Carolyn Rowlett

Lots of red flags here regarding the ICT teacher. First, I agree with you that modified tests and lessons are not an accurate way to monitor progress or to tell what her true level is compared to her peers. And the fact that she has no supporting documentation for the trial dates is very suspicious. At a minimum she should have a graph or something showing the dates the data was taken. Not to make your post "all about me," but I have a similar situation and was considering posting about it. Mine involves reading data. The school district found my client ineligible for special education based on an RTI model and have shown us graphs plotting data and dates, but when my client asked for the actual reading passages used to get the data, she was told they were done on the computer and are not saved. If anyone reading this post and my response has any suggestions, please respond. It doesn't seem right that the parent can't see the actual data used to plot on a graph. The school district could easily fabricate the data. We want to see the passage for several reasons - to ensure they are on grade level, to see the words missed, and to see how far she read in one minute. Just FYI - they also did an evaluation and we requested an IEE, but they are only relying on their RTI data to show she's making "sufficient progress" and therefore does not need an IEP. Another question: Does anyone know what "sufficient progress" should be under an RTI model? The director of spec ed said she has to fall below 10%...??? Back to this post. I think you're on the right track with involving the superintendent. Hopefully, since the superintendent is making the request, you will get to see the data. Even if you get the data, I would still take further action. When was the last time the school evaluated your daughter? If it has been over a year, I would definitely ask for a re-evaluation (you can request one once a year). This would give you testing data without any modifications. Then, if you don't like the results from the school evaluation, I would request an IEE (Independent Educational Evaluation). You don't have to give reasons for this request - just that you disagree with the school's evaluation. Because you are correct - data drives the goals and it doesn't appear that you can trust the special education teacher to provide the data.

Wow. I can't imagine how frustrating this must be (and has been) for you. School districts often play the "delay and deny game." Unfortunately, the law does have loopholes that allow delay in some instances. For example, the 60 days that the school district has (or whatever timeframe your state has) to determine eligibility only starts after the parent signs the consent for evaluation. So sometimes you have to be a squeaky wheel to even get the referral meeting. But you've got that scheduled now, so the delay game should be over. Here are my recommendations based on various outcomes (DISCLAIMER: This is NOT legal advise): 1. For the upcoming referral meeting, even though you have sent all of them previously, make sure you bring copies of all your outside evaluation, diagnoses, doctor recommendations, etc. Also, are his grades suffering at all due to his disabilities? Grades are subjective, but if he is falling behind in class, that is relevant. Has he been given any standardized testing or interventions of any type with progress monitoring? If so, get those results, as well. Finally, if you think he/she might be helpful, you could reach out to the general education teacher and ask for instances in which his various disabilities (whether that be his ADHD, speech, etc.) have affected his ability to learn (the legal phrase being "access to the general education curriculum"). Make sure you bring up ALL areas you are concerned with during the referral meeting. 2. If the school agrees to do an evaluation, make sure when you get the consent form that ALL areas of disabilities that you have concerns in are checked. Sign and return as soon as possible because this starts the 60 days (or whatever timeframe your state has determined). If the school does NOT agree to do an evaluation, request an IEE (yes, even though the school district can repeat its mantra of "not severe enough" and dismiss after consideration. 3. Once the school evaluation is done (or IEE, is school refuses to evaluate) and an eligibility meeting is scheduled, make sure you review (I suggest downloading and printing so you can take to the meeting) the state plan for special education, the state standards and indicators for eligibility, etc. and become familiar with them. If the school denies eligibility based on "not severe enough," make them match the data to the eligibility standards and make them explain WHY his disabilities are not severe enough. It's about objective data - not what the school "thinks or feels." 4. If the school does their own evaluation and denies eligibility, request an IEE based on your disagreement with their evaluation. They can ask, but cannot make you give a reason other than that you disagree. 99% of the time school districts will agree to an IEE because otherwise they have to take you to court to show why one should not be granted. Once you get the results of the IEE, you will be entitled to another meeting. If they still deny eligibility, your only option at that point is going to due process. A couple of general suggestions. 1. Reach out to your state department of education and ask for agency recommendations for advocacy. 2. Put EVERY request in writing. If you find yourself on a phone call with school district staff, follow it up with an email outlining the relevant points of the conversation (especially what they agreed to). Follow up meetings with an email as to what was said and agreed to. 3. Keep in mind that lack of funding and being short-staffed are NOT excuses that can be made by school districts if a child qualities. 4. I don't know what the result of your 504 meeting was, but since the IEP process might take a while, make sure you get all necessary accommodations in a 504 plan now. Look at your outside evaluations for suggested school accommodations. If there aren't any, reach back out to the evaluator/provider and ask for some. Like an IEP document, the 504 document can be amended at any time. You don't have to wait until the annual review. So if you didn't get everything in there during the April meeting, you still can. 5. Just an FYI. It's doubtful you will get the school district to do any auditory processing disorder therapy. But it should be covered by your insurance. Summer is a great time to do it, but I do understand you will still be working and transportation could be an issue.

