TN Mom

Thank you for your response. I will contact the district immediately. v/r

Several weeks ago and again within the past few weeks, I found it necessary to file administrative complaints with the state Department of Education regarding what I now refer to as deliberate indifference pertaining to the continued struggle to ensure that the most basic of our student's IEP accommodations were consistently implemented. Our child has a 3.85 gpa and is ranked in the top ten percentile of his class. That would assuredly warrant an academic achievement award, right??? For the first time in four years, the answer is a resounding No! Mea culpa? So disappointing...

While some states are limited in what their resolutions to administrative complaints are, I am wondering what the standard resolutions are, i.e., staff training, mediation

Yes, this is the same child. My comment about his achievements was a simple, "in spite of it all, he will succeed" and in the frustration of at this point, it shouldn't still be this hard. University SDS has already been contacted and he will hopefully make use of all that is available. BTW, Administrative Complaints have been filed.

That's a valid point and may have been a factor if we hadn't already taken measures to assure that it wouldn't. Yes, our child is 18, however all things that legally grant me the access to and the decision making capability have been in place since reaching AOM.

"parents need to give permission in writing for the triennial eval to happen. You can also ask when they reached out to you for your input" Thank you for your response. No permission was granted nor input requested. When I made this point, I received a .pdf form to complete. The " team", I was told, determined the necessity. Well, someone forgot to include this team member. I have been told that I can revoke any permission to evaluate/reevaluate. In the meantime, I have submitted a formal request for an IEP meeting in order to learn more about how the determination was made and how it will benefit our child (3 months until graduation; already admitted to college; and receiving an academic scholarship)

Thank you for your response. I spoke with a representative of the State Department of Education and was told to request a "summary" of the findings in order to effectively prepare for and to adequately participate at the IEP meeting at which the complete evaluation would be discussed. This is based on 34C.F.R. § 300.613(a) - right to access. Yesterday, I was politely denied access to either. Three months until graduation and the fight continues...

I requested an OT Evaluation for our child in August of 2023. I was told last week that the evaluation is complete. I then asked for a copy of the evaluation so that I might determine what type of meeting would be necessary to go over the findings - traditional vs. No Meet. I was told that I couldn't have a copy. What could possibly be their reasoning? Neither HIPAA nor FERPA,???

I received an invitation from our son's case manager last week to meet for his triennial evaluation. Her comment was that "the team" had decided. Red flag! Team member here! No parental input document had been sent. Red Flag #2. I asked for the date of his last evaluation and was told that it was performed in 2020,thus the reevaluation's correct date would have been 2023. He graduates in May. Is there a purpose ? Am I legally required to attend?

Thanks to each of you... My question was really more about when should the parents should be notified regarding AOM, and if in doing so, should it have been documented on the IEP. Another Mom feels that she was recently blindsided. One thing after another kept resulting in the need to table resolving issues and signing the IEP. At the end of the last meeting, she was told that she wouldn't be able to continue representing her daughter because she would celebrate her 18th birthday over that weekend. I paraphrase..."can't sign her IEP but FAFSA needs me"

What is the specific IDEA law regarding age of majority? Must the school provide formal or written notice at least one year before AOM is reached, and where in the IEP should it be noted, if at all? Please advise... Thank you

For the past three school sessions there have been repeated incidences of our student's accommodations not being automatically implemented/followed. This has typically resulted in an email being sent to the varied instructors and if necessary, a follow up email being sent to the Case Manager requesting intervention. At some time during the first year, I requested that a process be implemented through the learning platform that would automatically trigger implementation. No one could figure out a way. This year, I asked that a simple Google document be built and attached to the learning platform that when completed, would automatically send the email to the instructor requesting that the accommodation be implemented. I understand that the option is to file complaints with the state Department of Education, however I simply wanted to make this as painless as possible. (We have successfully filed against the district before) Rather surprisingly, the suggestion was met with opposition, a nonsensical "we don't understand what you're asking", and other ridiculous comments. One such comment lead to my reminding the LEA that I, too, am a member of the IEP team. What, short of a state complaint, would be a workable solution

Thank you for you response and addd reference. They've offered to create a Word or Google document with the attached "customized" accommodations, however I feel a bit uneasy with this option. Would I be wrong in requesting that the meeting be tabled until this software "issue" is resolved?

