School problems

[PQN]

And remember, a child's legal guardian is a member of the IEP team, the school cannot dictate the goals/placement/services, etc, it must be a consensus of the entire team, including you. Just be pleasantly persistent and have some stick answers (Wrightslaw Special Education Law and Advocacy) has lots of good info.

School: You need to learn your place.
You: Thanks to my research, I have learned that my place is as an equal member of this IEP team. (and then just look at them calmly)

Stay calm, quote the law (when you are confident about it), and record that meeting!

Try this group -- often there are educational advocates that volunteer for low income families, this group may be able to steer you in the right direction... http://www.acy.org/index.php

 

[Chrln_little]

Denied an IEP meeting

I went into the school to speak to the principal because the secretary told me he was who I needed to speak to. I asked if I could speak to the special ed director. I was told no. I tried to get him to set up an IEP meeting, he told me no. He said that there was no reason to call an IEP meeting and stated that anything that came across his desk stating that an IEP meeting would be denied.

He explained his standpoint as the board of directors are congress and the senate and he is the president. He has the right to veto anything that comes across his desk.

 

[Humusluvr]

I went into the school to speak to the principal because the secretary told me he was who I needed to speak to. I asked if I could speak to the special ed director. I was told no. I tried to get him to set up an IEP meeting, he told me no. He said that there was no reason to call an IEP meeting and stated that anything that came across his desk stating that an IEP meeting would be denied.

He explained his standpoint as the board of directors are congress and the senate and he is the president. He has the right to veto anything that comes across his desk.

all the superintendent or the special ed director directly, tell them that you are being denied educational services, and that your next step is to contact a lawyer.

 

[Humusluvr]

Special needs advocacy terms what parents need to know

This website offers the answers to almost all your questions, and the lawyer is located in MD. Call them and see how you pay for it. Maybe they will work through attorney's fees you ask for if this needs to be mediated.

 

[izzie01]

put everything in writting to school

Have you sent anything in writing to them? I have seen many parents not get any actions until they sent in written request.
I would send a cover letter with your requests and concerns along with simple as can be time line list of of everything that you and child has gone through. Send it certified or return receipt. Then keep a written log of any verbal contact, tell them you are doing this. Even if you only have a short conversation tell them you will send a letter to them to make sure what you talked about with them was understood by you and them correctly. Keep all copies.

If its only talk they don't listen or respond as well.

 

[Humusluvr]

Have you sent anything in writing to them? I have seen many parents not get any actions until they sent in written request.
I would send a cover letter with your requests and concerns along with simple as can be time line list of of everything that you and child has gone through. Send it certified or return receipt. Then keep a written log of any verbal contact, tell them you are doing this. Even if you only have a short conversation tell them you will send a letter to them to make sure what you talked about with them was understood by you and them correctly. Keep all copies.

If its only talk they don't listen or respond as well.

Its a little more complicated than that. Read the last four pages.

 

[Chrln_little]

Order of things

I have followed the order of everything so far in this forum. However, I am still going in a circle. I end up back at the state board of education and I keep getting referred back until I exhaust my resources.

As a matter of fact, it just keeps getting worse. Now the teacher has sent home papers that have been graded wrong. I check the answers so that I can review them with my niece (just in case they are covered on end of school exams) and she is marking correct answers as wrong. I asked for a meeting with the principal, the vice principal and the teacher to remedy this problem, the teacher grabbed the papers I presented up and walked out of the room stating that she was not going to take it anymore.

After that, my niece is no longer bringing home homework. She didn't bring home her spelling workbook yesterday and her journal said she had homework in it. She didn't bring it home today either, she said her teacher wouldn't give it to her. I went up to the school thinking that she just left it in her desk by accident. The principal said that she would no longer be getting homework. She has lost all of her recess and that is the time that she will be using to do her homework. Mind you, this child is in 2nd grade and is currently, by the schools criteria "failing." I cannot afford an attorney to fight this and they know it. Not only that, I asked for the principal to put it in writing and he said that he will not put anything in writing and told me to go "f%&^ myself." I called the school board and they say that it is the principal's school and that there is nothing they can do besides put pressure on him, which they say they have been doing. I have tried to be calm and rational about the situation so I am not seen as the crazy lady but my patience is wearing thin and I don't know how much longer I can resist yelling at someone. I don't understand how they can do this to a child!

