I'm curious - percentage of students with IEP/504/etc

[Magpie]

I'm almost positive it's illegal to tell people. And, if a child goes out for resource room or something and you see it, you can assume he has an IEP, but that's not always the case, AND there are students with IEPs that never leave the classroom. So I really don't know how anyone, besides school staff, would know.

Kids will talk among themselves, sometimes.

That said, I don't know who in my daughter's class might be IEP'd for anything other than giftedness, because she's never been curious enough to try to find out.

My son, on the other hand, will happily compare notes with his friends when the IPRC review forms are being passed out to the class.

 

[MnMomtoboys]

If you spend anytime in the classroom you can tell who has an IEP by the comings and goings in class.

When our son John was in elementary I knew that roughly 30 to 32 percent of the kids has some form of IEP. I only knew that because we used the info each and every year to keep the district from having 4 classes to 3.

 

[DizBelle]

How does it work if there are more accomodations required than the teacher can do?

For example, if 10 students have an IEP or 504 that says they have to sit in the front row but there are only 5 desks in the front row, how does that work?

 

[SC Minnie]

DD had an IEP for speech from 3yo through 7th grade. I have no idea nor did I care how many kids in her classes had IEPs.

 

[kehlyrsmom]

I have 2 children both on the Autism spectrum and both have an IEP. I know that in each of there classrooms there are other kids that also get pulled out to the resource room but only because my kids have mentioned it. To my knowledge it is never publiced to the other students/parents that my children have an IEP as I certainly am not aware of the others.

 

[HelenePA]

Kids will talk among themselves, sometimes.

That said, I don't know who in my daughter's class might be IEP'd for anything other than giftedness, because she's never been curious enough to try to find out.

My son, on the other hand, will happily compare notes with his friends when the IPRC review forms are being passed out to the class.

but on the first day of class to know how many there are? unless one of them stood in the front of the room and said HEY raise your hand if you have an IEP like me its just very unlikely to know...

 

[Becky2005]

I suppose it does depend on the class! I know my DS is in High School and there are 2 of his classes that I know for sure 100% have to be on IEP's because if you didn't have an IEP you wouldn't be in the class.

His other classes, I don't have a CLUE who has IEP's and even those that have IEP's may not have anything to do with the class. It could be just pulled out for speech therapy or occupational therapy and accomdations of that nature.

 

[Magpie]

but on the first day of class to know how many there are? unless one of them stood in the front of the room and said HEY raise your hand if you have an IEP like me its just very unlikely to know...

You're referring to Malibustyle's comment, right?

I'd guess maybe they're the same three kids from last year... Or maybe it's obvious stuff, like one kid is in a wheelchair and another has a hearing aid.

 

[MM27]

In the beginning of the year, when I had the inclusion class, my co-teacher and I introduced ourselves to the students and parents as the teachers. It wasn't I'm the teacher and this is the special ed teacher. The special ed kids are taken out of the classroom for state testing because of the accommodations they are allowed for testing, and some of the kids do ask why they leave, but that isn't until the end of the year. The simple answer is that they are taking the test in another room. That usually is enough of an answer for most kids.

Parents should not know who has an IEP and who doesn't.

 

[BrerMom]

How does it work if there are more accomodations required than the teacher can do?

For example, if 10 students have an IEP or 504 that says they have to sit in the front row but there are only 5 desks in the front row, how does that work?

I kept rotating the kids in the first two rows and hoping I wouldn't get sued before the school year was over. I'm pretty sure my experience is the reason 504 & IEPs in our building now say "preferred seating" instead of "front row seating."

 

[TriMom]

Ok, you brought it up.... hehehehe. I was trying to refrain from commenting on this, but now that the question has been asked, I feel the need to put my 2 cents in.

I went to my youngest son's Kindergarten room meeting. A parent asked about an accommodation for his IEP. The teacher said that she didn't know yet, and that she would be meeting with the IEP director later that week to get her schedule all worked out. Well that got all the parents talking, and the parents of 8 of the 19 kids in class started asking about their IEPs.

I was shocked that almost 50% of the class had an IEP. Kindergartners - students who have never been in a public school before - and before the very first day 50% of the parents are sure that their kid needs special accommodations. How do they know little Johnny needs additional help in anything? Johnny hasn't been to school yet. How do they know that the concerns they have won't be addressed in a typical Kindergarten environment?

