Carolyn Rowlett

Does the student at least have a 504? To give her some accommodations for her attention issues, anxiety, and depression? You might want to pursue this path WHILE you are fighting the IEP battle, just to get something in place. Or is the school saying she doesn't have a disability because she doesn't have a diagnosis of ADHD or anxiety? If so, request an IEE so that (hopefully) you can get some diagnoses on the record and they have to provide a 504. Then when the IEP is finally implemented, the accommodations can switch over to that document. They can DEFINITELY do something to support her with turning in homework. It is untrue that the school doesn't have to address the school avoidance issue. They have to look for the cause of the school avoidance and see what supports can be put in place to help the situation. Otherwise, her missing so much school results in them not providing FAPE. Request a Functional Behavioral Assessment (FBA). If they refuse, ask for an IEE. What does their "reading at grade level" mean? Did they look at accuracy, fluency, AND comprehension? She may be able to read, but if she is not reading fast enough and/or not understanding/retaining what she is reading, that might be why she is "reluctant" to read. If the school eval didn't dig deep enough, again, ask for an IEE. Unfortunately, is sounds like your state's DOE will be no help, and I'm sure the school district knows that. Any legal counsel who says getting parent input is "inefficient" is ignorant regarding the IDEA.

I don't believe POA is addressed in the IDEA, so you would need to check your state's laws on this. Some states might require the POE come from a judge, others will not. So check your department of education's website. Your DOE might even have a boilerplate POA for education. If you can't find anything on the website, give them a call about this issue. Below is a great post on Lisa's website explaining educational surrogates. https://adayinourshoes.com/become-iep-educational-surrogatea-disabled-child-needs/

I agree with JSD24 - the school has wide latitude in who they bring. You can question it, however. Four administrators does seem like overkill. Since they don't know your child or the disability, the only reason for them there is to be the person that can commit school resources (the LEA). But you don't need FOUR people for that role. Depending on how "brave" you are, you could reply to the meeting invitation asking for the role each participant will be playing. If four are for the exact same role, you could ask why this is needed. I would also advise reaching out to an advocate agency (your state department of education could help with this) so you can bring someone else for your "team." Or you could bring another relative, family friend, coach, etc., who knows your child and has a "strong" personality. Finally, I would look into whether your state offers facilitated IEP meetings. If so, I would definitely ask for one in this case. Neutral facilitators make sure that the parents are not intimidated and that all participants are equally heard. Sounds like you may need someone to ensure a level playing field. It also tends to make sure everyone shows up on time - one of your other issues.

When a PWN is required is sometimes state specific. So you might check your state department of education's website for a list of when they require PWN's (or just call). It is possible that they don't need to send you one until the change is put into the IEP document. A copy of the minutes should protect you from them withdrawing their proposals. But there are other things you could do. You could send an email outlining the proposals made and agreed to at the meeting in the guise of "hey, I just wanted to confirm what we spoke about on_____ since we're coming up on the annual meeting." You could also ask for a PWN showing the agreed to proposals (the worst they can do is say they don't have to do this).

I have a few suggestions, and I apologize in advance if I have forgotten or missed some of the facts in this scenario. If you have not requested an Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE), you need to do so now. Request it in the area of academics (specifically reading and written expression). I have yet to see an outside evaluator who recognizes dyslexia (or even just dyslexia "tendencies") not put an accommodation for note-taking in their recommendations. That is what you need. (Of course, by law, the school only has to "consider" outside evaluations, but it is still important to get this in writing from an expert.) The above, of course, will take longer than 10 days. In the meantime, sign the IEP with your disagreement regarding note-taking set forth on the signature page. Also, make sure the Prior Written Notice lists the school's refusal to make that accommodation. Additionally, make sure there is an accommodation regarding her spending no more than 1 1/2 times on homework than her non-disabled peers. This is a very common accommodation for dyslexia. That would (hopefully) take care of the problem of her having to spend so much time at home on homework, finding sources for her notes, etc. Again, this is something that outside evaluators almost always include in their accommodation recommendations for dyslexia. Finally, depending on how "nuclear" you want to go, I would start using words like "discrimination based on my child's disability." You child has a right to equal access to the general curriculum, and she cannot access this on an equal footing without the accommodation of note-taking. They don't make children in wheelchairs crawl to their classes, do they, in order to receive an education? No - they give them the accommodation of a wheelchair, ramps, etc. Note-taking is the accommodation your child needs to access the general curriculum. If all else fails, file a complaint with the Office of Civil Rights. School districts hate dealing with those and might back down then. You may need the help of an advocate. If you can't afford one, see if your state department of education has any agencies it recommends for advocacy help. Most do. You could even have an informal discussion with your state's department of education to see if they have any recommendations on what to do in your situation with the school district.

