Lisa Lightner

No, that sounds like retaliation. I'd seek an attorney. I know many parents say "I can't afford one" but when we're talking about choking, DCF and all that, you can't afford to not at least visit one for an initial consult.

you did it!

Well, here we are. Not the outcome that many of us wanted, but here we are. So let's get together, share, comfort each other....because we are not alone.

Also, FSIQs are a vanity metric. What did the subtests show?

How do PT, OT, SLP....know what to work on? What are the goals? Are there goals? And if there are goals....sounds like an IEP to me. I suppose there's nothing in IDEA preventing a student from having a 504 with FOUR related services....but it's odd. Why not just give an IEP when it's obvious the child needs it? To prevent having to progress monitor, maybe? Who knows why they do what they do. Read up on IEEs if you haven't already. You may want to consider asking for one if you disagree with their evaluations. Ditto to what Carolyn said about keeping track of the school refusal stuff. Remember tomorrow you don't have to agree to anything, you can just listen and process the information over the weekend. (and post it here, of course)

This is not something specifically defined by IDEA. However, IDEA does give parents the right to "meaningful parent participation." Does a school policy supersede meaningful parent participation? Not usually. However, it will take a formal complaint of some kind to undo this. That might be an OCR complaint, compliance complaint.

I'm a stickler about one thing--NO DIAGNOSES on the profile page. https://adayinourshoes.com/front-page-iep/

Question: How do you handle it when the school resists adding certain supports or services to your child's IEP? Any success stories or strategies to share?

Question: What strategies have you found effective for managing your child's behavior at school? How did you work these into their IEP?

Question: How do you interpret your child’s progress data from their IEP? Any tips or tools that have helped you understand it better?

Question: For parents whose kids are transitioning from one school level to another (e.g., elementary to middle school), what tips or advice would you share? What worked, and what didn’t?

Question: What has been your biggest win in advocating for your child? And what lesson did you learn from a challenging IEP meeting?

Question: What's the most creative or unusual accommodation you've successfully included in your child's IEP? How has it helped them?

Question: Share a time when you finally felt heard by your child's IEP team. What made the difference, and how did it impact your child's education?

By and large, retention doesn't work. The data doesn't support it. The school has to provide you a PWN with what they deny in regards to the IEP stuff. Look at your school website for appeals or grievance procedures regarding the grade retention.