School refusing to perform IEP

[Darcy]

Hello,

 

A parent reached out to me for support but the school is saying a bunch of things I've never heard of so I wanted to reach out to others for input. This parent's child attended school "A". At school A in Jan. 2024, the school switched him from an IEP to a 504 plan. The parent said she disagreed with this but the school did it anyway. They never came up with a 504 plan so she has no documentation. The child now goes to school "B". School be is saying the child must be on the 504 plan for a year before he is allowed to get his IEP back. The school is not implementing or even has a 504 plan yet. The child is having a ton of issues with behavior, no skill building and nothing that was addressed in the 504 plan (school A said we'll put XYZ in the 504 plan but no plan was ever created) is being worked on. My gut is telling me she needs to just email school B and call for an IEP evaluation and start getting everything in writing as far as them saying the child is not allowed to have an IEP, etc to make her case for mediation and any other action. Thank you for any support you can give on this situation.

[Carolyn Rowlett]

My first question would be "Are school A and school B in the same school district"? 

For now, I will assume different school districts.  With respect to the first school district, some of what they did may or may not be ok.  Was a meeting held to discuss removing from services?  Did that meeting include a review of existing data and did that data support removing the child from services?  Were all goals met?  Did she receive a PWN regarding the removal of services and a reason?  Depending on the answers to these questions, a state complaint might be warranted. After the meeting and/or removal of services, did someone reach out to the 504 coordinator to start the process for a 504 Plan (that team would be different from the IEP team)?

Having to be on a 504 for a year before getting an IEP is DEFINITELY NOT A THING.  Both can be pursued simultaneously.  If school B hasn't started the process for a 504, she needs to contact the 504 coordinator and keep going up the chain of command.  With respect to the IEP, yes, she should definitely email a request for an IEP evaluation citing reasons and data for thinking her child needs one.  The school then agrees or denies.  If denied, make sure she receives a PWN with reasons.  Also, at that point she can ask for an IEE.

[Darcy]

No, they are both in the same school district. I will forward this information to her. I think they're just doing whatever they want because the parent doesn't know anything about the process  and they're just steamrolling her. 

[JSD24]

If this school district has a rule that a student needs to be on a 504 for a year before they will do a special ed eval:

1-  Get this in writing.

2-  File a complaint with the state using 1 as evidence.

3-  Ask who the school's 504 coordinator is and request a 504 meeting so a 504 can be drafted and put in place.

4-  Request that the prior school send a copy of the 504 the child had when the IEP went away.  See if they can tell her the date it started.  (It might exist - parents are not required members of the 504 team.  And if it's been in place for a year it might be time for an IEP.)

[Darcy]

JSD24,

 

Thank you! I recommended 1 and 3 but not the other two. I will recommend this to her. 

 

Thanks again.