I just need a few points of clarification. If I'm reading your post correctly, you are now on a second draft of the IEP document and are waiting on a follow up meeting because the second draft did not contain any of your parent concerns? And in the meantime, the IEP is not being implemented? Here are my suggestions: 1) Make sure the parent concerns are distributed via email to all team members before the meeting - don't just bring a written copy to the meeting (it sounds like you did this after the second meeting). 2) During the meeting, make sure each of your parent concerns are addressed AT the meeting and that a consensus is reached one way or the other on each item BEFORE you leave the meeting. For each parent concern that is refused, ask that the refusal be noted in the Prior Written Notice. Also ask that your parent concerns be copied and pasted into the IEP document. If this is refused, again, ask that this refusal be stated in the PWN. 3) Is the executive skills class part of special education? If so, then the school would be correct that the child cannot attend until you give consent for special education services. 4) You can sign an IEP agreeing IN PART. List on the signature page everything you disagree with and every parent concern that was refused. Then sign that you agree to move forward with the IEP with these exceptions. That way the services you agree to (executive skills class) can be implemented. 5) I would contact your state department of education and ask what your recourse is for a school district refusing to take parent concerns into consideration. They may suggest filing a state complaint.

That's going to depend on many factors. If he/she has a diagnosis of a disability and the school knows about it, suspects it, or should have known, then this could be discrimination. A child with a disability cannot be excluded from activities in which his/her peers are participating. They may not have any supports in place (I'm assuming the child also does not have a 504 Plan) yet, but options could be explored: Could the parent go with the child on the field trip? A school staff member? (However, this would depend on the behavior and whether the school has someone trained to deal with the specific behavioral issues.) It is also going to depend on the severity of the behavioral issues - is it something that could cause harm to the child or others on the trip if he/she participates? Not necessarily a deal breaker if supports could be put in place, but something that would be relevant. If there is no data or evaluation yet that shows a disability, it will be harder to argue inclusion because the school will just point to the instances of "bad" behavior.

Agree with Jenna - we need to know if the reevaluation looked at social emotional and behavioral skills and do these areas show he is doing great? Also agree that you might want to request an FBA. To answer your question, yes, an IEP can have only behavioral goals.

Getting compensatory services is tricky, and it will be hard to give a definite answer without seeing all your documentation. In order to receive compensatory services you will need to show that the school district failed to provide a free appropriate public education by refusing (after you reached out to them) to conduct assessments in all areas of suspected disability. You would also need to show that your daughter did not make sufficient progress with the "push in" support (ask for any progress monitoring the school did during this time, as well as any and all standardized district and state assessments, to show lack of growth). Send the district an email with the timeline of your requests, what the school failed to do in response to those requests, and that the push in services did not work yet no alternative instruction was offered. And ask for compensatory services. You will most likely be denied, at which point I would file a state complaint alleging "child find" and "failure to provide FAPE" procedural errors. Side note regarding math goals and instruction in the IEP: When a student is two years behind in math, it is very difficult for them to participate in the gen ed classroom math because they don't have the foundation and skills needed. If they are kept in the gen ed classroom, it is like taking two separate math classes - the one in gen ed (which is extremely difficult for them, for the reasons stated above) and the one in the special education setting. They should be spending a minimal amount of time in the gen ed class and the majority of math instruction should be in the spec ed room. Additionally, classroom work and expectations should be modified based on the math level she is currently on. In other words, she should not be expected to do what her classmates are doing in math class.

