Reduced homework

[TiredSoul]

My son's IEP states "length and presentation of assignments may be adapted as needed".

We are trying to request reduced homework assignments. We have emailed our request to the school. Are they required by law to accommodate our request? I am curious to hear what others have been thru when trying to get this for their child as well.

Thanks!
Jules

 

[shellyd67]

Hey Jules ! Not sure about reduced homework, but recall hearing or reading that this is a request that must be honored. You may be able to explain to difficult child's teacher that your evenings are pure h*ll and torture for difficult child.

I did that last year without an IEP and difficult child's teacher caved a little.

Let me know if it works out.

 

[TiredSoul]

Thanks Shelly. Everything we request becomes a battle with our school. I have given them a clear picture of what our evenings look like. I will wait to see what happens with my request, but I have a feeling I will need a plan B.

 

[InsaneCdn]

My son's IEP states "length and presentation of assignments may be adapted as needed".

Get the IEP changed. I abhor statements like "may be adapted as needed" because that gives the power to the school to determine if it is needed.

"My son's IEP states "length and presentation of assignments will be adapted as needed to address issues x, y, and z ". and issues will include things like... not being able to cope with 2 hrs of homework after school, or whatever else needs to go in there.

 

[TeDo]

I fought to have difficult child's IEP wording changed to "difficult child will be allowed to complete half the number of problems as his non-disabled peers for full credit and the problems assigned should address key concepts." I also got them to add "difficult child will be given extra time to complete all assignments without penalty. All assignments need to be completed within 3 days of the actual due date." If the teachers don't agree with your request, call for a full IEP meeting to discuss the matter and make sure you hae an advocate with you. That's how I got them to agree to my requests. My advocate's arguments were "If he can show he knows the information with half the questions, why beat a dead horse?" and "What matters more: THAT he does it or WHEN he does it?"

Good luck. Sending my armor your way!

 

[TiredSoul]

Yes they love vague statements in their IEP's.

Tedo - I asked for exactly that. For them to reduce the homework to all even or odd problems, or half the page, or leave it up to us to determine how much he can handle on that particular evening without melting down. Right now they are refusing to do anything and want to meet with me. I am NOT willing to do that right now because it is their whole staff against me and I am frankly sick of it and sick of them thinking they can gang up on me and push things in a different direction or no direction at all. (That is a whole other post.) I have done this for 4 years and am sick of it.

 

[InsaneCdn]

You need someone to be in there WITH YOU.
You do need the meeting. But "you" against "them" is not going to do it.

You have to have an advocate. Someone professional, ideally. A retired teacher who acts as an advocate. therapist, even. Worst case, an attny. Somebody who can call a spade a spade and push their buttons - because it isn't "their" kid, this person can be "objective". Also provides second set of ears. You heard X - school says "no, we didnt say that". An advocate of any kind is going to be able to say... that they heard what you heard.

 

[TiredSoul]

You are exactly right Insane. I brought an advocate to a meeting or two last year. She is not a professional though. It wasn't super effective but nice to have someone along who could help take notes and make points. I feel like I do need an attorney or a professional. These are such simple things - it's not rocket science. I don't understand why I have to FIGHT them. I can't afford to hire someone. I am sick to death of this.

 

[InsaneCdn]

Any retired school teachers in the circle of family and friends?
These work too - because schools recognize their credentials... BUT - this one would be on YOUR side.

OR - at least ask the therapist. We had to do that more than once - especially when the school councillor was a major part of the problem.

 

[JJJ]

Simply go through the homework with a red pen and cross out the evens or the odds. Using the same red pen write on the bottom "Length of assignment adapted as needed per IEP." and sign it.

He's NINE. Grades are irrelevant. Don't even let that be a part of the conversation. Is he learning the skills being taught? That is all that matters.

 

[TiredSoul]

Love it JJJ! I don't know why I didn't think of that before. Yes, he is learning the skills taught. He has no problem. And that is part of the problem - once he gets something he does not understand one bit why he has to keep doing it over and over and over.

And as a matter of fact, his math HW came home tonight and every other problem was highlighted for him to do! Whoo hooo!

 

[TeDo]

I like JJJ's suggestion. Use the current vague IEP language to YOUR benefit. They won't see it coming and must accept it. The IEP says it can be adapted as needed. Does it say specifically WHO decides it's needed. If not, then this will work. Let them argue over their own insistence for vague language.

To get a "qualified" advocate, call your state Dept of Education for a recommendation. You could also call someone from Washington State Special Education Association for help. www.wssec.org. I finally had enough and that's why we're getting online school going from home. I got tired of fighting but I did it for 4 years with everything I had, including an autism specialist AND an advocate.

 

[buddy]

I am shocked that WA does not need a signature. So if you object to the IEP as is allowed by law, how do you do it? Do you need to add your own page? Regardless of signing or not, you can always ask for a conciliation conference to discuss areas and bring in a mediator can't you? That is federal law so all states must comply. Here is a great pdf file found at www.pacer.org which is a parent advocacy organization that is in MN but consults all around the country. You can call them with any specific question and they will (in my experience, I guess it could be that others have a different experience) call back and if they don't know they will help you find out. I have a friend in Utah who uses them all the time though they are in MN.
http://www.pacer.org/legislation/idea/pdf/idea2004parentguide.pdf

it seems like crazy common sense what you are asking for. I am so sorry because my head hurts for you....feeling that pounding against the wall!

 

[katiedid]

My son's IEP states "length and presentation of assignments may be adapted as needed".

We are trying to request reduced homework assignments. We have emailed our request to the school. Are they required by law to accommodate our request? I am curious to hear what others have been thru when trying to get this for their child as well.

Thanks!
Jules

So, who are you e-mailing? What type of services is he getting? Is this under accommodations? In the school I'm in, Special Education for kids/support is math and reading, homework is limited to practice, most of the kids in sped don't have homework. To be effective, since you have not gotten an answer, I would do the following. . . .

Send an e-mail to the special education teacher and gened teacher, copy the principal and (depending on what you've done before) director of special education. Request an IEP meeting. Parents have the right to request a meeting of the IEP team in between meetings.

 

[TiredSoul]

Thanks for the links Buddy. I will check those out.

Katiedid - I did email his Special Education teacher, his 2 gen ed teachers, and the principal. They seem to refuse to tell me in an email that we can modify his homework. I am doing what JJJ suggested now (and modifying it myself) so we'll see how that goes and if they try to give me any cr*p about it. I guess what I wanted was overall agreement by the team to do this - but they are not willing to email me about it.

Thanks for everyone's help!

 

[slsh]

Jules - You have an *excellent* advocacy group in WA. http://www.wapave.org/

I attended an IDEA training by them at the very start of our sped journey. Granted, 20 years ago, but staff were all parents who had been through the trenches and they really knew their stuff. I'd highly recommend them.