Please don't misunderstand me; I am all for helping kids in any way necessary so they can succeed. But with such a large percentage of the class already having an IEP, I kind of felt like the system was being abused. Time, staffing, and resources are limited. If this is the new trend, and 50% of the school has and IEP then the students who need it the most can't be getting the full support they need. And then what about us parents who have just plain ol' kids? How can a teacher have 8 different sets of rules and still have time to teach the "normal" kids to the best of her ability? It seems so unfair to her. I felt really bad for DS's teacher.

 

[Liberty Belle]

If you spend anytime in the classroom you can tell who has an IEP by the comings and goings in class.

When our son John was in elementary I knew that roughly 30 to 32 percent of the kids has some form of IEP. I only knew that because we used the info each and every year to keep the district from having 4 classes to 3.

I honestly don't see how. You can probably be pretty sure about some, but like I said, some with IEPs never leave and others leave who don't have IEPs.

 

[HelenePA]

You're referring to Malibustyle's comment, right?

I'd guess maybe they're the same three kids from last year... Or maybe it's obvious stuff, like one kid is in a wheelchair and another has a hearing aid.

I was referring to your comment that kids talk.. sure they talk but not the first day of class to know how many in a class already.

now class hasn't started this year and the only kid home right now is my 6yr old who grad k last year.. I'm going to ask him how many kids in in class had IEP's.. I already know what his answer is going to be.. lol He said none.. I will come back with his sisters answer when she gets home from where ever she is right now...

 

[Liberty Belle]

How does it work if there are more accomodations required than the teacher can do?

For example, if 10 students have an IEP or 504 that says they have to sit in the front row but there are only 5 desks in the front row, how does that work?

They look at those things when they assign students to teachers. And, a lot of the accomodations are just for testing. Sometimes a child with ADHD will get a timer at his desk, etc. Lots of it is very easy for a teacher to do. Then sometimes a para will be assigned.

 

[Pembo]

As the special ed teacher at a K-6 Catholic School, I can tell you 5 out of 100 students not including speech which I think would bump that number up to 7.

 

[Becky2005]

In the beginning of the year, when I had the inclusion class, my co-teacher and I introduced ourselves to the students and parents as the teachers. It wasn't I'm the teacher and this is the special ed teacher. The special ed kids are taken out of the classroom for state testing because of the accommodations they are allowed for testing, and some of the kids do ask why they leave, but that isn't until the end of the year. The simple answer is that they are taking the test in another room. That usually is enough of an answer for most kids.

Parents should not know who has an IEP and who doesn't.

Exactly, although once you have had a child with an IEP for a while you do have a tendency in grade school to know which kids have IEP's just for some odd reason, the kids tend to migrate to the other kids that have them. That could just be my boys. I know one of my son's had a child that had an aide in the classroom. If I didn't know the mom and knew the aide was there for her child, it wouldn't have been obvious as the aides are fantastic as blending in helping all the children. I think I only knew it because I was told plus past Kindergarten no class got an aide in general...so if all of a sudden your class has an aide, you know somebody in that class has an IEP but you wouldn't know specifically who.

Once you hit Middle School & High School it's not as obvious unless it's a 100% IEP class. I know my DD doesn't have an IEP and almost all of the core classes were team taught basically because there are more kids but also because more than likely there are a few kids in each class with an IEP.

However, I know in Middle School they offer reading & math booster classes for kids completely based on their standardized scores & you don't need an IEP to get in the class. Basically they put you IN the extra class unless your parent calls and tells them not to. That's how my son ended up in the math class 6th grade year & I was perplexed since he's not behind in it (he's just slower at calculating stuff)...turns out he was blowing everyone away in the class and at the end of the semester they switched him out. He LOVED the class though because he was always getting prizes with no effort. He was doing mixed fractions while others were still trying to pass subtraction (it was partly computer based that once you mastered one part would put you on a harder concept. I only know about the subtraction because he said he got that done first time while he knew others were still working on it). Now my upcoming 6th grader is being put in it & he doesn't have an IEP for math at all but I'm really happy because he does need it. So, although some of the kids in the booster class may have IEP's more than likely several do not, they just didn't test good on the last standardized testing.

 

[TheIncredibles!]

Ok, you brought it up.... hehehehe. I was trying to refrain from commenting on this, but now that the question has been asked, I feel the need to put my 2 cents in.