This depends a bit on when the school district last evaluated your daughter. It also depends on whether your school has ever evaluated her for reading. (It's hard to tell from your post, since you state they found her eligible under specific learning disability - math and written expression. Did they evaluate her in reading and deny eligibility in that category?) Just a side note: schools do not give diagnoses. So even if you had asked for one, you wouldn't have received a diagnosis - even if your daughter is dyslexic. But you don't need a diagnosis to receive special education services. In any event, I would request an IEE at public expense in all areas you disagree with the school's evaluation. If you're ok with their evaluation in written expression and math - again, you don't need a diagnosis of dyscalculia - and you believe the services in those areas are appropriate, you might not need an IEE in those areas. But if you're going to ask for one in reading, I would go ahead and request that math and written expression be evaluated, as well. Basically, an evaluation in the area of academics. My suggested wording would be as follows: I would like to request an Independent Educational Evaluation at public expense in the area of academics, specifically reading, mathematics, and written expression. Some things to watch out for and how to respond: 1) The school may ask for the reasons why you disagree with their evaluation. By law, you do NOT have to give them any reasons. 2) If the school has never evaluated her in reading, they will have the right to do so in addition (or maybe even prior) to the IEE. 3) If it has been more than a year since the school has evaluated her in any of these areas, they will have the right to evaluate her in addition (and maybe even prior) to the IEE.

It is a little difficult to answer your question without actually seeing your form, but I'll give it a try! It might depend on who the "someone" is from whom you were receiving help (if it is someone above you in the "chain of command," you need to tread more lightly), but I would respond/follow up with them asking if there are any written school district or state policies that would assist you with the finer art of drafting an IEP. (A written policy would take out the "tradition" variable.) However, there likely is no school district policy. Besides asking the "someone" for state policies, I would suggest you go to the state department of education (special education division) website on your own and look up their policies on IEP's. It might be in a State Plan, FAQ's, or even a handbook for parents. Another practical suggestion is to ask your special education director to look over a few of your IEP drafts since you are new to this area and want to make sure you are doing it correctly. To answer your question "outside of the district," and I could be wrong, but to my knowledge the IDEA does not specify where the parent concerns have to go in the IEP document. Sometimes they are even attached to the end of the IEP. They are appropriate for both Present Levels and Parent Concerns (and Parent Concerns may be considered a subpart of the Present Levels section). If your form has a parent concerns section, I would suggest putting them there at a minimum. But I see nothing wrong with repeating them under "the IEP section for reading, writing, math, etc." (I'm making the assumption that these section you refer to are under Present Levels.) Schools may prefer that those sections only list objective data, evaluations, etc., which is fine - as long as the parent concerns are listed somewhere. However, if they are allowing subjective comments from teachers under the reading section, for example, there is no reason why they should not also allow parent comments in that section. Hope this helps.

That's a tough one. Depends on if the team thinks that skill is needed and wants to develop that skill. Because in that scenario, he could take more time than trying to take notes from a board or lecture (where he definitely can't focus on both writing and content being presented). But then you run into not wanting him to spend an exorbitant amount of time on homework. Maybe see if he can just highlight text pages? Also, using speech-to-text for the notes would be an option so he doesn't have to write them out.

I have to make this a quick answer because going out of town. I wouldn't worry too much if it is only the gen ed teacher pushing for this. If it's the entire IEP team, they do have a responsibility by law to place the child in the least restrictive environment, so they are always leery of keeping a child in a non-inclusive environment. However, if that's what is needed, that's what they have to do. They can't change placement without your permission, so you would receive a notice of meeting if the team was contemplating this more. If a meeting is held, come armed with all evaluations (school and outside) that show he should remain where he is. If the school district disagrees, ask for an evaluation (if a year has passed since the last one). If you disagree with the results of their evaluation, ask for an Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE), which will hopefully point out the flaws with moving your student to a gen ed environment. Worst case scenario, file for due process which invokes "stay put" and the district has to keep your child where he is until due process is complete. As far as accommodations for EF deficits, I don't have time to look it up right now, but Lisa's website has many.

I would file a state complaint that the school district is excluding you from meetings regarding the implementation of a behavioral plan even when you ask to be a part of the meeting.

I'm seen (and drafted) many of these accommodations. It depends somewhat on what you are wanting because you can ask for fill-in-the-blank notes where the student just writes in key words so he/she doesn't look different from the rest of the class taking notes AND it helps them pay attention to the material being presented. But here is my suggested wording for a "generic" provision of notes: Student will be provided with notes from all material presented by teachers whether originally given in written form (i.e., on a white board) or verbally (i.e., during a lecture). Another accommodation you could ask for would be allowing the student to tape record class lectures.

