Jenna

Carolyn gave some great info. "Meaningful parent participation" is a part of the IDEA. Keep advocating for your child, but take care of yourself and your family. Prioritize what matters most to your family, and focus on those things in the next discussion.

How was your meeting? Homebound services is an option on the continuum of placement options, however, it's a very restrictive option. There's a big difference between having an aide assist a child in a classroom and homebound instruction. Is this child currently in a private school, or homeschooled, or do you have one child who is homeschooled but has an IEP, and another child with an IEP but in private school?

It seems like there's a long history with the district and concerns have built over years. I wasn't able to access the attachment, but would recommend not posting progress reports in a forum. Have you been able to speak with an advocate or attorney in your local area? If you feel your child hasn't received FAPE, talking with an advocate sooner is better than later, especially as your child is getting closer to graduation.

Has the student been evaluated for special education? If so, do they have an IEP? What has the school done regarding attendance?

Since you have a generally good relationship with the teacher, my suggestion would be to just request a quick conversation directly with the teacher re: the communication. If you haven't already done so, be sure to review Lisa's post on comp ed at https://adayinourshoes.com/comp-ed-compensatory-education/#h-evaluation-reevaluation-issues, and then maybe reach out to an advocate or attorney in your area if you are considering requesting comp ed so they can review your state's special education requirements and all the details of your situation to help you decide whether or not to make a request for comp ed.

If the school agrees the behaviors are a manifestation of disability, the IEP team should be meeting to discuss the FBA & behavioral plan. Has an FBA been done yet? Lisa's post at https://adayinourshoes.com/manifestation-determination-hearing/#h-options-during-the-manifestation-determination-review may also be helpful to you.

Your child had an IEP previously, and the district did not create the RIEP by their deadline, and was around 6 months late in finalizing the RIEP? In my state, the district has an administrative deadline to ensure the RIEP is in place when the previous IEP expires. If they do not, you could consider your procedural safeguard options. Did the district provide services when they didn't have a valid IEP in place? Does your state require parent agreement on a RIEP before it can be implemented? You may want to review Lisa's posts on comp ed at https://adayinourshoes.com/comp-ed-compensatory-education/#h-how-do-i-get-comp-ed-for-my-child. If you generally have a good relationship with the teacher, I'd first suggest having a phone or in-person conversation with her regarding her request that you only communicate via email if you feel email is too restrictive. Perhaps the school's administration pressured the teacher to request that communication be via email? You could reach out to an advocate or the Parent Training Information Center in your state to get their thoughts on such a request. Some families prefer email communication with schools.

My experience is that schools provide accommodations, but SDI is often lacking. What does the brief weekly check in look like? What skills are learned? The district should be sending you at least quarterly reports of progress monitoring for IEP goals. I agree with JSD24. Also, if the pediatrician is not aware of the learning difficulties, it may be worth a conversation with them so the doc can decide if there could be anything going on medically interfering with learning.

Have you talked with her pediatrician about this to get their thoughts? What are the grades like in other classes? What are her plans for after high school? You mentioned that she gets accommodations, but what specially designed instruction is she getting to help her learn material? 504s list accommodations, but with an IEP, she should receive SDI in needed areas. How is the school teaching her how to learn material?

I'd email the assistant principal documenting your understanding of the conversation and her position. Ask that she please let you know right away if you misunderstood something. Depending on her response and/or how your meeting goes, I'd ask for a copy of the district's policy for who gets to go to camp and who doesn't. If you believe the district is discriminating on the basis of disability, you could go through their 504 complaint procedures, or, you could file a complaint directly with the Office of Civil Rights. Lisa has info on that at https://adayinourshoes.com/office-civil-rights-complaint-special-education/#h-when-to-file-an-ocr-504-complaint.

Lisa has some helpful info on this at https://adayinourshoes.com/iep-emergency-plan/.

Regarding the incident of your child being left alone at school- did you officially report/document that? For your next IEP meeting, share a letter of parent concerns with your IEP team in advance. You could also reach out to your state's Parent Training & Info Center to see if they could connect you to a parent mentor in your area.

Document everything. How did you find out about this? If someone from the school told you about it, follow up with an email asap confirming your understanding of the conversation and ask that they please let you know right away if you've misunderstood anything. If your child told you about it, still email the school and let them know what you were told and get their perspective. What is your child's regular placement? Does your state have any specific rules giving schools flexibility to change placement for some short period of time without holding an IEP meeting to discuss the change of placement? If unsure, you can always reach out to your SEA for clarification. If you feel your school is in violation of the IEP, you can always consider your procedural safeguard options (administrative review, mediation/facilitation, complaint, due process). With the suspensions, has your school done an FBA and does your child have a BIP?

