Excusing members from CCC

[Kelly M]

We received the invite for our three year old daughter's initial IEP into developmental preschool. They are requesting that we excuse the general education teacher from the meeting "because the attendance of the general educator is not necessary because the student is not and will not be participating in the general education environment." I am wondering what the positives and negatives of excusing the teacher would be, and if we excuse the teacher for this meeting, would they be excused from future meetings as well?

[Angela Tyszka]

I remember my oldest son's very first IEP meeting. We were transitioning from early intervention services to Early Childhood Special Education. We got to the meeting and the OT was absent. She hadn't informed us she wasn't going to be there. My husband and I had both taken off of work for this meeting and there were quite a few team members in the room with us. We were told our only options were to excuse her or reschedule the meeting. I had been working in higher education disability services for years, but didn't know much about K-12 laws or procedures at that time so we chose to proceed without her.

I may have made the same choice today, rather than having to reschedule the entire meeting, but I have a lot more information at my disposal to make that decision today.  Ask yourself, what is the value of having that person there? Do they know your child or are they only attending because they are legally obligated to be there? Are you able to talk to that person before the meeting and get their input and/or ask questions? Will that person be responsible for implementing any part of the IEP?

In your particular case, what are your thoughts on "the student is not and will not be participating in the general education environment?" Obviously, if you are seeking general education inclusion of your child in any capacity then it might be prudent for the general education teacher to be there. If you believe your child's needs will be completely supported by special education teachers and staff then the general education teacher may not be as important. However, remember that the school can send any general education teacher. In my son's case, he's in a self contained special education classroom but he still has general education teachers for classes like music, art and gym class. Often, the general ed teacher in our meetings has been one of those specials teachers that know him and can make suggestions to accommodations, services, etc. that he has needed for support.

[JSD24]

Therapists are not 'legally' required to be at an IEP meeting.  There is an exception:  When it's a speech only IEP & it's the speech therapist.  The therapist should provide written input when they are not at the meeting.

Not in the gen ed classroom really depends on the child & their disability.  This was not appropriate until my child needed a 2nd senior year that covered how to navigate college.  I believe the placement was classified as 'community' and not as sp ed.

Edited October 1, 2022 by JSD24
Didn't know that crtl/enter would post a reply

[Kelly M]

I guess our main concern is that since she will be in a developmental preschool, that she will automatically be put in special education instead of general ed if we excuse the general ed teacher from the meeting. 

[Kim]

Honey you have the right to say she has to be there. Don’t let them push you around. You are your baby’s mouthpiece. Don’t be afraid to say what you want and what you think your child needs

[MaryH]

By excusing the teacher, it will not impact future attendance. She/he would need to come. I have found that excusing personnel is not useful.  A question always seems to come up for the person you excused.  I would respond and say you would like the entire IEP team in attendance to include the gen ed teacher.  The Gen Ed teachers always have a wealth of info and are value add to the IEP team. 

[Christy McGuire]

If your concern is that placement, I would not excuse this teacher. She is the best person to ask for input as far as what could be done for your child in the general ed setting.

 

I would respond with, "we would like to consider whether general ed is the least restrictive environment, and this feel that Mrs. X would be a critical member of the team for our meeting."

 

If you haven't become familiar with the term "least restrictive environment" you'll want to go over to Lisa's blog and search it.

 

I have excused the gen ed teacher from our speech only IEP meetings. We were wanting speech services that she had nothing to do with, so it was just a legality. No reason to keep her from her classroom for that.

[Lisa Lightner]

I'm wondering how they know that a 3-year-old will not be in the gen ed environment, before the team has met to determine placement.

 

Placement is a team decision.

[Jenny Keesee]

I’d say at 3 it really isn’t a huge issue. The role of the general Ed teacher should be to give input concerning what accommodations or modifications may be needed for your child to participate in the general education setting. In preschool the students are generally in one class the entire time they’re there. When she’s transitioning to Kindergarten you will need that input. But it’s entirely your decision.