Just to clarify, you are currently in a private pre-school and it is this same private pre-school that says there are no openings in an inclusive classroom for the next school year? If they are saying this to all students who are asking for a place in the inclusive classroom, I'm not sure there is anything you can do about that given it's a private school. But this is SO not my area of expertise, so if anyone else has ideas, please share.

Your first step would be to request an evaluation (in writing - email is fine). Ask that all areas be evaluated in which you and teachers - reach out to them, as well - have concerns. I would suggest communication skills/speech, social/emotional, general intelligence, adaptive behavior, and academic. You will receive a consent form with a checklist. If something isn't checked that you think should be evaluated, ask for it to be checked. School districts have 60 days from receiving the consent form (so turn this is quickly) to put an IEP in place, IF found eligible. It's 60 SCHOOL days, so it might be a little after the start of the next school year before it's implemented. I would include in my request for an evaluation the reasons why you are asking for one - attach outside evaluations showing all her diagnoses, as well as specific instances that have occurred at school. What the school is looking for is proof that the disabilities are affecting her access to the general curriculum. For instance, if she's not paying attention in class due to her ADHD, that means she is not learning. If she is not found eligible by the school district's evaluation, request an Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE). This is a third party provider that evaluates your child at no cost to you. The school has to honor this request or else take you to court (so 99% of the time they agree to the IEE). Once that is complete, request another eligibility meeting to go over the new evaluation and hopefully determine eligibility. There are many steps after eligibility is determined, so keep us posted on where you are in the process and what information you need. In the meantime, I would suggest going to your state department of education's website and looking for anything you can find regarding the process for special education. They might even have agencies listed that can assist you free of charge.

Have you gone to the state department of education's website? There must be a state plan for special education or parents' guide or FAQ's or something. If you can't find anything, maybe that's the question you ask - just to be pointed in the right direction so that you can understand the process better.

I'm sorry the school district is being so difficult. Make sure to get all their refusals in a PWN. Another thought is to ask for a facilitated IEP meeting. See if your state provides those. Part of the state facilitator's job is to make sure all parties participate. If nothing works, you could file a state complaint setting forth the school district's lack of compliance in allowing meaningful parent participation. See if there if a state plan or policy on the state department of education's website that you could quote.

The first thing you need to do right away is send a parent concerns email. Send it to the entire team that is listed for attendance at the second meeting (it's not necessarily a bad thing that the deputy director of spec ed is coming - he/she might know the law better and keep the "IEP Facilitator" in line so you can speak, people might not leave the meeting, etc.). I don't know in what category your son was found eligible, but make a list of all the concerns you have for him in the educational environment, including behavioral, academic, social, etc. It's best to base this on data, so look at the evaluation the school did to come up with ideas, but you can list whatever you feel is appropriate. If you disagree with the school's evaluation (for instance, it says he is at grade level for reading and you don't think he is), ask for an Independent Educational Evaluation in all areas you disagree with in the school's eval. (They will ask, but you don't have to give them a reason for why you disagree.) If there are some areas that the school did not cover in their evaluation that you think they should have, request additional testing. Think about how long you think the second meeting will take. Then reply to the Notice of Meeting (and add all attendees if they are not on the distribution list for the notice you received) and state that you request a time frame of _____ and confirmation that all participants can stay for the entire meeting and if not, to reply with a time they need to leave (if it's the OT person and OT has already been discussed, for example, you can agree to their leaving the meeting early). You might consider recording the meeting (which also keeps people "in line" and gives you documentation that you weren't allowed to fully participate). This depends on how "nuclear" you want to go with the school, because this will be off-putting to them. Make sure to look up your state's laws on recording (if it's a one party state, you don't need their permission to record). But also look at their district policy on recording - some districts do prohibit it in a policy. If you decide to record, you could either state that in your reply to the Notice of Meeting or "surprise" them at the meeting. (Some state laws and school district policies require so many advance days notice if you plan to record the meeting.) It's good that you received the second draft prior to the second meeting (I would have suggested asking for that if you hadn't). I would ask for a Prior Written Notice (PWN) on everything they refused you in the first meeting. If they reply that the second meeting is continuation of the first meeting and so all will be reflected on the PWN following the second meeting, that's fine. Just make sure you get that in an email reply and not a phone call (for documentation purposes). At the meeting, ask that your parent concerns email be copied and pasted and put into the IEP document under "Present Levels." They may refuse. If they do, ask right then that this refusal be noted on the PWN. Have your parent concerns list printed out and with you so you can check off each item as it's discussed. If an item isn't discussed, bring it up. Take your time to be sure - don't let them rush you through the meeting or the double-checking of your list. You have the right to do this. After every item they refuse, ask it to be put on the PWN. Since it sounds like in your state the IEP will go into effect after 10 days with no signature required, make sure that you receive a PWN after the meeting that lists ALL the things the school district refused to do. If it doesn't, request another PWN that does. Do EVERYTHING in writing. And you are absolutely correct - the team should be COLLABORATING on the IEP document. You as a parent, specifically, have a right under federal law (the IDEA) to have "meaningful participation." Don't let them take that away from you.

