Jenna

The PWN should be written after the IEP is done. Is the deadline the school is worried about their deadline for the new IEP to go into effect? I'm not in PA and given that your meeting is tomorrow, maybe call the PA Dept. of Education first thing in the morning to get clarification. The Special Education ConsultLine phone number is 1-800- 879-2301. I would also ask the school if the next annual review could please be done at least a couple weeks before the IEP needs to go into effect to give you time to review the final copy & the PWN.

If you still have questions regarding the assessment, follow up with the person who administered the test. Pearson has a WISC-V Interpretive Considerations for Sample Report that's designed for clinicians, but perhaps reviewing that hypothetical report could help before you meet with the person who administered the assessment.

Welcome! Your child can go to private therapies paid for by your medical insurance if that's what you and the medical team feel is needed. Having a pediatrician who gets to know your child and your family, and who can provide care to your child (well visits and sick care), and who can provide referrals to specialists (neurologists, speech therapists, occupational therapists, psychologists, etc.), is important. If your child needs private therapies, would your child be able to go to appointments outside of school hours? What happens if your child has to go to private appointments during school time? How will the district react to that? Will your child be counted truant or chronically absent? Or does the district agree that the child needs those therapies rather than being in school? And if they agree with that, are they willing to just provide the therapies at school so your child won't miss so much school? Are those therapies/services needed for the child to access a "free and appropriate public education?" Public schools are required to provide a "free and appropriate public education" (FAPE). Take a close look at the results of the evaluations you've had done privately and the evaluations the school has done. How do they compare? If the district didn't thoroughly evaluate each area of need, or if their evaluations don't seem accurate, you can request an independent educational evaluation. Before requesting an IEE though, be sure to check out Lisa's post on IEEs. Data from recent evaluations should be included in the present levels area of the IEP. Now is a great time for you to read your state's procedural safeguards for parents so you can be informed of your rights and your options for dispute resolution. See https://www.pattan.net/Forms/The-Procedural-Safeguards-Notice for Pennsylvania. Best wishes as you begin the special education journey in the U.S.

Lisa's article at https://adayinourshoes.com/iep-pendency-stay-put/ discusses the "stay put" clause. If you have an advocate or attorney helping you with due process, I'd recommend reaching out to them for advice after they've reviewed everything as they'd likely be much more familiar with the programs/resources available in the online schools in your state and in the brick and mortar schools in your area.

An FBA should be done before the BIP. Lisa has info on FBAs & BIPs at https://adayinourshoes.com/behavior-iep-special-education/.

It sounds like you have several concerns: the need to build self-awareness the need to improve communication and self advocacy skills (Has the school done an AAC evaluation and does she have an AAC device, if needed?) concerns with her placement setting not having enough exposure to typically developing peers (concerns regarding placement/ least restrictive environment) I would recommend writing a letter of parent concerns and requesting another meeting with your IEP team if you haven't recently discussed these concerns. If you have recently discussed the concerns, see what the district wrote in the PWN regarding your concerns, and then consider your procedural safeguard options. You listed that your daughter is with peers for art and gym. Could the school include her with peers for music, library time, recess, lunch, etc? If they say no, you can ask for an explanation in PWN. Are you able to help her be involved in community activities outside school (Scouts, religious organizations, 4-H, sports, etc.)? Does she like to do community outings with you (grocery shopping, going to the library, museums, etc.)? All those things give children community involvement outside of school. Out of district placements are a more "restrictive" setting on the continuum of placement options. It's really an IEP team decision as to what's the most appropriate educational setting for a child. If you disagree with the placement the district chooses, then you consider your procedural safeguards.

What would you like deleted? An admin can delete items.

I'd think they wouldn't want a child vomiting or choking at school. If you happen to have any medical documentation (feeding evaluation reports, doctor letters, or pediatric feeding OT or SLP letters, etc.), that may be helpful to submit to the school to support your request.

I'm sorry they were so disrespectful to you. Does your grandson have a swallowing disorder or other medical condition? Are you wanting the OT to work on independence with feeding as a fine motor goal or a life skill goal? Schools participating in the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Programs should have an interest in children wanting to be properly fed and hydrated in order to attend to their educational activities.

I'm in OH rather than PA. I'm wondering what happens when a child receives a "write up" at your school? If your child has an IEP, and behavior is impeding your child's ability to learn, then an FBA should be done to create a Positive Behavioral Support Plan. Has this been done? If so and it seems the school isn't following the plan, you could start with requesting an IEP meeting to discuss your concerns. Lisa has info on behavior and FBAs at https://adayinourshoes.com/behavior-iep-special-education/. The Pennyslvania Training and Technical Assistance Network also has info on FBAs and positive behavioral supports at https://www.pattan.net/Multi-Tiered-System-of-Support/Behavior (click on "resources").

Not a lawyer or a school administrator. Who at the school does Mom have the best relationship with? Could you or that specific person reach out from your school email address and request a video chat with the parent to explain who the SPED director is and that she's left multiple texts/voicemails/etc. for her? Maybe texts/calls from the SPED director go through from an unknown number, or maybe they're flagged as a scam call? Perhaps emails from the virtual school are sometimes sent to a "promotions" or "spam" folder? Has the school mailed a paper letter to the parent? If the student is attending virtual classes, has the staff asked the student to have the parent call/email/etc? You mentioned that Mom asks about the IEP and modified work...did the child transfer to the virtual school? Perhaps she thinks that the child already has an IEP that the virtual school should be following?