Check out Lisa's ESY post at https://adayinourshoes.com/extended-school-year/ in case it could help you decide whether you are comfortable with your district's decision, or whether you want to push the issue. Different states have different ESY criteria, so also check your SEA's policies on ESY. Would the IEP team entertain the idea of your child going into school for a little bit before school resumes for all students, for X mins/hrs each day/week to help with the transition back to school? Some may call this "ESY." I know some districts call it transitioning back to school instead of "ESY." If you don't want to formally challenge the district's decision to deny ESY, but you still feel your child needs additional support with social skills, are there ways in your community (summer camps/programs, private tutoring, youth programming through the public library/Scouts/4-H/sports/etc.) that could support growth in this area over the summer?

I'm not an attorney so I can't give any legal advice. Has the school done a functional behavioral assessment? Is he on a behavior improvement plan? Does the school have BCBAs & RBTs on staff? What behavioral support is he getting in school? What educational support did the school provide while he was out of school for a medical issue? How long has he been receiving failing grades? What's the IEP team's plan to help him improve his academic performance? You can request an IEP meeting as soon as possible.

Glad to hear that you're happy with the progress! Did your public school define their expectations of "progress" for them to continue to pay for the placement in your agreement? Are there concerns that the school won't be happy with the amount of progress at the private placement? Does someone from the private placement attend IEP meetings with you to help advocate for your child?

I'd email the teacher stating that you understand she told your child it was unfair for them to get extra time to complete the test. This impacted your child by _____ (feeling sad about oneself, embarrassed, etc.). Remind the teacher that the IEP states that your child needs extra time due to ____ (disability) as it is an accommodation to help them access their education like their non disabled peers. I'd probably CC the principal and the special education case manager so they're aware and can provide training to the teacher.

Document each time this happens with an email to the school rep who calls you telling you your child can't go to school confirming their conversation with you. How is the school providing education and any related services to your child while they can't attend school due to the district not allowing them at school? I'd recommend an IEP meeting to discuss how this will be addressed when the aide is absent, if it's not already addressed in the IEP.

Thanks for clarifying that you requested the IEE(s). Just to clarify the timeline- was it in Summer 2022 that a psychologist diagnosed your son with autism? Did that psychologist provide a comprehensive report, including scores from tests (such as the ASRS, ADOS, SMP-P, etc.), and explain how the results of those tests illustrate how the disability impacts your child in an educational environment? As Carolyn said, ask for the data that they used in making their determination that he wouldn't be eligible for an IEP. Ask what tests the district used to make their determination, and ask to see the scores for each test if that would help you. If your child's name and answers are on answer sheets for the school's tests, my understanding is that those should be maintained in your child's educational record, and therefore you should be able to view it.

Could you please clarify whether you asked for an IEE at district expense in each area the school evaluated that you disagree with? If you did, and if the district agreed to fund the IEE(s), what did the private evaluator(s) report(s) say regarding how the child's disabilities are affecting participation in the educational environment?

Is there a picture of a globe near your user name near the top of the page? When I hover over the globe, it says "notifications" and I can click on that and see my recent notifications. I hope this helps.

Was the IEP document that was created at the Feb. 8 IEP meeting a draft, or the final document? Did you send the after the IEP meeting follow up letter- explicitly requesting a copy of the draft to review? If so, did you receive a response? If not, do so right away reiterating your request to review the draft document. I'm not sure I understand what they mean by the IEP being "locked." IEPs are living documents that can be created/updated any time. You should be able to meaningfully participate in the development of the IEP, and you can also request copies of your child's records. If they give you a runaround, reach out to a district special education supervisor and request they send you a copy of the IEP draft.

https://adayinourshoes.com/see-school-video-incident-with-my-child-your-rights/

The short answer to your question is that there is no standard amount of goals for a child in a particular program. The way the IEP process is supposed to work is that the school will evaluate the child's needs, and once the needs and the educational impact are determined within the ETR and present levels, then goals should be created to address those needs. The amount of and types of goals created depend on each student's needs and what each IEP team decides. The IEP should address all areas of need. No IEP is perfect; you just have to decide if your child's is adequate and addresses all their needs. If you don't feel that the IEP adequately addresses your child's needs, write a letter of your concerns and request another IEP meeting.

I'm not familiar with this term. Is it the name of a special program or an award?