 

[Chrln_little]

I have followed the order of everything so far in this forum. However, I am still going in a circle. I end up back at the state board of education and I keep getting referred back until I exhaust my resources.

As a matter of fact, it just keeps getting worse. Now the teacher has sent home papers that have been graded wrong. I check the answers so that I can review them with my niece (just in case they are covered on end of school exams) and she is marking correct answers as wrong. I asked for a meeting with the principal, the vice principal and the teacher to remedy this problem, the teacher grabbed the papers I presented up and walked out of the room stating that she was not going to take it anymore.

After that, my niece is no longer bringing home homework. She didn't bring home her spelling workbook yesterday and her journal said she had homework in it. She didn't bring it home today either, she said her teacher wouldn't give it to her. I went up to the school thinking that she just left it in her desk by accident. The principal said that she would no longer be getting homework. She has lost all of her recess and that is the time that she will be using to do her homework. Mind you, this child is in 2nd grade and is currently, by the schools criteria "failing." I cannot afford an attorney to fight this and they know it. Not only that, I asked for the principal to put it in writing and he said that he will not put anything in writing and told me to go "f%&^ myself." I called the school board and they say that it is the principal's school and that there is nothing they can do besides put pressure on him, which they say they have been doing. I have tried to be calm and rational about the situation so I am not seen as the crazy lady but my patience is wearing thin and I don't know how much longer I can resist yelling at someone. I don't understand how they can do this to a child!

I forgot to add that she is not bringing home graded papers either, I now have to pick them up from the principal and today he gave me a 5 inch thick stack of papers that have either been graded or not done at all.

 

[Zigner]

I will admit that I didn't read every page of this thread fully, so I'm sorry if this has already been suggested.

When I ran in to a wall with our school district, I was forced to seek the assistance of an attorney specializing in special education law. I googled my city name and "special education attorney" - or it could have been "special education advocate". I had a list of about 15 that I contacted. I wrote a letter giving a brief description of all the problems I had dealt with and the reason I was seeking assistance. I then emailed that letter to the 15 attorneys. Of those, I had two respond. One was going out of town on vacation for 2 weeks, so that didn't help. The other agreed to take my case on at no charge to me since she felt my case was strong enough that she would be able to collect her fees through the district (she was right.)

You really need the services of an attorney.

 

[Humusluvr]

I can tell you that any parent/legal guardian can request to meet about their child on an IEP at any time—regardless if it is the annual meeting. So, with that in mind your friend should prepare herself and then ask for a meeting. As far as how to prepare, I would suggest keeping a log, and any comments or assignments with comments on them in writing.



I looked at Maryland’s Dept. of Education, and their website looks similar to the ODE. There is something called a facilitated IEP process, in which a trained volunteer mediator sits in on the meeting. This is a free process. Also, your friend can go online to the Maryland State Department of Education and click on the Division for Special Education and Early Intervention and then Complaint Investigation & Due Process Branch for a LOT more info.

Here's the info on the facilitated IEP meeting

http://www.msde.maryland.gov/NR/rdonlyres/5F4F5041-02EE-4F3A-B495-5E4B3C850D3E/13899/FacilitatedIEPMeetingFAQ.pdf

http://www.msde.maryland.gov/NR/rdonlyres/C9B4477A-9D44-4CC1-A9CC-83C52632FFB1/16301/CMMIEPBrochure08pdf.pdf

The second link has numbers of people you can call who can help you.

I think this is your best bet, and I hope it helps! It looks really comprehensive!