That would not be my interpretation of the law referenced within this document (DISCLAIMER: This is NOT legal advise.) But you never know with state departments of education. There might be a chance they would accept the heading of the document to be ARC Conference Summary IF it included everything the PWN is supposed to. I would call someone in the special education compliance section of Kentucky's department of education and explain the situation and see what they say. If it is not sufficient to them, then at least you have the backing of the state when you reach back out to request a PWN.

A statement on a syllabus cannot supersede an accommodation in an IEP. Any accommodation in an IEP document must be followed regardless of class procedure.

Unless I'm missing something, I would say of course you can have behavioral goals - in ANY environment. I don't have anything specific to base this on. You would just need to have the data/evaluation that shows he has behavioral deficits that make him eligible for specialized instruction and goals. Keep it simple. If he needs it and that need is documented in an evaluation, then he should get it. I don't know on what the school is basing their statement that he won't get behavioral goals if he's moved out of the EBD classroom. Sounds like this is more for their convenience or a staffing issue, which is NOT a reason under the IDEA. I don't know all your facts, but it seems to me your biggest "fight" and concern is moving him to a different environment. Again, you will need data showing this environment isn't working for him, is harmful, or is not the least restrictive environment he can be in. Do you have any data/documentation/evaluation that supports your statement that this "has changed the whole trajectory of his education?" If not, ask for a school evaluation, then an IEE if you're not satisfied with this school eval.

I always do "business casual." Never suits. But also never jeans - you want them to think of you as a professional, in my opinion. However, I am rethinking my Friday attire during the fall. Like Lisa, I attended several IEP meetings last fall and into the winter when it was both "casual Friday" and "red Friday." (I'm in Kansas City, so Chiefs kingdom - not to rub it in, Lisa . ) I was actually "shamed" by the school district personnel for not wearing red!! I may not wear a jersey, but I will be in red from now on!

You're not missing anything. IEP's are NEVER set in stone and call always be amended.

It depends on what you are wanting to accomplish. Did the team decide on placement at the meeting and do you disagree with the decision? If so, I would start by sending the team an email that you did not receive a Notice that they would be discussing a change in placement so you were unable to "participate meaningfully" in the discussion (required by federal law) and that because of this, you would like to request another meeting. That would buy you some time to get your thoughts and data together, speak with an advocate, etc. If that doesn't work, you could file a state complaint. The compliance issue would not be "pre-determination" (because as you said, this is hard to prove). Instead, it should be based on the defective Notice of Meeting and your inability to "participate meaningfully" because of not knowing they were going to discuss placement.

I'll attempt to answer your questions in order. 1. File a state complaint. That's your only leverage at this point. Your complaint/compliance issue would be that the school district is not complying with the requirement to have parent participation during the IEP process. 2. Paper train for your state complaint. Additional compliance issue: failure to provide PWN and failure to response to request. 3. You're going to have to force the consequences by filing a state complaint. 4. I find it hard that an initial IEP (which this is, correct?) does not have to be signed by the parent. Usually the start of providing special education services requires consent by signing the initial IEP. After the initial IEP, continuation of services in subsequent IEP documents can usually be done without parent consent (but this is state specific). If you are getting no response to your requests to be involved, their only motivation at this point will be a state investigation which will occur after you file a state complaint. 5. Again, your only recourse at this point is a state complaint. In addition to the above, also list "failure to comply with 60 day timeline." The state is going to have to be the entity that provides the consequences. Usually state complaints are not hard to file and do not necessitate an advocate or attorney. The state provides you with a form. If you have questions about it, you can call the special education department (compliance division?) of your state department of education. They should be willing to assist you in completing the form. They might also have a list of agencies (free) to which they can refer you.

