My 10 year old ds has an I.E.P that was just finalized about a month ago. I assumed everything was going to be so much better, but found out a few days ago, that the teacher, isnt' even aware that he has one. Nothing has been done, no changes made, no accomadations that we fought for for almost a year. We've called for a meeting with the school, but I was wondering if anyone has any advice about how we should approach it. The school seems to be so clueless about the law-this all seems so new to them. The principal actually sat and shook her head at the I.E.P meeting when they were reading his accomadations out loud. They still use paddles at this school, and even though we didn't give our permission for him to be disciplined with paddling, she still pulled it out and slammed it on her desk when he was sent to her (first time in life being sent to the principal). Sometimes I feel like I'm fighting a hopeless cause-I feel so small fighting a BIG system.
School not following I.E.P.
- Thread starter diane561
- Start date
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TeDo
Guest
At the meeting, express your concerns about the teacher not following the IEP. It is supposed to be implemented as soon as you sign it. If the teacher isn't aware of it, give him/her a copy of it and volunteer to go over it with them. The communication in our school is awful so I have had to resort to doing this also. As for the "paddling", I would contact your state Department of Education. It is my understanding that this is illegal. I may be wrong, but that was my understanding.
Continue to stand up for your child. No one else is going to. You might also want to ask the Dept of Ed for an advocate to help you deal with these issues with your school. That is in their jurisdiction so they are the ones to talk to.
Good luck and keep us posted.
Continue to stand up for your child. No one else is going to. You might also want to ask the Dept of Ed for an advocate to help you deal with these issues with your school. That is in their jurisdiction so they are the ones to talk to.
Good luck and keep us posted.
I guess my first question would be why wasn't teacher involved in developing IEP?
Don't let the principal throw you. The IEP is a legal document and if they are not following it, they are in violation of federal law. Her opinion really doesn't matter a whole lot at this point, and in my humble opinion, the head-shaking is just intimidation.
Since you've scheduled a mtg, I would just kind of do a bullet list of accommodations and services he is to be receiving per the IEP. Get the SD to commit to a timeline of when they plan to implement them. I'd also make *darn* sure his teacher is present at this mtg. You might also try to come up with a communication system so that you know when he is receiving his services (kind of hard to give an example since I'm not sure what you got put in his IEP).
After the mtg, I'd send a certified letter of understanding to Sped Director of what was discussed at the mtg and when services are to be implemented. Request that the letter be placed in your son's permanent file. Then you are going to need to follow up - with son, with teacher, with whomever - to make sure that the IEP is being followed. If they don't get with it, you are probably going to have to apply some pressure - either with a complaint to state dept of ed or getting an advocate to help you - but hopefully it won't come to that.
Don't let the principal throw you. The IEP is a legal document and if they are not following it, they are in violation of federal law. Her opinion really doesn't matter a whole lot at this point, and in my humble opinion, the head-shaking is just intimidation.
Since you've scheduled a mtg, I would just kind of do a bullet list of accommodations and services he is to be receiving per the IEP. Get the SD to commit to a timeline of when they plan to implement them. I'd also make *darn* sure his teacher is present at this mtg. You might also try to come up with a communication system so that you know when he is receiving his services (kind of hard to give an example since I'm not sure what you got put in his IEP).
After the mtg, I'd send a certified letter of understanding to Sped Director of what was discussed at the mtg and when services are to be implemented. Request that the letter be placed in your son's permanent file. Then you are going to need to follow up - with son, with teacher, with whomever - to make sure that the IEP is being followed. If they don't get with it, you are probably going to have to apply some pressure - either with a complaint to state dept of ed or getting an advocate to help you - but hopefully it won't come to that.
JJJ
Active Member
It appears that corporal punishment is still legal in Florida: http://school.familyeducation.com/classroom-discipline/resource/38377.html
However, I would send them a certified letter stating that they do not have permission to strike your child. If they do, take him straight to his pediatrician and have them call DCFS on the school if there is even a hint of a bruise.
I taught in a school that still allowed corporal punishment but the prinicpal was very clear that any teacher that chose to use corporal punishment was on their own -- that if the child (big huge high school boys) struck back it would be considered self-defense and not punished and that if a parent sued us, the school would not provide attorneys. (We had a very old school board that believed in 'spare the rod spoil the child' but the rest of us lived in this century and no one EVER hit a student).
However, I would send them a certified letter stating that they do not have permission to strike your child. If they do, take him straight to his pediatrician and have them call DCFS on the school if there is even a hint of a bruise.
I taught in a school that still allowed corporal punishment but the prinicpal was very clear that any teacher that chose to use corporal punishment was on their own -- that if the child (big huge high school boys) struck back it would be considered self-defense and not punished and that if a parent sued us, the school would not provide attorneys. (We had a very old school board that believed in 'spare the rod spoil the child' but the rest of us lived in this century and no one EVER hit a student).
Our experience is that the principal is the one who sets the tone for the school and enforces the rules with the teachers.
