Iep experts!!

[TheIncredibles!]

I need help with a problem I am having. I am hesitant to put details here in public because this could end up with us hiring an attorney etc. If you have a lot of experience with IEP's etc please PM me so I can give details. Need some help, pick your brain etc.

Don't know if I want to scream or cry

 

[2Kds2K9]

The term "Office of Compliance" always gets the schools shaking in their boots. Yes, the Office of Compliance within your school system WILL make sure the school/teacher is doing what is required by law and WILL reprimand the school for not doing what is required by law.

Good Luck!

 

[TheIncredibles!]

The term "Office of Compliance" always gets the schools shaking in their boots. Yes, the Office of Compliance within your school system WILL make sure the school/teacher is doing what is required by law and WILL reprimand the school for not doing what is required by law.

Good Luck!

My question without getting into details basically amounts to this.

At the IEP meeting in May for this coming year - We had all the usual people plus two reps that I have never met before because my son is transitioning to the High School. (Our school is 7-12th grade)

There was an addition made to my son's IEP that we never had on there before. We discussed it in detail and made sure to bring my son in so they could see him, get to know him a bit and understand WHY we were asking for this modification.

ALL parties not only agreed that this was best for him, they all signed the IEP listing this modification. I get the packet of info for the coming school year and this modification was not made. So I called the school and they said that they don't feel this modfictaion is necessary, so they did not plan for it.

As far as I knew, once it's in the IEP and signed by all representatives then they MUST follow the IEP. Correct or no? How can they decide now when it's time for school to start that what was agreed to is not necessary? I am waiting to hear back from them after I was told two days ago "We will see what we can do to help you out"

 

[Goofyluver]

My question without getting into details basically amounts to this.

At the IEP meeting in May for this coming year - We had all the usual people plus two reps that I have never met before because my son is transitioning to the High School. (Our school is 7-12th grade)

There was an addition made to my son's IEP that we never had on there before. We discussed it in detail and made sure to bring my son in so they could see him, get to know him a bit and understand WHY we were asking for this modification.

ALL parties not only agreed that this was best for him, they all signed the IEP listing this modification. I get the packet of info for the coming school year and this modification was not made. So I called the school and they said that they don't feel this modfictaion is necessary, so they did not plan for it.

As far as I knew, once it's in the IEP and signed by all representatives then they MUST follow the IEP. Correct or no? How can they decide now when it's time for school to start that what was agreed to is not necessary? I am waiting to hear back from them after I was told two days ago "We will see what we can do to help you out"

An IEP is a legal document.

If the IEP specifically outlines/includes whatever modification or accomodation you are referencing, the school district is responsible for providing it as it is outlined. They cannot refuse to do so unless you hold another meeting and the "modification" is removed from your child's program. They are legally responsible to follow everything in the IEP as they agreed to in May.

Whatever is written in the IEP must be followed. Legally and ethically. Period. Call tomorrow and if you do not get a response, call your district's special ed dept. directly.

 

[StephMK]

I agree w/Goofyluvr, they cannot just change their minds, they are obligated to follow the guidelines set in the IEP. I'd be curious to hear their reason why they didn't feel they needed to provide the mod? In any case, it is not their decision to make. I would not wait anymore and call again tomorrow.
Do you have someone from the elem level that you can get to help you deal w/the HS?

I'm sorry you have to deal with this. It is frustrating to hear stories about families having to fight so hard for their students with special needs, there are so many problems in the system.

 

[Eeyore5]

http://www.pacer.org/

Go to this web site for info about your rights. It is based in MN but has resources for other states too.

 

[merrily]

An IEP is a legal document.

If the IEP specifically outlines/includes whatever modification or accomodation you are referencing, the school district is responsible for providing it as it is outlined. They cannot refuse to do so unless you hold another meeting and the "modification" is removed from your child's program. They are legally responsible to follow everything in the IEP as they agreed to in May.

Whatever is written in the IEP must be followed. Legally and ethically. Period. Call tomorrow and if you do not get a response, call your district's special ed dept. directly.

The school cannot just arbitrarily decide not to provide a modification. The IEP would need to be amended and you would need to sign it. I believe the school is violating due process. If it is in there, they need to provide it. Don't let the school bully you. If you don't get satisfaction from the districts special ed director, call the Department of Education.

 

[LuvsDragonflies]

If you have a copy of the IEP signed when you had that meeting (and you had better, it's absolutely mandatory that they give you a copy of that AT the meeting) then bring it down to the office and request to see your advisor. They can't, legally can NOT, change the IEP without your express knowledge and agreement. Granted, I'm only experienced in my states particulars, but I'm 100 percent sure they can't void a contract like that.

You may need to get the lawyer in on it. Don't let them get away with this, it's practically 1960's thinking. Good luck. :

 

[summerrluvv]

In our district IEPs are not typed at your CSE meeting. The recs. are discussed and agreed upon. Then the IEP is typed and they are mailed. So while it may have been agreed to AT the meeting, the fact that it's not put on an IEP right then and there leads me to believe it's not binding. Of course I could be wrong, but this is the way I understand it (my son is 12 and has had IEPs since he started school). However, I would be writing a letter requesting a CSE meeting and hiring an advocate if met with resistance.

 

[Luv Bunnies]

The exact same thing happened to us at our son's IEP several years ago. The Special Ed Director agreed to and included an accommodation for our son and everyone signed the document at the meeting. When school started, the accommodation was not being made. When I discussed it with the director, he admitted that he district was out of compliance on that accommodation, but he had changed his mind and wasn't willing to provide it. When I asked how he planned to get the IEP into compliance, he said he would change the IEP to reflect what was actually being done and have me sign it. I said no way was I going to do that. My husband and I did end up hiring an attorney to help us ensure the district followed the accommodations that were legally documented in the IEP. If you want to discuss further, please feel free to PM me.