I just received an email with the draft copy of our son's IEP for a meeting which is to be held Monday morning. Included in the email was a line that read that "the school system's new IEP software doesn't allow for customized accommodations". What??? Isn't there the IEP adage that maintains that the "I" represents individualized. How can this be? He's not a series of tick marks nor a "fill- in the- blanks". Am I missing something here? Please advise... Thank you

My apologies for the delay in responding. I absolutely appreciate the clarity suggested in your response and will take the offer to "copy/paste". The points were deducted because the assignment was turned in late. I should add that at the end of the semester, each instructor sends a notification either by email or through the LIS to "look for and submit any missing assignments ". There was no caveat stating that these assignments would be subjected to a reduction in points. He already had an "A" in the class, so having him submit the assignment was, in my opinion, an opportunity to reinforce responsibility. What a hornets nest it quickly became. The final result was my being told that the syllabus statement regarding late assignments superceded the accommodation. The specificity provided in how you've worded the accommodation is exactly what I've planned. Thank you for your suggestion...

Clarity is exactly what is needed. While each accommodation, in my opinion, left little room for ambiguity, I suppose that "a little room" is all that's needed for subjective inference to slip through. There is an accommodation for the submission of late assignments for up to two days without penalty...an accommodation that when needed, requires an email message from Mom for it to be applied. He also has extended time, and a host of others written for the complexities of ASD. No, I don't want another assignment. It isn't necessary. There is a common practice, as the session draws to an end, for the instructors to send out an email or Canvas LMS message requesting that students review their grades, check for and submit missing assignments. This is done without penalty. Well, it has been done without penalty until this point. The assignment that I speak of was one that he hadn't submitted. No errors, however he was docked 50 points. It doesn't change his grade. He has a strong "A" in the course, but that isn't the point. Clear and air tight unambiguous is now my mantra.... Thank you for your suggestions.

Surprisingly enough, hours after my request for an extension was submitted to the director, I received an email asking for meeting availability. I am saddened more than shocked as, in the long run, there is a kid who is affected; my kid. I will be prayed up, present and prepared. We will begin our search for an advocate in the morning and proceed from there. Did I mention not receiving a response from the director?

Due to a recent medical diagnosis that affects my vision, cognition, and verbal expression( inability to speak fluently), I submitted a letter to the LEA requesting an extension of the tentative date. The response was that the meeting must be held on or before this date. I understood that it would render them out of compliance with the state, however I believed that having a competent advocate/parent present was tantamount to assuring an adequate IEP. Surprisingly enough, the date for annual review has come and gone. No invitation, according to the state DOE has been generated, and they are effectively out of compliance. No, the IEP doesn't expire and I expect that what is now written will continue until a meeting date, time, and place is agreed upon. Do I have any parental right to request the extension?

As this session draws to a close, students have been asked to review their grades in the Canvas Platform as well as PowerSchool to check for grades and/or missing assignments. Our student completed and submitted the one missing assignment for the class. When I questioned the grade he received, I was told that his clearly stated "any assignment for which he receives <70% can be resubmitted ". There is no ambiguity in that statement, nor an if, then clause. I was simply informed that the assignment was late, and the accommodation did not apply. I asked, in writing, for an explanation as to how the decision of applicability was determined. We've received nothing. Administrators and the state DOE have been contacted, however I am almost certain that there has been a failure to comply. An administrative complaint is an arduous task, however it is not an unfamiliar one. We are pending annual review and the situation is already strained. Any suggestions on how to proceed? I