Carolyn Rowlett

It would depend on the context in which you are using the term "learning boundary." I certainly would not use it when you are discussing a learning disability for purposes of an IEP or a 504 Plan, since "learning disability" and "disability" are the terms used in the IDEA and 504 laws and regs. If a parent is just emailing a teacher asking for help, maybe...? I'm one of those who doesn't like to stray too far from legal terms when you're dealing with a school district.

Let me preface this with the fact that autism is not one of my areas of expertise. So perhaps others will respond, as well. But having said that, you can ask for anything in the IEP that you feel is necessitated by his disability and is affecting his access to an education. I would think that since he is already in a self-contained environment that the school would be receptive, especially since you are covering the cost. It might depend on how his educational instruction could be handled if he only attended half days. But it would be worth a discussion, in my opinion. If the school district is not receptive to this, you may need to get data showing a need. You don't state where you are at in the IEP process, so I don't know if that would mean requesting a school evaluation/FBA or an Independent Educational Evaluation/FBA.

You need to get on your state department of education's website and see if they have a list of when Prior Written Notices are required (some do). If you can't find one, call the compliance section of special education and ask if a Prior Written Notice would be required in this instance. If yes, get the name of the compliance officer you spoke with, ask if there if is a policy or guideline that you could print out/see, and forward both to the director of special education.

You need to list on your parent concerns "failure to respond to communication from parent." Call your state department of education and ask what you can do when the school is refusing to communicate with you. The fact that they won't tell you who was on the team that developed the initial IEP without you and without sending a meeting notification to you is a GREAT example to tell the state, since this is COMPLETELY unacceptable. As far as your concern about not signing the IEP, since this IS an initial IEP (if I'm reading your post correctly), you probably (check with your state) have to sign it in order for your student to receive services. I understand that services at this point at the middle school level are meaningless, but from a practical standpoint, I would sign it and list all the things you disagree with on the signature page or reference an attached page. The IEP can ALWAYS be changed when the high school team is put in place. If you really don's want to sign, call the state and ask what the consequence will be. I would even tell them that the school district told their state facilitator that there would be "dire consequences" and you would like to know what that means. *See Lisa's post below regarding signing the IEP. I didn't read through all of it, so I'm not sure if she addresses initial IEP's. Are any of the "administrators" the director of special education? If not, I think it's time to get him/her involved. Start copying them on all your correspondence AND forward them all correspondence to which you have not received a response. Also, to make sure you hit the ground running in high school, ask the director who you need to contact to schedule a meeting with the high school IEP team and when can that occur - the end of this school year, the beginning of next school year? Your problem may be a "building" problem - that is, the middle school is just trying to "wait it out" until the student goes to high school. You might have better luck with the high school IEP team. I would still suggest, as I did in an earlier post, to request an IEE so that you can gather more recent data over the summer in preparation to discuss the IEP for the high school years. It also gives you an excuse, if you need one, to schedule a meeting with the high school team. https://adayinourshoes.com/sign-the-iep/

You could still ask that the private evaluation you have already scheduled be an IEE and have the school pay for it, or get reimbursed if you pre-paid. I think you need to add a sensory evaluation IEE. It doesn't sound like what the OT person did covers all his potential sensory issues. You need to ask the OT person to put EVERYTHING in her report. Telling you verbally is ridiculous. I don't have any expertise in the area of asking for advancement in grade or gifted services. My best advice would be to look at your state department of education's website and to give them a call to find out more.

A couple of suggestions. 1. Ask what the role is of each administrator. What do they bring to the table in terms of knowledge of the child? Only one administrator is required (if even that) for purposes of fulfilling the LEA role. If they don't bring any additional information to the meeting, ask that the meeting be held without them if scheduled on a time they can't make it. 2. It's not true that high school IEP team members cannot be invited to a meeting held at the end of middle school. In fact, they SHOULD be invited. Unfortunately, a lot of times school districts don't know who their staff is going to be in all positions until right before the start of the new school year. But you could at least ask that the current case manager, special education teacher, principal or vice principal, etc., in the high school attend. 3. You could file a state complaint, because you are exactly correct - it is the school district's fault that the clock is running out. The "consequence" (out of compliance) is on their end. But I'm not sure if a state complaint gets you anywhere in this situation other than upsetting the school district. It might be used as leverage to get compensatory services over the summer due to all their delays. 4. Just to avoid the argument that "you declined special education services," I agree with JSD24 that you should probably sign some version of the IEP. As JSD24 suggested, try to get as much of what you want in there, but know that you can always add a statement after your signature that you agree with the exception of "x, y, and z." 5. I also like JSD24's suggestion of holding the IEP meeting in the summer by excusing the teachers, if a date cannot be agreed upon before then. 6. Lastly and most importantly (IMO), you are correct that the data is going to be stale by the time high school starts, but since the school evaluation was done in November, they can refuse to do another one until next November. My suggestion would be to request an IEE. It can be done over the summer and you can get an IEP meeting on the calendar for the beginning of the school year to go over the results, make changes to the IEP, and have all high school team members in attendance. Remember, you don't have to give a reason for your disagreement with the school district's evaluation to get an IEE - just a statement that you do disagree. But in any event, I think a nine month old (by the time high school starts) evaluation with summer regression is a good reason.

