TL:DR — My son’s behavior is impeding his education and the LEA denied an FBA. What now?
The school denied my request for an FBA this spring and they plan on denying the one I asked for in writing last week/in person last night.
This is an example of the circles we went in:
“Heather, it's (LEA). My understanding, like (child’s SPED case manager) said, is after talking with (SPED district director), because I asked for clarification around what an FBA entails too, is that it really is determining the function of the behavior, and if test avoidance is the function and the concern, then an FBA really wouldn't be helpful. So I think, and even according to the team, I think our what we're thinking is denying the FBA and then encouraging the new BCBA to do some observations that actually might be more useful.”
I explained that refusal is a symptom of a problem, just like a fever is a symptom of a problem — and that neither of those is the root cause of the problem. My son is refusing to do assessments, and is refusing to go to school if there will be assessments. For context, my son has missed 4 days/36% of the school year so far due to his school refusal. I haven’t counted the days he missed due to school refusal in the spring (when I last requested an FBA for the same school refusal), but it was a lot.
I’m open to the possibility that I’m completely misunderstanding what an FBA is for. After all, how can everyone from the district SPED director, my son’s SPED case manager, and the Principal acting as LEA be wrong in their interpretation of what an FBA is for?
Any advice appreciate on how to get my kid an FBA, get the district to understand what an FBA is for, etc.
- Do I just jump straight to due process and let the state explain FBAs to the school?
- Do I ask for a manifestation determination first? (My child’s eligibility categories are autistic and dyslexic)
- Do I file an administrative complaint first?
