teacher lied at IEP meeting

Status
Not open for further replies.
A

agee

Guest
So -
a while back I posted something about being nervous for our upcoming discussion about whether or not difficult child would get an IEP, and it turned out that I had reason to be worried.
Here's how it went down:
My son has (diagnosed) ADHD and Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD) and has been having serious behavioral problems all year in his classroom. It has not been uncommon for us to get notes home 50 -75% of the days of the month about his behavior. Most days his behavior (as logged by his teacher) has been below the acceptable range, and his teacher even allows them to move "up" as they redeem themselves throughout the day so it's not like he screwed up once or twice and then was stuck for the day.
My son is also on, or just below grade level for all his subjects.
I requested a meeting to determine whether or not kiddo should have an IEP based on his behavior. I had outside evaluations done - we also had them done last summer - and we all met. Both last year's assessments and this year's assessments noticed significant attentional problems with my son. This is WITH medication.
At the meeting the narrative the teacher provided said that my son had no attentional or behavioral problems in the classroom. We asked if the evaluation. was for RIGHT NOW - because the past month we've gone up on his stimulant and his behavior at school has definitely improved although mood at home has been low - and the teacher said it was for the entire year.
2 people observed kiddo for 1/2 hour each and both observed that he was perfectly well behaved. No problems at all.
I've been in the classroom 2 hours every week and I've seen my son crawl under tables, kick people's science projects, shove kids, talk out, talk incessantly, ignore the teacher...and get consequences for all these behaviors.
I showed them a sampling of the notes that have been sent home, and I even showed them a calendar for March as a sample of the past couple of months where I color-coded the days his behavior was reported unacceptable. I told them that the assistant told me some days she had to sit with my child all day to keep him calm, and the teacher also told me that some days he couldn't teach the class because of dealing with-my son's behavior. difficult child has hurt 3 children, as well as doing inappropriate things in the bathroom. The teacher reported these verbally to me.
They just looked blankly at me.
Now - I realize that getting an IEP is hard to get based on behavior, especially since my son is "accessing the curriculum." I kind of expected we'd be turned down...but I didn't expect that the teacher would lie about my child's behavior. The teacher also said that my son did his homework...which was another blatent lie because I have to sit and do the homework with my child and if we're lucky we get 2 of the 8 or so homework sheets completed for the week and from about Nov- March, which is when we were adjusting medications, he did no homework at all.
So the teacher lied. And I had proof he lied, but no one cared.
My husband said that when they were reading the report he was wondering: whose kid are they talking about?
I am not sure what to do now.
I was thinking of writing a letter to go with the report so I can at least have it on record that we feel the report is incorrect.
And obviously from here on out I am going to take copious notes after every single interaction with school. I've taken some notes and kept some records, but I made a mistake in trusting the teacher to report correctly.
Thoughts?????
 

smallworld

Moderator
You actually can get an IEP based on behavior if said behavior is impacting the child's ability to access his education (which does happen quite often).

I'm not sure why the teacher would lie about your child's behavior, especially when you have progress notes in hand that detail some of that behavior.

Because we were afraid of being turned down for an IEP, we hired an educational advocate to go into the school and observe our child rather than relying on the school's observations. He then wrote up a report and presented it to the IEP team. It helped make our point about our son's social and emotional difficulties in the classroom. I also kept a very detailed homework log, which consisted of how long each homework assignment took him and what he did and did not accomplish.

Hope that helps.
 
V

vja4Him

Guest
I worked in numerous classroom where there were students with Autism, and doing some of things you describe. It is difficult to work in a classroom with kids who have autism. Although not all students I've worked with who have autism are difficult.
 

LittleDudesMom

Well-Known Member
I think you need to keep pursuing this. My son's first IEP in third grade was totally behavior driven. Once they did the testing, they did find he had some issues with writing (written expression disorder), but his IEP is still 90% behavior related. It's probably also an important piece that you request a BIP - Behavior Intervention Plan. It begins with the team writing a FBA - Functional Behavior Analysis, which looks at your son's behavior and tries to find patterns - time of the day, subject when he get's upset, person who might trigger, etc. Once they have that information, they write the BIP. The great thing about the BIP is that the team sits down and figures out what to do about the times your son has behavior issues. You get input into what was worked in the past, suggestions for calming, rewards for good behavior, etc. Everyone who comes in contact with your son at school is given a copy. All are to follow the BIP. It was a great help for us in the beginning.

I think, were I you, I would also request my child's records. Teachers are supposed to put all those behavior issues - all those notes home - in the student's file. I would want to take a look at it and see if there are any discrepancies between what is in his file and what they are telling you to your face. The first time I got a copy of difficult child's file, I actually just went up there and requested it and told them I would copy if for them! The secretary went and got it and I copied it right then an there = noone had a chance to take out or put in anything!

