Hello,
Our issue is surprisingly convoluted, I'll try to provide a short version - we sure could use your help! My son's ex-girlfriend is harassing him, and manipulating other students to do the same. My son has an IEP for behavior issues due to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. He has come a long way and was progressing very well until recently.
He admitted to the school police liaison that he told a student to leave him alone "or else" he'd "beat the student up". They are both 15. It didn't happen on school property, so nothing was done. A few days later my son was called into the principal's office and asked if he had threatened "a student". Thinking it was the same situation, he said yes. The principal later told me he was asking about another student, who reported "a friend of a friend said a friend of (my son) said" he was going to beat him up in school.
The principal refused to acknowledge that my son answered a misleading question and scheduled a Manifestation Determination. The police liaison said he was surprised the school was acting, all involved (including the girl's mother) know the girl has been lying and the police did not act. The school refuses to release the name of the student who supposedly made the report. They also refused to provide a written suspension notice or any documentation about this incident. They say there is no documentation.
At the Manifestation hearing I asked for a postponement to wait for the completed police report. I was told State Law forbid rescheduling, that we had to reach a determination that day. The IEP had some surprising mistakes I asked to be corrected, they said we could "revisit that" another time. The IEP even claimed my son had attended school in a Juvenile Mental Hospital, which is not true. Since then the IEP was updated to "it appears he may have never attended at" a mental hospital. These records will follow him!
He was sent to an alternative school. We were supposed to have an IEP review prior to the start of the second semester to determine placement at that time. They waited until after the start of the semester to ask if we knew where he should be attending, because they had him attending both the high school and the alternative location. They finally scheduled an IEP but the delay meant he missed another week of school. In addition to the week when he was suspending, for something that never happened.
I designated my mother to speak for me at the IEP review. The principal and other team members were quite rude and said they didn't want to talk to her. They had already made it clear that they prefer me because I "always agree with them", which is why I wanted my mother to represent my son. The updated IEP we were given was 90% wrong. We had to fight to get it corrected before making a decision on placement. A temporary IEP was agreed to so he can attend school but the majority of the meeting was spent either trying to ignore my mother and trying to convince me to move my son to another school. I had to move out of state for work, my son cannot deal with change due to the PTSD and is living with my parents. His therapist agrees this is best for him for now, he will spend vacations with me so he can get used to our new home. In the meantime the school is trying to get rid of him. They won't do anything to stop the harassment from the girl and her friends. I've had to put him on a anxiety drug that isn't even recommended for kids. We requested documentation under the Open Records act, the school just will not cooperate. I apologize for the length of this, but due to what I have been told by different teachers, administration and the police liaison I have to wonder if there was even a "report" by a student, or if the school is just trying to get rid of a problem the easiest way. It's easier to take one student out than to address a whole gang.
Any suggestions? Our next IEP is next week, I was promised "if there are mistakes" we will "correct it line by line" and then update it. Based on my experience so far, I find it difficult to believe that.
Our issue is surprisingly convoluted, I'll try to provide a short version - we sure could use your help! My son's ex-girlfriend is harassing him, and manipulating other students to do the same. My son has an IEP for behavior issues due to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. He has come a long way and was progressing very well until recently.
He admitted to the school police liaison that he told a student to leave him alone "or else" he'd "beat the student up". They are both 15. It didn't happen on school property, so nothing was done. A few days later my son was called into the principal's office and asked if he had threatened "a student". Thinking it was the same situation, he said yes. The principal later told me he was asking about another student, who reported "a friend of a friend said a friend of (my son) said" he was going to beat him up in school.
The principal refused to acknowledge that my son answered a misleading question and scheduled a Manifestation Determination. The police liaison said he was surprised the school was acting, all involved (including the girl's mother) know the girl has been lying and the police did not act. The school refuses to release the name of the student who supposedly made the report. They also refused to provide a written suspension notice or any documentation about this incident. They say there is no documentation.
At the Manifestation hearing I asked for a postponement to wait for the completed police report. I was told State Law forbid rescheduling, that we had to reach a determination that day. The IEP had some surprising mistakes I asked to be corrected, they said we could "revisit that" another time. The IEP even claimed my son had attended school in a Juvenile Mental Hospital, which is not true. Since then the IEP was updated to "it appears he may have never attended at" a mental hospital. These records will follow him!
He was sent to an alternative school. We were supposed to have an IEP review prior to the start of the second semester to determine placement at that time. They waited until after the start of the semester to ask if we knew where he should be attending, because they had him attending both the high school and the alternative location. They finally scheduled an IEP but the delay meant he missed another week of school. In addition to the week when he was suspending, for something that never happened.
I designated my mother to speak for me at the IEP review. The principal and other team members were quite rude and said they didn't want to talk to her. They had already made it clear that they prefer me because I "always agree with them", which is why I wanted my mother to represent my son. The updated IEP we were given was 90% wrong. We had to fight to get it corrected before making a decision on placement. A temporary IEP was agreed to so he can attend school but the majority of the meeting was spent either trying to ignore my mother and trying to convince me to move my son to another school. I had to move out of state for work, my son cannot deal with change due to the PTSD and is living with my parents. His therapist agrees this is best for him for now, he will spend vacations with me so he can get used to our new home. In the meantime the school is trying to get rid of him. They won't do anything to stop the harassment from the girl and her friends. I've had to put him on a anxiety drug that isn't even recommended for kids. We requested documentation under the Open Records act, the school just will not cooperate. I apologize for the length of this, but due to what I have been told by different teachers, administration and the police liaison I have to wonder if there was even a "report" by a student, or if the school is just trying to get rid of a problem the easiest way. It's easier to take one student out than to address a whole gang.
Any suggestions? Our next IEP is next week, I was promised "if there are mistakes" we will "correct it line by line" and then update it. Based on my experience so far, I find it difficult to believe that.
