I was not informed by school of IEP meeting!

Yes, you read that right. I got a phonecall from my oldest sons school that they scheduled an IEP meeting. Then another call that same day, saying that it was cancelled due to scheduling conflicts with- other members, but they would let me know when it was to be re-scheduled. Um... no. I found out he had an IEP meeting after the fact, through his grandmother, when my mom and I were visiting with- my son at her house. At this meeting, they shortened his school day, once again, from 4hrs now down to 3!

I spoke to the social worker for my son's case today, and told her this. She said, " I didn't know about it as well, until 2 hours before the meeting!" She also said that they got an earful for doing that. The social worker (R), proceeds to tell me she did not like the tone of the meeting, it was awful. She believes they had an "agenda."

Basically from what R told me, they kept going on about safety of staff and the other students. I know my son is aggressive, but he still deserves to be provided with- an education. One of the teachers who works with- him, C, was pretty silent throughout this meeting. She has been with- him for years, and has always advocated for him in this school. R said she almost seemed scared to say anything at this meeting!

My oldest son is in grandmas custody now. I still have my parental rights. My mom, my son's therapist, and I have always been invited to IEP meetings. None of us were for this one. R told me that another case worker was also supposed to be invited to this meeting, and was not. My big question here, is this legal?
 

Sheila

Moderator
This is a gray area in my opinion. If grandma has legal custody of difficult child, I think the sd may be within their rights not to contact the parent. As long as grandma signed a 5 day Waiver Notice, the meeting may be legal

While the regs state the parent must be invited, when the parent is somehow unavailable or out of the picture, the definition of "parent" takes on the meaning of caretaker, foster parent, etc.

I recommend that you contact your Regional OSEP office and present you situation and question. See http://www.ed.gov/about/contacts/gen/regions.html for contact info.

To perhaps circumvent this happening in the future, I'd send a letter via Certified Mail to your child's school district Director of Special Education advising that in the future you must be invited to all IEP meetings and staffings.

Let us know how it goes.
 

Sheila

Moderator
P.S.
If the information from OSEP is favorable, ask that you be emailed or mailed a short rendition of their opinions. You can also, get the reps email address and forward a followup of the conversation.
 

Sheila

Moderator
I read "I still have parental rights, and it is part of the court order that I am to be notified of school meetings, and I need to be consulted about medication changes, among other things as well" from your girlfriend thread. It's a key piece of information.

If you had provided the sd with-a copy of this specific page of the Court Order, the sd is in violation of IDEA.

If you haven't provided the info the the sd in the past, attach it to the sd letter I suggested you send. DO NOT forget to send the letter via CM.
 
Thankyou! I will look into this, and see if I can find the documentation of the court order. The social worker also suggested that I contact NAMI, and see if an advocate is willing to volunteer their services in this area, because I cannot afford one.
 
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