Keep on plugging Agee. You know, since you are at school a lot, that your son needs help. Go over to the wrightslaw website for some good information and ammunition.

Sharon
 
A

agee

Guest
Thanks so much for all the feedback. I think the teacher was completely covering his :censored2: by saying nothing was wrong behaviorally because he *should* have started a behavioral plans months before.
Teachers are supposed to put all those behavior issues - all those notes home - in the student's file. I would want to take a look at it and see if there are any discrepancies between what is in his file and what they are telling you to your face.
I GUARANTEE you the notes are not in difficult child's file. His eyes bugged out of his head when I produced the color-coded calendar showing that 15 of 20 days my son had been so poorly behaved that a note was sent home.
I will keep at it. I'm looking forward to next year, actually - but first - summer!
A
 

nvts

Active Member
Hey! You could send a letter (certified) asking for an assessment. This would then most likely be completed through the summer by an assessment team that doesn't work in the school. It could help since there wouldn't be any "preconceived notions" regarding difficult child.

I know that I've gotten the best evaluations by district based support teams rather than school based. His IEP could actually be in place before summer was over.

Just a thought!

Beth
 

Sheila

Moderator
Good for you for keeping the calendar. One of the best things parents can do is to keep a journal and document everything because it's more common that you may think for parents and educators perspectives to be different.

You're going to have to keep on keeping on.
 
B

Bluemoon

Guest
Wow, you just described my son and my battle. I had to move my son to a different school to get him an IEP and even now they resist acknowledging his need for more help.
He is classified learning disabled on his IEP, but has just been dianosesed with ODD. More resting to come sonn ofr Autism and ADHD, but the school was NO help with that, I had to fight for it in spite of them.

The general concensus is that the schools do not want IEP's for children and will not encourage help for special needs kids unless they have glaringly obvious issues like maybe Downs Syndrome and such.
This is because IEP children cost more than the children sitting next to them.

I have endured 9 years of being sent to parenting classes and being told that the only thing wrong with my child is that I am an ineffective parent. No-one in those classes had a clue what to do with a child like mine though. I have had to fight tooth and nail to be heard.

Good luck to you, keep advocating for your child!
 

formybuddy

New Member
Well my son is a tenth grade and boy have we had issues. I have to admit that a few folks involved with his IEP have been helpful (his in school doctor, 2 teachers ). He to have been labeled "bahavior issue child by the school. All I can say is advocate!!!!!! Keep record of everything!!! and I mean everything. I am in school and I have done more research on the school district, ADHD, TEA laws, my sons rights at school, my rights, IEP, procedure safeguard, etc. I switched my major again to Law!
My sons school is like a horse with blinders on...They have tired to place him in a alter.school and even lied about some of the behaviors issues. During a recent appeal to send him to *** one AP lied about his actions and his only statement was "I dont remember or recall saying or doing that: When I had a sworn, notazied letter from a student. They took the statement from the two students that accused my son, but disregard his. So if your dealing with the school...Don't be afraid to stand up for your child...Because thats what they want you to do. By all means don't for once believe their nonsense wording about"how they are here for the student, we want this student to be productive". People they are out for themselves. They don't care for our children!!!
I attended *****!!! There are only a few good schools left in this district. **** **** **** and maybe **.
I also realize the district is all about numbers and money. After his 7th grade dealing with this same district did I first consider homeschooling. I use to blame my son until I learned more about his disabilities. Well he has been with this district 4 years and yet to see any improvement. We have even thought of moving back to MN or ND for the schools. I dont know what is wrong with some of our schools.
So I am telling you some school officials do lie to protect their own butts.
I ask the question again "They have cameras watching our kids, who is watching the ones doing the watching" (the AP's and Principals) because they do lie.
Again keep copies of phone calls, emails and school records.
Find a advocate for your student!!!
 
Last edited by a moderator:

jal

Member
Your child can also get an IEP if his behavior is affecting other students from learning. (ie. you stated the teacher said he could not teach because of what your child was doing). I'd sent a registered letter to your Director of Pupil Services requesting an evaluation and keep at it.
 
T

TeDo

Guest
This thread is very old. Formybuddy, thanks for posting but we'd love it even more for you to start a new thread introducing yourself and your situation.
 

JJJ

Active Member
This thread is very old. Formybuddy, thanks for posting but we'd love it even more for you to start a new thread introducing yourself and your situation.

Welcome formybuddy! As TeDo said, please start a new thread and introduce yourself. I removed the names of your schools as we don't allow the posting of the names of specific places.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top