Carolyn Rowlett

My first question is: Did the team agree to the two accommodations during the meeting? If so, your argument should be they need to put in the accommodations that they agree to during the meeting held to develop the IEP document. My second question is: Is it possible the special education teacher just spaced off the rest of your email? Have you received the final copy of the IEP and does it not include those accommodations? You might try responding to the email with "so what about the accommodations of x and y not being included?" You may have already done this, but it would be helpful to provide some reasons why both of these accommodations are necessary. For the reading aloud, point to data that might show her accuracy is low, her fluency/rate of reading is slow, and her prosody is poor - all of which would be very embarrassing for her reading aloud. For the extended time on tests, ask teachers how often she fails to finish tests. For both accommodations, it would also be helpful if you could point to recommendations in an outside evaluation (if you have one) that list both of these accommodations. If the school continues to hold their ground on this, ask for an Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE) to hopefully get these recommendation. (The school will likely cave at this point - it wouldn't be worth them having to pay for an IEE.) Yes, the accommodations should be in the IEP document, even if the teachers are following them. For the following reasons: 1) The IEP year will extend into the next grade level, and you can't be sure what next year's teachers will do 2) You always write an IEP with the mindset that you could move - and you can't guarantee that the new district will follow this without it being in the IEP. If you receive a response that they are not going to add these accommodations, request (in an email) a PWN stating that "although the team agreed to these accommodations at the meeting, the team decided not to provide the accommodations of x and y." You probably won't get it, but you will have it documented in an email. I would also request another IEP meeting to discuss why the team decided to exclude these accommodations. At some point, it will just be easier for them to include them.

It would depend on the state. Section 504 is a federal law, like the IDEA, but unlike the IDEA, many states do not codify it in any way or provide any complaint procedures. Many just direct you to OCR. Some might provide for administrative hearings. I would check with your state department of education. Also, many school districts have written internal policies for resolving 504 complaints, a hoop you may have to jump through first.

I agree that the 504 student should probably get something different if the "chunking" is not alleviating the issue (the issue being not completing the work). But you would need to determine WHY the student is not completing the work before you can determine the appropriate additional accommodation.

I should have further explained the process to you. I'm not sure what state you are in so the process might differ in your state (I would suggest reaching out to your state department of education and see if they have something like a parent handbook to explain the special education process - many do), but here is what may happen after you make your request for an evaluation. The school will hold a meeting to go over existing data (a RED meeting - review of existing data). Then they will either grant or decline your request for an evaluation. (If they decline, so straight to asking for an IEE.) Once granted, they will have you sign a consent form. They should have the consent form ready to go at the RED meeting, but if they don't, pester them until they get it to you, because the date you sign consent is the date the timetable starts running (60 days), and you want that to start that running as soon as possible. After the results of the evaluation are in, they will schedule a meeting to go over the results with you (will probably be called an "eligibility meeting"). Ask for a copy of the results ahead of the meeting. (Your success in getting this will depend on the state you are in - some states require this by law and some don't.) Try to go over them with someone who can explain them to you - an advocate, your pediatrician, etc. If you son is found eligible at this meeting for a specific learning disability, the school will then schedule another meeting to revise the IEP and put in goals and services for this new eligibility category. If he isn't found eligible, request an IEE (in writing). By the way, you don't have to punt the goal for self-monitoring just to add additional goals. It's not an either/or situation. If he needs both, he should have both.

When was the last evaluation done in any area and in what areas? You can request an evaluation at any time (it helps to include reasons why you want an evaluation, such as the things you mention above, grades, teacher comments). You can bring it up at an IEP meeting, but you MUST request it in writing (email), so I would do that now rather than waiting for a meeting. Some things to keep in mind. If the school has done an evaluation in an area (for instance, academics), you must wait a year before requesting another one. If you don't agree with the school's evaluation (for instance, they did not find him eligible in a specific learning disability, which it sounds like they didn't, since he doesn't have any goals in that area), you can request an Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE). The school may ask, but you do not have to give a reason for requesting the IEE other than you disagree with the school's evaluation. (You might want to specify what areas you disagree with; for instance, you may agree with their behavioral assessment but not with their academic assessment.) If the school refuses to provide the IEE, they must take you to court (so schools usually just provide them). It sounds to me like he needs to be found eligible for a specific learning disability in both reading and written expression and given goals and services for both. If that hasn't happened yet, definitely ask for an evaluation - in writing.

Just for clarification purposes, when I used the word "transition" above, I was referring to the transition from the charter school to a new school - not transitioning from high school to post-graduate life. As JSD24 pointed out, that is a separate issue that the new school will have to look at when the student turns 14.