I also suggest in these middle and high school situations that the parent schedule an informal meeting or phone call with each teacher just to make sure they understand and are aware of the accommodations. And when he receives anything less than a C in class, make sure you understand the reason. If you don't, reach out to the teacher and ask. If the reason is something that can be tweaked in the IEP, then call a meeting or ask for a non-meeting amendment to the IEP document.

Hi! Thanks for reaching out. The first time dealing with an IEP can be very overwhelming. I'll address your questions in order. I would suggest showing cooperation with their system by answering all the questions. But I really like your idea of answering the last one with "please see attached parent concerns letter." You can kill two birds with one stone that way! The school has an obligation to test in all areas of "suspected disability." So it's not just up to you to request IQ testing. If the school had concerns in that area, they should have included it in their evaluation. Besides, when your IQ testing comes back, if the school doesn't want to accept that testing, they can do their own at that time. Side note: Did you try to have the autism and IQ testing you have scheduled for him paid for by the school by requesting an Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE)? If you aren't aware of this procedure, feel free to reach back out. Sometimes parents prefer to get their own evaluation, and that's fine; I just like to make sure they are aware of the IEE option. Another side note: I don't know what the timing of your IEP meeting is, but remember that after your outside evaluation results come in, you are entitled to ANOTHER meeting. You will need to send the results to the school and request a meeting to go over them. These new results can change whatever was previously decided upon in the original IEP meeting. Your paragraph regarding self-advocacy raises another question: What kind of testing did they do in the area of sensory issues, if any? If that is an area of suspected disability, it should have been evaluated. If it wasn't, ask for it and if the school declines, ask for an IEE in this area. With respect to writing a concern about self-advocacy, you can basically state what you stated in this paragraph. You could also add examples of what he does or doesn't do and what may trigger him. I would suggest reaching out to the general education teacher to see if he/she has any examples. With respect to grade placement, just to be clear, if I'm reading your post correctly he is currently in Kindergarten and you are worried about the school retaining him? That is something done very rarely these days and must have the data to support it. In other words, the school will have to provide the reasons and data for retention - you don't have to provide the data that he should be allowed to advance. Some states even have laws/policies/guidelines on retention, so you might check your state department of education's website. Side note: the potential for "gifted" status should automatically come up on the school's radar based on the results of standardized testing. However, if you suspect he is gifted, you might want to reach out to the school and ask about their procedures - when do they determine this, how, etc. Schools like to downplay behavior when they don't want to deal with it. You should address it in your letter, as you should address everything for which you have concerns. This doesn't mean that the school will act on all your concerns, but you have started a paper trail. To answer your specific question, you don't need a diagnosis to receive specialized instruction or accommodations. However, you DO have to show a need for it. The behavior has to impact his ability to access the general education curriculum. Unfortunately, since you are not in school with him to witness his behavior, you have to rely on the school staff to document it and sometimes they don't want to. The good news is that you are being a pro-active parent very early on in the process. Keep your eye on the situation and know what your rights are. Reach out to this site anytime you are unsure.

There is definitely more that can be done besides the one accommodation you listed (stop after one hour if struggling). And this isn't even a good accommodation because it does not help her access the general education setting in any way. Usually accommodations like this are written "after mastery, the student can have shortened assignments." This just lets her stop without ensuring that she has learned the material. It sounds like she need specialized instruction. Has she been assessed in the area of academics? If not, have you asked for an evaluation in this area? The standardized testing and grades should be enough to get the school to do something, but that doesn't appear to be the case. The school district can either do an evaluation or decline to; in either scenario, that allows you to then ask for an Independent Educational Evaluation (unless, of course, the school gives your daughter what she is entitled to after their evaluation). An IEE should set forth the type of specialized instruction needed and suggested accommodations. Ask for the evaluation ASAP and make sure the consent form is sent to you ASAP, because the date you sign consent is the date that starts the 60 time frame. Unfortunately, in most states this is 60 SCHOOL days, so you are already looking at next fall before they have to do anything. In the meantime, use the executive function "concerns" (do you have any data on this area? do you need to ask for an evaluation in this area?) to get as many accommodations in for math that you can - multi-step problems broken down or even written out for her, calculator, etc. Check out Lisa's website for suggested accommodations for executive functioning and see which ones might work for her struggles with math.

