ed instruction since the teacher would need to be sp ed certified.

This is an excellent point, though it may depend on the type of services. Anything academic probably would be pushed for online, but if the kid is receiving other services (physical therapy, etc) that may be handled differently. I could see them contracting with someone else to handle it until school is out.

I don't think it's a matter of it being anyone's fault whether or not homebound happens. It should mostly be about the needs at the time. If a doctor says that the bone needs to mend at home, that should be easy enough for services to happen at home.

I admire a nice suit on anyone, but these days, school culture dependent, of course, I think t-shirt and jeans would certainly be good enough for your attire.

I had an administrator make a comment once that has stuck with me through the years: Good jeans and a nice top tend to look far more professional than your average khakis and polo of typical business casual attire.

So he your son registered with the local school district or is he still marked down as homeschooling with services? If it's the former, it might be best to officially register him with the school  to get better access to the services. It's all state-dependent, but I could see heels being understandably dug in in he was only marked as homeschool but was at the school all day.

This feels like a denial of FAPE. If liability is a concern, one would think that would be a big reminder to make some sort of an arrangement. 

It's your right to decline the meeting, but my understanding is that  it's not uncommon.

Remember, it's not about you or your child, it's about the teacher seeking their own legal protection in regard to their administration.

19 hours ago, Slightlybossy said:

I have and nothing has been done

Unfortunate. Are any other parents concerned about the violence in the school? A group effort is always helpful and can make a bigger impact if you all go together.

This should be neither here nor there with the IEP as this is general school safety. I'd speak to the administration about the lack of safety.

Is this in the general ed classroom?

The district may not have bothered to place a preschool in that area, but surely there's something they could do. The district could send someone out for services from its main office, or your child could be bussed (or compensated for transportation) to another school with a preschool. Like Jenna said, there's a good chance they might contract with county services in these situations. I understand a rural school not having the resources to keep up a regular preschool, but that doesn't mean IEP services can't be provided.

Your intent and general goal is correct, but you'd have to be very careful on how you ask for this. Odds are, the school is legally required to send the truancy letter and simply don't have the power to not send it. An IEP note on this simply may not be legal in your state. 

Would it be possible to ask to change your daughter's placement? Is there a virtual option or a homebound option that could be implemented part-time as needed?