Here is what I would do: 1) Send an email to the classroom teacher asking for an estimate of how often your son elopes on a weekly basis. (Exact dates would be nice, but doubtful she kept track of this.) Also ask who she speaks to in the office when she calls them. 2) Email "the office" (whoever that might be and copy the principal) asking if they have any documentation of times the office has been called regarding your son's elopement. 3) Email the 504 coordinator and ask for a meeting. (Getting a 504 in place will be quicker than getting an IEP and through it you should be able to put some safety measures in place.) 4) Email the special education teacher and copy the principal asking for an IEP evaluation. If you do not receive a response, send again and copy the director of Special Education. 5) Put everything in writing, but it sounds like you are already doing this. If someone from the district calls you to discuss the elopement episodes, take good notes with dates and times and then send a follow-up email listing out what you were told (and anything else you discussed that is relevant - what will be done in the short-term, etc.) and that if this is an incorrect summary of the phone call to please respond with clarification.

If she's "failing every class" because she can't keep up with the reading (regardless of what grade level she reads at) due to her disability, the school HAS to put in accommodations to help her access the general curriculum. Period. It doesn't even have to say in the accommodation what it's for. So they don't HAVE to put anything in the IEP about reading. If she can't access the general education due to her disability and the school doesn't provide accommodations to help her access it, it's discrimination. Throw that word around and maybe it will get their attention. You may need to request an IEE that shows the academic impact of her ADHD (how her inability to focus on reading affects her education).

Regardless of the answer, I would request an evaluation as soon as possible to start the clock ticking. I would call DESE about the timing if student transfers (assuming she transfers in state).

At the very least they need to provide accommodations for her disabilities. Does she need a graduated start due to her disabilities? Does she need transportation other than the regular school bus? Does she need a person with whom she has established a relationship to meet her at the door? Walk her to her first class? I would request an FBA. How can the school make the argument that they have no responsibility unless they know WHY the student is having school avoidance? Also, once the "why's" are determined, then and only then can a decision be made as to what can be included in an IEP (and maybe a BIP) to help. If they refuse any of this, they are withholding FAPE due to her disabilities. No, it is absolutely not acceptable for the school district to expect families to sign an incomplete/draft IEP at the conclusion of a meeting in which they have agreed needs to be continued on another date. First, make sure your state even requires a signature on an IEP. Second, a draft should never be signed. Third, the only thing parents have to sign at a meeting is the attendance sheet and releases for any guests they have invited to the meeting. Anything else should have a 10 day time frame (check your state law). Avoid this in the future by insisting that the school district provide the parents with a draft of the IEP 5 days before the meeting (you could negotiate down to 3, which is acceptable). If they don't, say you'll have to reschedule the meeting so that the parents can time to review the draft and that this is necessary for them to be able to participate meaningfully (IDEA requirement) at the meeting.

Just because she CAN read at grade level, doesn't mean she IS reading in an efficient way to keep up with the curriculum. She may not need specialized instruction in reading, but it sounds like she does need goals on staying focused, as well as accommodations to help with her "attention challenges" (is there a diagnosis of ADHD?). For instance, would having someone read the material to her help her stay focused? Would test-to-speech or audio textbooks help? Focus on the attention disability and not the reading per se. Then develop goals and accommodations around that.