I'm not in Pennsylvania, but a lot of people on this site are, so hopefully they'll jump in. But from a general standpoint, some (most?) states require school districts to have a written policy on their RTI process, as well as their procedure for determining eligibility. (Now whether or not school districts actually do this is another issue...) Have you reached out to your school district to ask for their policies? If they say they don't have any, you might find something on the state department of education's website about "standards and indicators" for determining eligibility or a state plan.

As far as all individuals being listed on the Notice of Meeting, yes, the school district is required under the IDEA to list all individuals "who will be in attendance." However, it is not completely clear whether the school district is required to state specific names or just titles. Just listing "special education director" and "school psychologist" might be sufficient, unless your state has additional requirements (call your state department of education or look on it's website for a "Parents' Guide" or something similar). However, it appears that they didn't even do that, so I would say this is a defective notice. I'm a little confused as to the second question regarding the notice because you state "I started to talk about changing my son from..." If you mean the school starting discussing this, then yes, the Notice of Meeting should have listed "change in placement" as a "purpose" of the meeting, as required under the IDEA.

It would depend on the context in which you are using the term "learning boundary." I certainly would not use it when you are discussing a learning disability for purposes of an IEP or a 504 Plan, since "learning disability" and "disability" are the terms used in the IDEA and 504 laws and regs. If a parent is just emailing a teacher asking for help, maybe...? I'm one of those who doesn't like to stray too far from legal terms when you're dealing with a school district.

Let me preface this with the fact that autism is not one of my areas of expertise. So perhaps others will respond, as well. But having said that, you can ask for anything in the IEP that you feel is necessitated by his disability and is affecting his access to an education. I would think that since he is already in a self-contained environment that the school would be receptive, especially since you are covering the cost. It might depend on how his educational instruction could be handled if he only attended half days. But it would be worth a discussion, in my opinion. If the school district is not receptive to this, you may need to get data showing a need. You don't state where you are at in the IEP process, so I don't know if that would mean requesting a school evaluation/FBA or an Independent Educational Evaluation/FBA.

You need to get on your state department of education's website and see if they have a list of when Prior Written Notices are required (some do). If you can't find one, call the compliance section of special education and ask if a Prior Written Notice would be required in this instance. If yes, get the name of the compliance officer you spoke with, ask if there if is a policy or guideline that you could print out/see, and forward both to the director of special education.

You need to list on your parent concerns "failure to respond to communication from parent." Call your state department of education and ask what you can do when the school is refusing to communicate with you. The fact that they won't tell you who was on the team that developed the initial IEP without you and without sending a meeting notification to you is a GREAT example to tell the state, since this is COMPLETELY unacceptable. As far as your concern about not signing the IEP, since this IS an initial IEP (if I'm reading your post correctly), you probably (check with your state) have to sign it in order for your student to receive services. I understand that services at this point at the middle school level are meaningless, but from a practical standpoint, I would sign it and list all the things you disagree with on the signature page or reference an attached page. The IEP can ALWAYS be changed when the high school team is put in place. If you really don's want to sign, call the state and ask what the consequence will be. I would even tell them that the school district told their state facilitator that there would be "dire consequences" and you would like to know what that means. *See Lisa's post below regarding signing the IEP. I didn't read through all of it, so I'm not sure if she addresses initial IEP's. Are any of the "administrators" the director of special education? If not, I think it's time to get him/her involved. Start copying them on all your correspondence AND forward them all correspondence to which you have not received a response. Also, to make sure you hit the ground running in high school, ask the director who you need to contact to schedule a meeting with the high school IEP team and when can that occur - the end of this school year, the beginning of next school year? Your problem may be a "building" problem - that is, the middle school is just trying to "wait it out" until the student goes to high school. You might have better luck with the high school IEP team. I would still suggest, as I did in an earlier post, to request an IEE so that you can gather more recent data over the summer in preparation to discuss the IEP for the high school years. It also gives you an excuse, if you need one, to schedule a meeting with the high school team. https://adayinourshoes.com/sign-the-iep/

You could still ask that the private evaluation you have already scheduled be an IEE and have the school pay for it, or get reimbursed if you pre-paid. I think you need to add a sensory evaluation IEE. It doesn't sound like what the OT person did covers all his potential sensory issues. You need to ask the OT person to put EVERYTHING in her report. Telling you verbally is ridiculous. I don't have any expertise in the area of asking for advancement in grade or gifted services. My best advice would be to look at your state department of education's website and to give them a call to find out more.