If you do not have the principal's support then my experience suggests you should plan to move your child to a different school that has a supportive principal - assuming you live somewhere that has more than one school choice available. Otherwise you can forget about getting the accommodations and services no matter what the IEP says unless you are willing to take everything to due process.
If you live in a small rural community and there are no other options, then you may very well have to carry your concerns up to the School Board level to get any action. And even then it may go nowhere fast unless you go to due process.
Lawsuits tend to focus their attention like nothing else will do. It may also create a lot of animosity - even though it's not supposed to do so.
I second slsh - where was the general ed teacher at the IEP meeting?
If the IEP team meeting did not include a general ed teacher then it was done in violation of IDEA which specifically requires this. You cannot excuse the general ed teacher from attending - as you can choose to do with other team members like speech or Occupational Therapist (OT). If she didn't attend but they had her sign as if she had attended then that's going to be a problem since it will be your word against theirs. If they didn't get her to sign it then you have them on a procedural violation which you should take to the State Dept. of Education.
Procedural violations are handled differently from disagreements over services.
They are handled at the State level as a formal complaint against the school district or LEA. In California the way it works is that you make your written complaint and then the State investigates by reviewing your child's IEP documents and perhaps a half dozen others too. If they find consistent procedural violations they can audit all the IEP's that school district/LEA has issued for compliance and make a LOT of trouble for that LEA.
Procedural violations do not require you to go to due process, you don't need an advocate or mediator - you just call the Dept of Ed, talk to someone there and then use their complaint process to tell them what happened. Here it's a very simple process and not at all stressful - unlike due process.
After they have investigated they get back to you with their findings.
If you do not have the principal's support then my experience suggests you should plan to move your child to a different school that has a supportive principal - assuming you live somewhere that has more than one school choice available. Otherwise you can forget about getting the accommodations and services no matter what the IEP says unless you are willing to take everything to due process.
If you live in a small rural community and there are no other options, then you may very well have to carry your concerns up to the School Board level to get any action. And even then it may go nowhere fast unless you go to due process.
Lawsuits tend to focus their attention like nothing else will do. It may also create a lot of animosity - even though it's not supposed to do so.
I second slsh - where was the general ed teacher at the IEP meeting?
If the IEP team meeting did not include a general ed teacher then it was done in violation of IDEA which specifically requires this. You cannot excuse the general ed teacher from attending - as you can choose to do with other team members like speech or Occupational Therapist (OT). If she didn't attend but they had her sign as if she had attended then that's going to be a problem since it will be your word against theirs. If they didn't get her to sign it then you have them on a procedural violation which you should take to the State Dept. of Education.
Procedural violations are handled differently from disagreements over services.
They are handled at the State level as a formal complaint against the school district or LEA. In California the way it works is that you make your written complaint and then the State investigates by reviewing your child's IEP documents and perhaps a half dozen others too. If they find consistent procedural violations they can audit all the IEP's that school district/LEA has issued for compliance and make a LOT of trouble for that LEA.
Procedural violations do not require you to go to due process, you don't need an advocate or mediator - you just call the Dept of Ed, talk to someone there and then use their complaint process to tell them what happened. Here it's a very simple process and not at all stressful - unlike due process.
After they have investigated they get back to you with their findings.
sunny32127
New Member
I am an ESE teacher in Florida and I would advise that you contact the school immediately and aprise them of the situation. The school year is over, but at the beginning of next year, meet with the teacher and the ESE teacher to ensure that everyone is aware of the IEP. No, it is not your job to do all this and, hopefully, the next year's teacher will be more aware, but best to err on the side of caution. It is difficult to understand, however, how your child's teacher coul be unaware of an IEP when the general education teacher should be part of the team when creating it!
First off I am a parent with a child with Autism and secondly I am an Education Specialist in California. Your IEP team must consist of; Gen ed teacher, Sped Teacher, Administrator, School psychiatric and anyone who is providing service to your child like: Speech, Adaptive PE, Occupational therapy etc. Your school sounds to be completely out of compliance with the IEP. You may wish to seek alternative placement, or hold them accountable with an advocate. Schools do not like the idea of law suits. Ensure you advocate for him with bi-monthly or weekly progress reports. Get the information you require, get work samples, do a drive by visit. Be active in your child's education. As for the PADDLE, that is not legal in our state and for kids on spectrum highly unorthodox. I would call your local Autism Society and get them on this PRONTO...
Hi, I am new here and yours is the first post I read but I truly understand what you are going through. I have two boys with IEPs and both are 10 right now. I have found that you need to make sure that the teacher is aware of the IEP at the beginning of the school year...especially if it was done at the end of the prior school year. Each first day of school I have walked my boys to their new classrooms. I always hand over a synopsis of what problems the boys have to the new teacher and I always ask if they have read the IEP. Generally the answer is "no, I have not had time" and I tell them they need to take the time. Being a proactive parent is the best thing you can do for your child even if you make people say "ut oh, she's here!!" Don't count on the schools to follow the rules.