 

[torinsmom]

I feel like I have had to be a total ritch with a B since my son started high school. They just don't "get" his accommodations, and I have to threaten to take it further before anything happens. Just because you think a child doesn't need a modification doesn't mean you can just stop doing it. My son had "preferential seating" as one of his accommodations. He is supposed to sit up front due to his LD. One teacher told me that every child in his class has preferential seating. They all move back one desk each day so that everyone gets to be in each position. He has been teaching 20 years too

I never had this problem at our charter school (preK-8th)

 

[LuvsDragonflies]

Go get 'im fluffy bunny!

If they agree to it at the meeting, and the papers are signed (and they are supposed to give you a copy of this AT THE MEETING to take home with you, then they are to type it up nice and neat and mail you another copy), they can't decide to change it without your consent. It's a like a contract. Legally binding.

 

[teacherforhi]

Go get 'im fluffy bunny!

If they agree to it at the meeting, and the papers are signed (and they are supposed to give you a copy of this AT THE MEETING to take home with you, then they are to type it up nice and neat and mail you another copy), they can't decide to change it without your consent. It's a like a contract. Legally binding.

You've said this twice now and it's absolutely not true, at least not in every state. In 14 years of special education, I've never been required by law to give the parent a copy of the IEP as soon as the meeting is over. We do all our IEPs online, and the best practice is to finalize the IEP and print the parent a copy on the spot. However, I always have the signature pages printed out and ready just in case I can't get the finalized IEP to print (hey, things happen).

We even have a drop down menu to indicate how the IEP was given to the parent...our choices are hand delivered, delivered by student, or mailed.

To the OP, the school cannot arbitrarily decide to not provide an accommodation and I would be at the school tomorrow with IEP in hand making myself heard.

 

[summerrluvv]

I feel like I have had to be a total ritch with a B since my son started high school. They just don't "get" his accommodations, and I have to threaten to take it further before anything happens. Just because you think a child doesn't need a modification doesn't mean you can just stop doing it. My son had "preferential seating" as one of his accommodations. He is supposed to sit up front due to his LD. One teacher told me that every child in his class has preferential seating. They all move back one desk each day so that everyone gets to be in each position. He has been teaching 20 years too

I never had this problem at our charter school (preK-8th)

This just makes me sick to read. How about play musical chairs with all of the other students except the one that NEEDS the accomodation of a permanent up front seat. Ugh!

 

[devonsmommy]

I just pmed you without reading the whole discussion so far!

When I was teaching, the signing of the cover page was just who was in attendance and not who/what was being agreed upon. Most times I had the IEP goals/objectives written already based upon the testing I had done with the student. And modifications I knew were necessary for that student. We went over the IEP and additions/deletions were made as a team. I did give the parent a DRAFT copy of the IEP (which was stamped DRAFT) at the start of the meeting so they could follow along, but then after the meeting a new copy was sent to the parent with all of the revisions.

Now, if there was a modification that was discussed and agreed upon by everyone there, then it should definitely be in the final copy you have received.

I would definitely ask for a meeting. I think that may be the only way to get immediate action. Especially with everyone getting back into the swing of things with the new school year. Have you tried calling the special education teacher and talk to her to find out why it was taken out?

Hopefully it all works out.

 

[TheIncredibles!]

In our district IEPs are not typed at your CSE meeting. The recs. are discussed and agreed upon. Then the IEP is typed and they are mailed. So while it may have been agreed to AT the meeting, the fact that it's not put on an IEP right then and there leads me to believe it's not binding. Of course I could be wrong, but this is the way I understand it (my son is 12 and has had IEPs since he started school). However, I would be writing a letter requesting a CSE meeting and hiring an advocate if met with resistance.

It was agreed to at the meeting by all parties and all parties signed the IEP at the meeting with this modification in it. I left the IEP Meeting with my finalized copy.

 

[summerrluvv]

It was agreed to at the meeting by all parties and all parties signed the IEP at the meeting with this modification in it. I left the IEP Meeting with my finalized copy.

Oh I see, so they have no choice in the matter and must follow the IEP. If they don't, sue them

 

[TheIncredibles!]

Oh I see, so they have no choice in the matter and must follow the IEP. If they don't, sue them

Well I'd prefer to not have to sue... I just wanted to make sure my instincts were correct because the way the school was handling this was making me doubt this. I THOUGHT they had no choice but the school seems to think they would be doing me a favor IF they can take care of this "for me".

 

[wtpntigger2]

They can always do more than is listed in the IEP, but never less. If they feel that modification is no longer needed, then another IEP meeting needs to be had.

Which reminds me I need to go through all my students' IEPs again to make sure I have all I need in place for the start of school next week.

Good luck!

 

[goofy!]

Parent of an adult child with Down syndrome, so did the IEP thing for 21 years. For 20 of those years, we had a great rapport with the school and were very happy.

One year we had a new teacher who much like yours didn't think they had to follow the IEP. This caused us to hire a lawyer to convince her that the IEP IS a legal document and it had to be followed.

We never had to sue, just had a lawyer write a letter and had a meeting with the lawyer and the district to remind them about the legalities of the IEP that they signed. Funny thing, for the rest of her schooling, they bent over backwards to accommodate our daughter, as they knew we knew our rights.

For some of the best help you can get, go to www.wrightslaw.com.

If you really want to be an expert at the IEP process, I highly recommend their $14.95 CD that explains the whole IEP process and all the legal requirements of the IEP.
http://www.wrightslaw.com/webex/iep.law.index.htm

And here is a big document from idea.ed.gov that has questions and answers about IDEA which spells out how meeting have to happen:
http://idea.ed.gov/explore/view/p/,root,dynamic,QaCorner,3,