A couple of suggestions. 1. Ask what the role is of each administrator. What do they bring to the table in terms of knowledge of the child? Only one administrator is required (if even that) for purposes of fulfilling the LEA role. If they don't bring any additional information to the meeting, ask that the meeting be held without them if scheduled on a time they can't make it. 2. It's not true that high school IEP team members cannot be invited to a meeting held at the end of middle school. In fact, they SHOULD be invited. Unfortunately, a lot of times school districts don't know who their staff is going to be in all positions until right before the start of the new school year. But you could at least ask that the current case manager, special education teacher, principal or vice principal, etc., in the high school attend. 3. You could file a state complaint, because you are exactly correct - it is the school district's fault that the clock is running out. The "consequence" (out of compliance) is on their end. But I'm not sure if a state complaint gets you anywhere in this situation other than upsetting the school district. It might be used as leverage to get compensatory services over the summer due to all their delays. 4. Just to avoid the argument that "you declined special education services," I agree with JSD24 that you should probably sign some version of the IEP. As JSD24 suggested, try to get as much of what you want in there, but know that you can always add a statement after your signature that you agree with the exception of "x, y, and z." 5. I also like JSD24's suggestion of holding the IEP meeting in the summer by excusing the teachers, if a date cannot be agreed upon before then. 6. Lastly and most importantly (IMO), you are correct that the data is going to be stale by the time high school starts, but since the school evaluation was done in November, they can refuse to do another one until next November. My suggestion would be to request an IEE. It can be done over the summer and you can get an IEP meeting on the calendar for the beginning of the school year to go over the results, make changes to the IEP, and have all high school team members in attendance. Remember, you don't have to give a reason for your disagreement with the school district's evaluation to get an IEE - just a statement that you do disagree. But in any event, I think a nine month old (by the time high school starts) evaluation with summer regression is a good reason.

I also suggest in these middle and high school situations that the parent schedule an informal meeting or phone call with each teacher just to make sure they understand and are aware of the accommodations. And when he receives anything less than a C in class, make sure you understand the reason. If you don't, reach out to the teacher and ask. If the reason is something that can be tweaked in the IEP, then call a meeting or ask for a non-meeting amendment to the IEP document.

Hi! Thanks for reaching out. The first time dealing with an IEP can be very overwhelming. I'll address your questions in order. I would suggest showing cooperation with their system by answering all the questions. But I really like your idea of answering the last one with "please see attached parent concerns letter." You can kill two birds with one stone that way! The school has an obligation to test in all areas of "suspected disability." So it's not just up to you to request IQ testing. If the school had concerns in that area, they should have included it in their evaluation. Besides, when your IQ testing comes back, if the school doesn't want to accept that testing, they can do their own at that time. Side note: Did you try to have the autism and IQ testing you have scheduled for him paid for by the school by requesting an Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE)? If you aren't aware of this procedure, feel free to reach back out. Sometimes parents prefer to get their own evaluation, and that's fine; I just like to make sure they are aware of the IEE option. Another side note: I don't know what the timing of your IEP meeting is, but remember that after your outside evaluation results come in, you are entitled to ANOTHER meeting. You will need to send the results to the school and request a meeting to go over them. These new results can change whatever was previously decided upon in the original IEP meeting. Your paragraph regarding self-advocacy raises another question: What kind of testing did they do in the area of sensory issues, if any? If that is an area of suspected disability, it should have been evaluated. If it wasn't, ask for it and if the school declines, ask for an IEE in this area. With respect to writing a concern about self-advocacy, you can basically state what you stated in this paragraph. You could also add examples of what he does or doesn't do and what may trigger him. I would suggest reaching out to the general education teacher to see if he/she has any examples. With respect to grade placement, just to be clear, if I'm reading your post correctly he is currently in Kindergarten and you are worried about the school retaining him? That is something done very rarely these days and must have the data to support it. In other words, the school will have to provide the reasons and data for retention - you don't have to provide the data that he should be allowed to advance. Some states even have laws/policies/guidelines on retention, so you might check your state department of education's website. Side note: the potential for "gifted" status should automatically come up on the school's radar based on the results of standardized testing. However, if you suspect he is gifted, you might want to reach out to the school and ask about their procedures - when do they determine this, how, etc. Schools like to downplay behavior when they don't want to deal with it. You should address it in your letter, as you should address everything for which you have concerns. This doesn't mean that the school will act on all your concerns, but you have started a paper trail. To answer your specific question, you don't need a diagnosis to receive specialized instruction or accommodations. However, you DO have to show a need for it. The behavior has to impact his ability to access the general education curriculum. Unfortunately, since you are not in school with him to witness his behavior, you have to rely on the school staff to document it and sometimes they don't want to. The good news is that you are being a pro-active parent very early on in the process. Keep your eye on the situation and know what your rights are. Reach out to this site anytime you are unsure.