I went to my youngest son's Kindergarten room meeting. A parent asked about an accommodation for his IEP. The teacher said that she didn't know yet, and that she would be meeting with the IEP director later that week to get her schedule all worked out. Well that got all the parents talking, and the parents of 8 of the 19 kids in class started asking about their IEPs.

I was shocked that almost 50% of the class had an IEP. Kindergartners - students who have never been in a public school before - and before the very first day 50% of the parents are sure that their kid needs special accommodations. How do they know little Johnny needs additional help in anything? Johnny hasn't been to school yet. How do they know that the concerns they have won't be addressed in a typical Kindergarten environment?

Please don't misunderstand me; I am all for helping kids in any way necessary so they can succeed. But with such a large percentage of the class already having an IEP, I kind of felt like the system was being abused. Time, staffing, and resources are limited. If this is the new trend, and 50% of the school has and IEP then the students who need it the most can't be getting the full support they need. And then what about us parents who have just plain ol' kids? How can a teacher have 8 different sets of rules and still have time to teach the "normal" kids to the best of her ability? It seems so unfair to her. I felt really bad for DS's teacher.

Schools do not put IEP's in place just because a parent thinks their child may need additional help. IEP's are put into place because it has been determined that a child does need additional help or requires a modification from the standard practices for some reason. IEP's are also for more than just "learning" or things that are only evident after they have been in school awhile. You also need an IEP for Speech Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy etc.

In addition just because it was your child's first day of school that does not mean that it was the first day of school for every child. My child's first day of school was on his 3rd birthday when he started the Pre-K Disabled class. By the time he started Kindergarten he had been attending that school for 3 years already and already had an IEP for those 3 prior years.

 

[2SiameseCats]

I'm not sure how parents would know what the percentage of IEP's in a class would be unless they were talking outside of school. The percentage in my school varies depending on how many students are in each grade level. As for telling who has one vs not, you cannot tell by who leaves the room for services. Many students receive support services without having an IEP for a variety of reasons. Also students entering Kindergarten with an IEP most likely had services as a preschooler and still need to continue services-usually for speech and OT.

 

[HelenePA]

Ok, you brought it up.... hehehehe. I was trying to refrain from commenting on this, but now that the question has been asked, I feel the need to put my 2 cents in.

I went to my youngest son's Kindergarten room meeting. A parent asked about an accommodation for his IEP. The teacher said that she didn't know yet, and that she would be meeting with the IEP director later that week to get her schedule all worked out. Well that got all the parents talking, and the parents of 8 of the 19 kids in class started asking about their IEPs.

I was shocked that almost 50% of the class had an IEP. Kindergartners - students who have never been in a public school before - and before the very first day 50% of the parents are sure that their kid needs special accommodations. How do they know little Johnny needs additional help in anything? Johnny hasn't been to school yet. How do they know that the concerns they have won't be addressed in a typical Kindergarten environment?

Please don't misunderstand me; I am all for helping kids in any way necessary so they can succeed. But with such a large percentage of the class already having an IEP, I kind of felt like the system was being abused. Time, staffing, and resources are limited. If this is the new trend, and 50% of the school has and IEP then the students who need it the most can't be getting the full support they need. And then what about us parents who have just plain ol' kids? How can a teacher have 8 different sets of rules and still have time to teach the "normal" kids to the best of her ability? It seems so unfair to her. I felt really bad for DS's teacher.

this is an easy answer.. my 10yr old was getting speech before she was in school (on our dime dont worry) so when she got to school they already knew she had a speech delay thus getting an IEP before school started

 

[linnell]

Schools do not put IEP's in place just because a parent thinks their child may need additional help. IEP's are put into place because it has been determined that a child does need additional help or requires a modification from the standard practices for some reason. IEP's are also for more than just "learning" or things that are only evident after they have been in school awhile. You also need an IEP for Speech Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy etc.

In addition just because it was your child's first day of school that does not mean that it was the first day of school for every child. My child's first day of school was on his 3rd birthday when he started the Pre-K Disabled class. By the time he started Kindergarten he had been attending that school for 3 years already and already had an IEP for those 3 prior years.

This. My son was in Early Intervention from 18 months until his third birthday. At that point, EI ends and the school takes over. We had his IEP meeting 2 months before his third birthday and he was placed in an integrated preschool. He is starting his 3 year of preschool (misses the K deadline by 8 days) and will have an IEP next year for sure.