There are two requirements for a 504 Plan. The child must have a disability and that disability must impact the ability to receive an education in the general education setting. So you would need to track anytime the "triggering activities" affect the child's ability to learn. Reach out to the general education teacher on a weekly basis and ask if there were any "incidents" with the student in the past week (explain what you see at home and that you're worried it might be happening at school). Also, since you are specifically asking about how the triggering activities affect him at home, YOU need to track these incidents, why they occurred, and what impact they had on the child's education. For instance, was he unable to do homework assignments? This would be an impact on his/her ability to receive an education.

Wow. Small school district? You may have to get the state involved so it can educate her. I like your suggestion!!

That's fine. But I would still insist on having the eligibility determination within the required timeframe. If for some reason the school district denies eligibility, you would be entitled to another meeting when the new test results come in. I'm confused as to how the extra testing is "not looking for ED," when that's the area of testing that the school wants?

The school had their chance to do testing in all areas of suspected disability, and they decided not to. If they didn't suspect ED then, why are they now? What has changed? Nothing. I would not consent to the ED testing. The worst that can happen is they take you to mediation or due process, and it's ordered that they can test in this area. In the meantime, they have to proceed with what they have, which is a psychiatric diagnosis and and IEE concluding ASD. An eligibility determination must be held within 60 days of your consent to the evaluation (in this case, the IEE). Hold them to that. Don't allow them to put this off because now they're wanting to do further testing. It sounds like you have a pretty strong case for eligibility in the category of autism.

I assume you are in Texas, since you're using the acronym ARD? If so (or for whatever state you are in), you might want to go to your state department of education's website and look under "special education" for rules, regulations, and policies regarding the timing of annual ARD's. There might even be a parent handbook/guide for special education. Having said that, from a general, non-state specific standpoint, I don't see the need for this. At least not another annual meeting. Sometimes school districts (and parents) like to have a meeting before the end of the school year to discuss transition to the next grade, especially if the student is transferring to a new building (middle school, high school), but it doesn't sound like this is what they're doing.

I didn't find anything specific in Illinois. And the IDEA just says "withing a reasonable time."

That is unusual. I'm wondering if the school district (and others in your state) have had success before mediators and hearing officers? You might call their bluff with respect to the mediation, since due process means you would probably need to hire an attorney. I don't know the process in your state, but usually you are given a list of mediators to choose from. Vet them carefully. But first, you might try filing a state complaint (or even just making an informal call to the state compliance department) stating your right to "participate meaningfully" in the IEP process is being thwarted. I would also see if your state offers facilitated IEP meetings. That would be helpful, as the facilitator ensures that everyone can speak.

I am struggling a bit to give advice on this matter without seeing the documents. From what you are sharing, the accommodation addresses the ability to submit another assignment when the grade received on the original work was less than 70%. It does not address late assignments. So the school district may be correct that this accommodation does not apply. Unless your argument is that a late assignment results in 0%, and therefore another assignment should be permitted? I think for clarity in the future, I would add an accommodation for late assignments/extended time to complete and how grading of late assignments will be handled. If the student's disability (ADHD?) warrants this accommodation. As far as this current situation, I think you are doing all that you can do by contacting administration and the DOE. Make sure "administrators" included the Director of Special Education. Also, send follow up emails every few days after no response is received.

In my opinion, you would be entitled to request an extension, since IEP meetings must be held at "mutually convenient dates and mutually convenient times" according to the IDEA. You have a very valid reason for asking for an extension - a medical condition that affects your ability to "participate meaningfully" in the meeting. Yes, the school district may be considered to be out of compliance, but the state DOA will not likely hold them accountable since the parent requested an extension. Instead of sending a letter to the LEA (who may or may not understand all the nuances of special education law), I would send a letter/email to the director of special education - explaining the situation and providing some meeting dates that you are available for the annual review.