It is my understanding that charter schools are considered public schools for purposes of an IEP because they are publicly funded. If so, the obligations of the public high school you are transferring to would be the same as if he were transferring from another public school. Those obligations are to either accept or reject the previous school's evaluation and IEP. If they accept, they must implement. If they reject, they must keep the "old" IEP in place until they conduct their own evaluation. I would suggest reaching out to the new school NOW to discuss transition and what documentation they will need. I would also ask for a meeting with the special education team to discuss your concerns regarding the transition. Finally, since all states are a little different, I would advise reaching out to your state department of education (special education division) and ask them what the procedures are for transferring from a charter school to a public school.

To answer Nona's question... IEP's are definitely NOT limited to academics and speech. But you say he has an IEP for social skills, so that would not be academics or speech, so I'm a little confused. Did you ask for a goal under social skills for self-advocacy? If you disagree with the school evaluation, you need to request an Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE). You do not have to give a reason other than the fact that you disagree with the school's evaluation. Make sure the IEE addresses your concerns of academics and self-advocacy. After the results of the IEE come in, the team will have to reconvene to discuss the results and hopefully add some goals based on the new evaluation, if warranted.

With the prevalence of Zoom, advocates work (and attend meetings) remotely all the time. I'm assuming from your post name you are in Wisconsin? If you cannot find an advocate in Wisconsin, advocates can work across state lines, so you might find someone from out of state. I would try calling your state's department of education before hiring an advocate to see if they could assist in any way with the issues you're having. Specifically, the department of special education. Explain that the school district is not implementing the IEP correctly as it is not providing the minutes set forth on the document.

With respect to the IEP year prior to the one that started three weeks ago, I would send another (written) request to the spec ed director asking for documentation of minutes for that IEP year. I would also state in that same email that if you do not receive the documentation, you feel you have no choice but to file a state complaint to get that information. If you do receive the documentation and it shows minutes were missed, reach out to the team (copy the spec ed director) and ask for an offer of FAPE as to how they intend to provide compensatory minutes. (Although it varies by state, even if you are owed minute for minute, I would suggest being willing to compromise.) If you do not receive any documentation, move forward with filing a state complaint on the issue of minutes provided. With respect to the current IEP year (that you're three weeks into), again, reach out to the team and ask how they intend to make up the lost minutes. For these, I would be less willing to compromise now and moving forward. Although you can extend the school district a little grace for staffing issues, it should not last for three weeks. They need to figure something out whether that be hiring more staff, contracting the work out, reimbursing you for tutoring, etc.

Hi Christi. I'm in Missouri. How old is the student? Does a provider (therefore, data) say that this is recommended? Did you ask the school specifically why it can't happen - attendance laws, etc. - and what they're basing this on? I would suggest calling DESE and asking based on your fact pattern.

I would assume this evaluation is pursuant to the local school's obligation under Child Find. An evaluation has to come before a determination of eligibility for special education, then after a determination of eligibility (assuming eligibility is found) a meeting to draft the IEP is held. So no, what is scheduled is NOT an IEP meeting and only an evaluation. You do not have to consent to having the child evaluated. Did you sign anything? It would have been a consent for evaluation form. If you did, you can reach out to the school and revoke your consent. In extreme cases, the school could take you to court (due process) to order the evaluation, but I don't think they would do that if you explained to them you are in the process of getting him into a private school. I don't know what ESA is and so can't speak to how funding would be affected. I would suggest reaching out to that process and ask that question directly to them. This level of disability is not my expertise, so hoping others will chime in to correct or add to my answer.

This math instruction (link below) is supposed to be amazing for children with math disabilities. It's less than $1,000 to train an educator. See if the school might agree to send a teacher or someone to this and then provide you son services under this program. www.asdec.org/Multisensory-Math-1

Hi Brooke. I agree with you that this goal a bit much for one goal. I would also think it would be a nightmare in terms of progress monitoring and data collection for a SLP. I would ask specific questions such as: 1) How are you determining whether he "participates in collaborative conversations...?" What specific skills are you teaching? Making eye contact? Conversational turn-taking? I think an actual skill needs to be identified in order to teach it and then collect data for it. I would ask these questions for each of the items stated in the goal and then ask that each skill set have it's own goal and data tracking/progress monitoring. 2) What does "minimal support" mean? I know they have given a percentage (25%), but what does this actually mean? That he will initiate conversations 3 out of 4 times on his own? Not walk away from a conversation 3 out of 4 times? Maintain eye contact without prompts 3 out of 4 times? And so on for the other skill sets. They need specificity. Here is a link to Lisa's social skills goals: https://adayinourshoes.com/social-skills-iep-goals/ As far as the minutes, I would make the argument that the goal is always to work toward the least restrictive environment (being able to transfer the skill set being taught in spec ed to the general education classroom). Taking away push-in minutes and adding more to the spec ed setting is going backwards and especially shouldn't be done when he is making progress.

