No schedule update...

[Shari]

I had asked to meet and get what the staff have planned for Wee on Friday, and was told nothing existed. SpEd teacher responded and said they'd try to have something by Tuesday, so I plan to meet her then.

I got an email this morning from mainstream teacher. She doesn't want to talk about his schedule til the IEP meeting on Thursday. 2 full days after school starts! And what ticks me off about this? IIIIII called that meeting. When did anyone thin they were going to work out a viable plan and schedule if I hadn't called that meeting? And what are they going to do with him the first 2 days of school (if I were sending him)?????

 

[DaisyFace]

Shari--

I would be more shocked and appalled about this, until I received a phone call from the high school this morning:

They had not figured out a schedule for my non-IEP child yet - and asked me to please come to the school and pick her up. They are HOPING to have a schedule ready for her by tomorrow.

I think budget cuts are responsible for some of this negligence...

I hope you get things sorted at your school soon!

 

[Shari]

We've been thru the same thing every year he's been there.... so this district can't even blame the budget cuts.

 

[totoro]

OMG that is all I can think at this point

 

[Shari]

We just came from the grocery store. The checkers there all are very friendly to Wee and have watched him grow up, tho they don't really "know" him.

The checker asked if he was ready to go back to school. I said he was, but the school wasn't ready for him and sort of laughed. She asked why's that, so I decided to just tell her. She was shocked to learn he's a Special Education student, and appalled that he attends half days. I wasn't rude about it, just said the school didn't have his plan ready yet. And I think that's how I'll handle the "ready for school" questions going forward. Its not going to the press, but I think I'll put it out there for the taxpayers to see.

 

[Marguerite]

There are times when I can be fairlt confrontational, in a polite way. This is one of those times I would be. I would be down at the school at drop-off time on day 1 and asking to see the SpEd or the principal or requesting a meeting NOW, as to why they were not ready for my child.

The law entitles him to equal access to education. So why does n=he not have equal access? The half days are themselves discriminatory, and should never have been allowed to continue. Here in Australia, a kid put on partial attendance is also catered for during the rest of the day if it is what his parents need.

Shari, they're trying a bluff manoeuvre. "This works, we've done it before, we can handle this kid as he's been handled up to now - we wing it and give him half days."

As long as you don't quote the law at them, they will keep doing what they can get away with.

If their response to your request for Wee to have equal access to education is to say, "Of course! Send him along, we'll put him in a mainstream classroom full-time, we don't need any provisions, that makes it all equal," you point to his diagnosis and the paperwork and point out that "equal access" means "taking the child's special needs into account and trying to level the playing field for him."

This is wrong. Unacceptable. And the class teacher isn't available? Then the class teacher has to take whatever provisions are put in place on her behalf.

Sorry, it won't wash.

Marg

 

[Shari]

I'm going to the meeting at 3 tomorrow to get a schedule. Wee's not going to school on the first day, tho. I already know that. But I do want to see what "prepping" they actually did for my child. Whatever it was, it wasn't enough. He doesn't do well with transitions and they think they are bringing him in on a totally different schedule with no safe person? Yeah. Fail with a capital F, right there.

 

[Marguerite]

One more point for you, Shari - you said, "Fail, with a capital F" - never forget that. When they try to hold you or Wee to a higher standard than they themselves can comply with - remind them.

I remember problems I had with difficult child 1 and his poor organisation skills. He finally got an IEP and a SpEd, the teachers were supposed to be copying all assigned work and putting the sheets in a folder at the school office for the SpEd and myself to access (they couldn't post them out to me - that would have been too much trouble).

But too often I would get there to check the folder, and there would be no change. What WAS there was often incomprehensible to ME (let alone to a 16 yo with organisation problems) such as "Do exercise 4 from the end of the chapter." Ne date, not subject title, no recognisable name of a teacher, no title of textbook - nothing.
So when they began to penalise him for not getting his homework or assignments done, I told them that first they had to do THEIR work, before they could penalise him.

I realised you wouldn't send Wee if they haven't got their act together. But THEY don't necessarily know that! Go on - scare the crud out of them!

Marg

 

[Wiped Out]

I'm just shaking my head at your school district and offering hugs. I would not let this go!

 

[Shari]

I have a list of "deal breakers". If the school doesn't give me these, we will go due process. First and foremost of those "deal beakers" is a dedicated aid trained by the same outside agency that trained the previous SpEd teacher. No more of these random people. And if they continue to send him home early, I want homebound services provided prior to 5pm. I've been working on the requests, and also the retaliation if they refuse, which points out different things that haven't been "kosher". Like that one can easily argue his rights have been grossly violated and we'd like to bring the lawyers in as the next step. Or the IEP in his file that says he got almost 11 hours of services a day. Or the change in placement with no basis for doing so (NONE of the IEP's have progress reports or the work samples they supposedly gauge his progress from - I have requested them twice and still don't have them)

And I pray that verbage jump starts something because I still don't want to go to due process, but I will if we have to. I truly think the district doesn't know WHAT to do with Wee...the second advocate has a lot of ideas, so I pray something comes of this combination.

 

[KTMom91]

Sending a big hug for you and another for Wee. Hope you get the school on board ASAP. This is so not right on so many different levels.