Wow. This is so sad. And so wrong. Thank you for trying to help these families. I agree with JSD24. The state needs to get involved. I would suggest that you make an informal call to the state explaining the situation and asking for their advice concurrent with the families writing a complaint letter. And yes, a paper trail in this situation is critical. After any phone conversations, follow up with an email setting forth the conversation. Put all parent concerns in an email that is sent prior to any IEP meeting. Ask for a Prior Written Notice for any parent concern that is denied during an IEP meeting. Record meetings if New York is a one party state, or at a minimum follow up all IEP meetings with an email outlining what occurred, what was agreed to, and what was refused. Other observations: 1. As JSD24 pointed out, budget issues are not an excuse to not provide FAPE. 2. What is the "supplemental direct reading instruction?" Do some of these students need a multi-sensory, structured literacy due to dyslexia or dyslexic tendencies? 3. An 8th grader who is at a third grade level for reading (and 5th grade for math) needs way more than a co-taught class to catch up. 4. I would have any family who is not satisfied request an IEE, which will hopefully provide recommendations that the school will at least have to consider. And will hopefully get the school district's attention. 5. What are the state requirements and is this district following them? For instance, is RTI or MTSS required for students who are behind? If so, is the school district tracking progress and providing reports to the parents? If not, this needs to be included in the state complaint letters.

I may have lost track of whether or not the second meeting has taken place yet, but either way, you need to start requesting that the meetings include members of the high school team (sometimes personal is not known until right before school starts, but they can at least invite those who would be part of the team if the next school year started tomorrow). If you've already had the second meeting, request another meeting so that these future team members can be included. It's nothing official in the IDEA, but these meetings are usually referred to as "transition meetings" (transitioning from elementary to junior high, junior high to high school, etc.). It is a very common and reasonable request to make before your child enters high school. If the junior high team refuses, make sure you reach out to the high school so that a meeting can be set up with your child's new IEP team as soon as possible after the school year starts. Maybe even try to get it on their calendar now.

Parent input can be submitted at ANY time.

Compensatory services are a complicated issue (at least to me!). And it's particularly hard to give advice in this area without seeing all the documentation. But I'll give it a shot! First, I would not give up yet on trying to get some compensatory services for his senior year. Have you asked? Have they offered anything? You shouldn't be the one who has to think up something that might work - the school district should be doing that. If they aren't, ask for an Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE) - SOON - since we are nearing the end of the school year. The IEE will hopefully have some recommendations for what can be done for his EF deficits. Also keep in mind that compensatory services can be provided over the summer months (and not just during the time the regular summer school is in session). This should be pursued if he far behind being ready for post-secondary education. They can also be offered in after school sessions next school year. Second, there is the option of having your son not graduate. (He would still be entitled to walk during graduation with his classmates - the diploma they hand him would be "fake." If you want this option, just make sure he does NOT accept a regular diploma.) If a special education student does not graduate, they can receive services until they are 21. Although this is often not a palatable option for parents or students, keep in mind there are still college courses he could take without a diploma and his "status" would likely never be known to her peers. Third, if compensatory services are not offered (see second paragraph above), you could file for due process. At that point, your attorney could advise you on the options you have in terms of monetary recovery, but this could be difficult under the IDEA. You could speak with a civil litigation attorney about pursuing monetary damages under a tort claim, but that's beyond our scope here. Good luck!

Agree with JSD24. It is very state specific, so I would get a copy of your state's special education policies, parents' guide, etc., and see what the procedure is for in-state transfers. Usually, the new school district has to either accept the evaluation and IEP from the previous school district and therefore implement the IEP as is, OR the new school district can reject it, in which case it would do it's own evaluation and determine eligibility or draft a new IEP. If the latter, the new school district has to keep the "old" IEP in place and implement until they either exit the student from special education (not likely in this scenario) or develop a new IEP document. I think what you are doing is the correct approach. If I were you, I would prefer an IEP that is as specific as possible before a transfer occurs. I would also reach out to the new school for a meeting to discuss issues like tardiness and absences and how they are related to her disabilities, so you can know upfront how they will handle this rather than being blindsided when an incident actually occurs.

It's neither a placement or a right - it's whether or not it's the least restrictive environment in order for your son to receive FAPE. You may need an outside evaluator to weigh in on the traumatic and educational impact moving school's would have on your son. Without this, the school may be able to fall back on its special permission policy and deny his attendance at that school.

They can't, since this is a re-evaluation and not an initial evaluation. The only basis for denying one would be that it has not been one year since the last evaluation. I would file a state complaint for this very obvious and clear-cut procedural violation.