Wanted to add to my answer as I did a little more digging. Some things to know when you're talking about a "properly certified staff member." First, due to nationwide staffing issue, many states have PIP's (Provisional Intern Permits) which allows uncredentialed staff members to be the responsible teacher for a spec ed classroom, the co-teacher in a collaborate classroom setting, or even a case manager. What you want to focus on (and obtain information regarding) is whether or not the staff person providing the specialized instruction is sufficiently trained in how to do it AND is providing the instruction with fidelity.

As you correctly stated, the attendance record of the spec ed teacher would not be considered an educational record of your child; therefore, you would not be entitled to that under FERPA, even though it potentially speaks to whether or not you child has received FAPE. There might be other laws under which you could request this information, such as your state's Sunshine Law. However, that is a long, involved process and not receiving FAPE is something you would want to address immediately. My suggestion would be to first, reach out (casually - no "threats" yet) and ask what the procedure is when the spec ed teacher is not at school on a particular day when your child is to receive spec ed services; specifically, does s/he still receive specialized instruction? If so, who provides that? (Also ask for that person's title so that you can look up on your state DOE's website to see what certification is required for that title/position. ) If s/he does not receive his/her specialized instruction on the days the spec ed teacher is absent, ask what the procedure is for making up those minutes. If the above does not get you anywhere, then you can ask for documentation of the minutes your child has received. If the school refuses that, file a state complaint alleging the procedural violation of not following the IEP document due to 1) failure to provide FAPE because they won't provide documentation of minutes and therefore, the assumption has to be that the minutes were not provided and 2) prohibiting parent participation by failing to communicate and answer questions regarding the provision of minutes.

Wow. For a second there, I thought one of my clients had hired an additional advocate, because this is so eerily similar to a situation I have! 1. You don't have to wait for "the next IEP" to get more specific language inserted. An IEP document is fluid and can be amended at any time. Ghost write and then have your client send the team an email as to how you want the language changed. It can be done without a meeting, but I'm guessing that won't happen in this case. lf they refuse, ask for a meeting to discuss the requested change. If they refuse during the meeting, request that a PWN be sent documenting this refusal. If a PWN isn't sent (or isn't sufficient), send an email requesting a new one and the reasons why it is insufficient. (They may refuse this, as well, but at least you now have in documented in YOUR email.) 2. I don't know what state you're in, but most IEP documents (in addition to the Goals section) will have a specific "box" for number of minutes, as well as location (which should be stated as "in the special education setting"), which should cover your concerns in that area. However, I agree that you should also make sure the goal states "special education setting" rather than "outside general education." 3. As far as documentation of minutes, I'll address the "easy" issue first. Being pulled out for testing does NOT count as instruction time. Period. And not having time to do both is not an excuse for not providing instruction required under the IEP - and your state DOE would agree. Call the compliance division for your state's special education department within the DOE and ask. Then you can tell the school district that it's not just you stating this - the state agrees with you. Staffing is tough these days, but have they tried to hire another spec ed teacher? Have they looked into contracting out the services? A few weeks of missed instruction might be excused due to staffing issues, but certainly not beyond that. And even then your client would be entitled to comp minutes. 4. As far as documentation of minutes overall, YES, the school district MUST be doing this! How else can they prove they are providing FAPE? How else can they prove that compensatory minutes are not owed? If a state complaint were filed asserting failure to provide minutes, the state would request an accounting of minutes provided. My suggestion would be to send a final email requesting documentation of the minutes and that if not received, they have given you no choice but to file a state complaint. Then do it.