There is definitely more that can be done besides the one accommodation you listed (stop after one hour if struggling). And this isn't even a good accommodation because it does not help her access the general education setting in any way. Usually accommodations like this are written "after mastery, the student can have shortened assignments." This just lets her stop without ensuring that she has learned the material. It sounds like she need specialized instruction. Has she been assessed in the area of academics? If not, have you asked for an evaluation in this area? The standardized testing and grades should be enough to get the school to do something, but that doesn't appear to be the case. The school district can either do an evaluation or decline to; in either scenario, that allows you to then ask for an Independent Educational Evaluation (unless, of course, the school gives your daughter what she is entitled to after their evaluation). An IEE should set forth the type of specialized instruction needed and suggested accommodations. Ask for the evaluation ASAP and make sure the consent form is sent to you ASAP, because the date you sign consent is the date that starts the 60 time frame. Unfortunately, in most states this is 60 SCHOOL days, so you are already looking at next fall before they have to do anything. In the meantime, use the executive function "concerns" (do you have any data on this area? do you need to ask for an evaluation in this area?) to get as many accommodations in for math that you can - multi-step problems broken down or even written out for her, calculator, etc. Check out Lisa's website for suggested accommodations for executive functioning and see which ones might work for her struggles with math.

There are two requirements for a 504 Plan. The child must have a disability and that disability must impact the ability to receive an education in the general education setting. So you would need to track anytime the "triggering activities" affect the child's ability to learn. Reach out to the general education teacher on a weekly basis and ask if there were any "incidents" with the student in the past week (explain what you see at home and that you're worried it might be happening at school). Also, since you are specifically asking about how the triggering activities affect him at home, YOU need to track these incidents, why they occurred, and what impact they had on the child's education. For instance, was he unable to do homework assignments? This would be an impact on his/her ability to receive an education.

Wow. Small school district? You may have to get the state involved so it can educate her. I like your suggestion!!

That's fine. But I would still insist on having the eligibility determination within the required timeframe. If for some reason the school district denies eligibility, you would be entitled to another meeting when the new test results come in. I'm confused as to how the extra testing is "not looking for ED," when that's the area of testing that the school wants?

The school had their chance to do testing in all areas of suspected disability, and they decided not to. If they didn't suspect ED then, why are they now? What has changed? Nothing. I would not consent to the ED testing. The worst that can happen is they take you to mediation or due process, and it's ordered that they can test in this area. In the meantime, they have to proceed with what they have, which is a psychiatric diagnosis and and IEE concluding ASD. An eligibility determination must be held within 60 days of your consent to the evaluation (in this case, the IEE). Hold them to that. Don't allow them to put this off because now they're wanting to do further testing. It sounds like you have a pretty strong case for eligibility in the category of autism.

I assume you are in Texas, since you're using the acronym ARD? If so (or for whatever state you are in), you might want to go to your state department of education's website and look under "special education" for rules, regulations, and policies regarding the timing of annual ARD's. There might even be a parent handbook/guide for special education. Having said that, from a general, non-state specific standpoint, I don't see the need for this. At least not another annual meeting. Sometimes school districts (and parents) like to have a meeting before the end of the school year to discuss transition to the next grade, especially if the student is transferring to a new building (middle school, high school), but it doesn't sound like this is what they're doing.