!!!Need Advice on recent IEP meeting!!!

oceans

New Member
I requested an IEP meeting because I felt that my son needed an updated FBA for his behavior plan. I got a call to schedule the date for the meeting, but I never got the prior written notice.

At the meeting I brought a letter from his new psychiatrist stating his diagnoses and needs. We discussed his needs and agreed to make some changes. We agreed that he needed a reduced schedule and took away his last class of the day. He was having the most difficulties in that one. Instead he goes to a class he can use as a study hall. We decided that the teachers would only give him the most important work to catch up on so that he could get a fresh start on the next nine weeks. We also agreed that he would have a place to go if he could not handle things in a class (He could decide to go, or the teacher could tell him he needed to go).

My husband asked if he needed to have his IEP/behavior plan rewritten and the answer they gave was yes.

They mentioned a district therapeutic school and that it might benefit him to go there. I told them I wanted to look into that and discuss it with my child's psychiatrist.

Today things fell apart for difficult child and he was told to go down to the tardy room. Apparently, they decided that the tardy room was the best place to send him. difficult child refused to go. They escorted him into the office and called me up. I spoke to difficult child and he said that he did not realize that his place to go was the tardy rooom, and that he could not go there because the teacher continuously played music in the room (he has had issues before with not doing well with teachers playing music in the classroom). He said that the music bothered him. He said that he would rather go to ISS.

I spoke to the Vice Principal and he would not budge or modify anything. He said that he followed the plan, and the plan did not work. He said that now we had to pick him up. My husband picked him up and it was around lunchtime.

When I got home I read this email from the guidance councelor:



Dear Colleagues:



In our meeting with XXXX and his family, we agreed on the following to try to address XXX’s behavioral and emotional issues:



XXX will drop Ms. XXX 7th period Class and go to Mr. XXX’s 7th period for a non-credit study hall and a time to organize himself before going home for the day. He will continue to ride the bus home.

If XXX feels that he cannot handle being in class, or if his behavior demonstrates to his teachers that he cannot handle being in class, XXX will report to Ms. XXXX in the tardy room, take a seat, and either work or sit quietly for the remainder of the period.

At the end of the period he will continue on to his next class.

If XXX cannot remain quiet or if he does anything disruptive in the tardy room, Ms. XXXXX will call the office and have him escorted to ISS or the main office for the remainder of the period.

We will also explore the possibility of a referral to XXXX (therapeutic school)as a contingency plan in the event that this modified schedule does not meet XXX's needs.


Thanks---



Then the remaining letter is address so some Dr I never heard or...maybe from the district.

Dear Dr. XXX:



As XXX's parents, we hereby approve the changes in XXX’s schedule as outlined above. We understand that XXX will not receive credit for Mr. XXX’s 7th period class because he will be using that class as a study/organization time. He will be allowed to stay at school until the end of the day to accommodate his transportation needs, but he will be considered an “early dismissal” after 6th period.


I do not feel comfortable signing this letter. First of all, we never discussed what was to happen if difficult child refused to go to the tardy room. It states that if he does not do well in the tardy rm he needs to go to ISS or the Office for the remainder of that period. I would think that they would have sent him to ISS or kept him in the office instead of making us come to get him when he refused to go.

Second of all- I don't know why they would not try to resolve the issue by asking the tardy room teacher to refrain from playing music if it disturbed him so he would feel comfortable going there, or figure out what might work better for him.

Thirdly...they took it upon themselves to write in that if the plan we put into place does not meet his needs, then the next step is to consider this therapeutic school which I do not know enough about to feel comfortable with. This was never mentioned at the meeting at all!

And lastly, the FBA I requested was never mentioned again.

HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!





:confused:
 

dreamer

New Member
I know Martie and Sheila will come and have good advice for you.
I just wanted to say .....yuk. it sounds sorta similar to how my dtr was handled. and it did not go well. I am sorry you are having to cope with this stuff.

I am owndering about the room, is it a punitive step or an accomodating step? (for my dtr the teachers never "sent" her there, it was always my dtrs choice to go, and she was supposed to be able to always go when she felt a need, but then teachers started to refuse to permit her to go.

I amnot sure if it is good for it to be both a place where teachers send him as a punitive thing and a place he goes to regroup? Seems to me that could confuse the purpose of the room? (Maybe I am misunderstanding it, tho, and if so, I apologize)
Also yes, seems to me many people could be affected in a negative way by music, that is a drag they won't work with you.

COuld the "doctor" the letter is addressed to be...someone higher up in your district, someone who has a title of doctor due to their level of education, but not a doctor is the medical sense? I think our district superintendant carries title of Doctor?

I am not clear but, it is seeming to me that some of the finer details of what you thought you discussed and agreed to and what they put in writing might be slightly different? Personally, if that is the case, I think I would want things clarified and formed up so what was being written down and what I was understanding matched up more clearly.
It does sound to my paranoid ears like they are trying to set a stage to eventually (and not so far off from now) move your child to a different placement. And again, to my paranoid ears, it sounds kind of like they will misrepresent things to you and work in such a way to help trigger things to make the need look greater than it might be to accomplish the change of placement.
 

Sheila

Moderator
This is an amendment to the IEP. If this is not what you agreed to, do not sign the documents in their present form.

Make a copy of the original documents and keep the originals for your files.

Make any changes you want on the copies and add in about the FBA. I’d also mention that in instances/days where the tardy room is not quite, an alternative room will have to be utilized in that music and other noise agitates difficult child. If you don’t agree with a particular sentence, you may also mark it out.

Return the documents to school with a cover letter (use certified mail) that simply states:

“We received the attached documents regarding difficult child’s recent IEP meeting held on (date). In that there appears to be some confusion regarding what was agreed to in the meeting, clarifications have been made.”

Sincerely,

Mom

Attachments:
#1 – IEP amendments from guidance counselor
#2 – Letter dated XYZ from ABC to DEF (addressee and addressor unknown to parents)
 
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