What is the school using to determine he's on "grade level." My guess is that it is something like grades or standardized testing that doesn't rise to the level of a proper evaluation. But the neuropsych eval should have included academic testing and provided data to determine eligibility. Did you have a Review of Existing Data meeting or Eligibility Meeting after this evaluation was received by the school district? They should have held a meeting to go over the results with you. Even though it was done by an outside evaluator, it's basically their report. If they didn't hold a meeting, you need to reach out and request one to see if the data in the neuropsych report is enough to meet the eligibility criteria in your state (make them show you the eligibility criteria during the meeting and how the data in the report either does or does not meet it; better yet, look it up before the meeting so you're informed on your state's criteria or call your Department of Education and ask for it). After the meeting, if the team determines no eligibility, make sure you get a Prior Written Notice to that effect with reasons why. Getting a report regarding dysgraphia and dyslexia diagnoses may be on you because that isn't really necessary. It's not about the actual diagnosis - that is not what determines eligibility. It's about the data and present levels irrespective of diagnosis. I would think the neuropsych eval would have covered that. If not or if you disagree, request an Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE). That you would NOT have to pay for unless the school district decides to take you to due process to prove they should not have to provide one (which rarely ever happens). Having said all that, it never hurts to ask...

Hi. I do advocacy in Kansas. I give a free hour consultation if you'd like to call me. (Too much to get into here, and too many facts unknown.) But in short, JSD24 is correct. Carolyn Rowlett (816-547-5467)

First, what is your daughter's disability? If they're blaming low test scores on her "not putting in enough effort," are they taking into account her disability? Is is ADHD? They need to drill down to determine if her supposed "not putting in enough effort" is related to a disability and if so, need to address ways to support this disability so that she can put in the effort. I don't think you're at the point of asking for a para yet in that it first needs to be determined that accommodations and specialized instruction are not enough. (Although I do realized that you've tried to get these to no avail. But the reality is if they're not providing those, there is no way you are going to get a para. So the approach is to keep fighting for the accommodations and specialized instruction, if need can be shown.) In my opinion, Title I has nothing to do with whether or not a child qualifies for accommodations and specialized instruction under the IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act). I am not familiar with the requirements necessary to receive Title I support, but it may be a lower bar than the IDEA which would be a reason why in some cases a students might receive Title I support, but not special education services. However, that does not appear to be the case with your daughter. The IEP is all about data. So get the data. Her grades and test scores indicate that there is concern in the area of academics. Reach out to the school and ask for an evaluation in the area of academics and any other area you have concerns in - anything listed in the neuropsych report (executive functioning, etc.). If you don't like their results or they still refuse to provide accommodations, ask for an IEE (Independent Educational Evaluation) - one that can dig down to the underlying cause of her struggles and make specific recommendations as to accommodations. Maybe the accommodations needed are not specifically for math but for executive functioning? No, she does not need to fail for a certain before asking for help again. But you do need to have the data. If you get the data and the school district still refuse to help your daughter, you may need to hire an advocate or reach out to a state agency that provide no or low cost advocates. Those might be listed on your state's department of education website.

The box needs to be checked.

You do need to check the "I agree" box for them to move forward. Your note covers that you don't agree with everything.

Everything is driven by data - so yes, you need to request testing. I would also request a FBA that can lead to a BIP that includes more than just "work completion." Data (present levels) then determines goals. You can't change goals until you know what the data is, and it doesn't sound like you have good data. Chances are you will not like the results of the school evaluation (will likely not have any suggestions for how to address EF), so be prepared to request another IEE. Make sure both the school eval and IEE are for ALL areas of concern, including transition. A good IEE regarding transition should show what EF skills are missing and what should be taught. A good IEE/FBA will also show that head down behavior is not a choice, is related to his dysregulation, and is something that needs to be addressed with goals and in the BIP. In order to "communicate this to the team" and make them "see it," you need data. You will not be able to accomplish this prior to the annual meeting, but IEP's can be amended at anytime and IEP meetings should be held after additional data is received (in the form of the school's eval and later the IEE).

Hi Elizabeth. First, my apologies if this is too late for your meeting. (I see that you posted this 20 hours ago referencing an IEP meeting for "tomorrow," and I'm just now reading it.) Second, I'm a visual person, so I'm having a little difficulty tracking all this without seeing the actual IEP document, but will give it a go Minutes for small group instruction and minutes for push-in should be listed separately. Also, consultation should be listed separately from specialized instruction. Finally, 12 hours a year is ridiculous. At least get it down to monthly. Reducing anything requires data. If they do it anyway, make sure they put it in a PWN and include the reasons for the reduction. You and the parents have a right to ask for clarity in the IEP document. If the different delivery methods are confusing and make it hard to account for time (which may be the intent of the SD), ask for (I would even draft) suggested changes.

You need to request an Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE). The school must provide this or take you to due process (so 99% of the time schools provide it). The school also has to pay the cost of an IEE. All you have to say is that you disagree with their evaluation. They may ask you why you disagree, but by law you don't have to give any reasons. Make sure the IEE is done in all areas you want assessed - including and especially any areas the school failed to assess or only did observations.