Charter schools and IEP

[forkeeps251]

I have a quick question and I would love it if someone could answer or point me in the right direction. Currently my son has a IEP where he is receiving speech classes, has a behavior plan, and spends a (very) small amount of time in a resource classroom a week (15 minutes twice a week). We have recently checked out a charter school that we think might be a good fit, because of the smaller class size and more individualized attention to the student. He will be in frist grade next year.

We did ask them about speech and pretty much all they said was that they did have a Special Education classroom (although he is in a normal classroom right now), so I'm guessing that they do have a speech program. If he is enrolled and his IEP says he has to have speech, do they have to accomidate him? What if it is in a different, but nearby, school district then what he is currently at? I'm sure they could have someone come to the school, but will they? Does his IEP follow him to a different district?

And... being a public school, can they kick him out if he doesn't behave? I'm a little worried about that, too.

 

[buddy]

bottom line...yup. Charter school has to provide the same as any school....but just like any school it only has to be reasonable accommodations and the fact is some charter schools are so focused specifically that if his needs are too unique they could make your life miserable trying to get the accommodations. I specifically worked for my last four years before I became a stay at home mom in a charter school doing speech therapy.

The behavior issues are the same as in any school. They SHOULD do the right thing, analyze and follow he bip. but as you know, some school has admin and staff that are good about this and some do not.

If the school is a good match and meets his overall needs then it may be you have less issues overall anyway. Some charter schools are so good and target kids who are a little unique anyway so they can be really tolerant and creative when it comes to ideas for redirecting and helping to overcome behaviors.

Hope you find it is a good match, there is nothing like finding a great school for your kiddo!

 

[TeDo]

We went from public to a charter school for a little while. difficult child 1's IEP followed him and they are required to follow the IEP as much as they are able. If they said they have a SpEd classroom, that does NOT mean they have speech. Our charter school did not have a speech therapist or Occupational Therapist (OT) but they said they could contract to have one come in. After the first 30 days, in our case, they would have an IEP meeting to share their observations and revise the IEP to meet what they are able to do. Don't go in with any expectations. Most charter schools will do what they CAN but they use that first month to get to know your child. In our case, it would have been great for difficult child 1 if he hadn't already been so damaged by the public school.

 

[buddy]

yes, that is the most common practice.....Occupational Therapist (OT), PT, Vision specialists, Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) specialists, SP. Therapist are brought in from a co-op or intermediate district that the charter school is a member of, or the charter school is part of a group of charter schools that shares resources. If the charter school focuses for example on kids with hearing impairment or Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) then naturally they will have their own in the school because there will be so many that need the servces.

 

[BloodiedButUnbowed]

I work for a charter school. We do not have SLPs. We do the best we can but it is not adequate. I would keep your special needs child out of a charter if I were you unless you have more than one positive reference from another parent of a special needs child who received services at that charter. The only exception would be if your child is more or less independent and does not truly require modifications, accommodations and related services to keep up with his or her classmates.