Special Education-IEP-School not in compliance and student in danger

[CodieBearsMom]

Pennsylvania
My child has Down Syndrome and is 11. He is currently in our local school district in the middle school. He just moved from the elementary to the middle school this year. With him being Special Needs he of course has an IEP in place. On his IEP page 38 it states: Due to the need for supervision, Codie will receive staff assistance. Across all school environments. Prior to this school year beginning I had a meeting with Codie's old teacher, new teacher, Codie and myself where I was told and retold that Codie would have supervision no matter where he was at all times. 2-3 weeks into the school year I received a call from his teacher that Codie walked off from his Gym class twice just because he wanted to but that his teacher, Mr. Henry was standing by and caught him before anything happened. I was happy that I was told immediately (the same day) and to hear that he was being watched so nothing further happened. I never heard anything more about this.
Today I received a note home from Codie's teacher saying, (word for word)
"He is making good choices and doing this even after he initially says no to them, because he wants to be a "good" boy. One thing that has increased lately is that he leaves lunch early and has wandered the halls (or gone out the front even). I've talked to him about it and he knows he has to stay with the group. I thought it might be good if you re-enforced it too. Thanks, Jeff"
I am EXTREMELY upset that I have not been told about this prior to today. I am also VERY mad that my child is able to stand up and walk the entire length of the school, walk passed the office and out the front door. God forbid anything would've happened....kidnapped, injured, walk 30 feet onto a main highway 11/15, or even fall in the hallways or down stairs and had to lay there until someone found him. I've lost any and all trust I had for the school to provide my child with a safe environment to go to school, that they will make sure nothing horrible happens to him and more importantly that they are NOT compliant with his IEP. If they were a child with Down Syndrome/Special Needs would've never been able to just walk out of a cafeteria let alone the entire school.
What should be my course of action? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!!

 

[Proserpina]

Pennsylvania
My child has Down Syndrome and is 11. He is currently in our local school district in the middle school. He just moved from the elementary to the middle school this year. With him being Special Needs he of course has an IEP in place. On his IEP page 38 it states: Due to the need for supervision, Codie will receive staff assistance. Across all school environments. Prior to this school year beginning I had a meeting with Codie's old teacher, new teacher, Codie and myself where I was told and retold that Codie would have supervision no matter where he was at all times. 2-3 weeks into the school year I received a call from his teacher that Codie walked off from his Gym class twice just because he wanted to but that his teacher, Mr. Henry was standing by and caught him before anything happened. I was happy that I was told immediately (the same day) and to hear that he was being watched so nothing further happened. I never heard anything more about this.
Today I received a note home from Codie's teacher saying, (word for word)
"He is making good choices and doing this even after he initially says no to them, because he wants to be a "good" boy. One thing that has increased lately is that he leaves lunch early and has wandered the halls (or gone out the front even). I've talked to him about it and he knows he has to stay with the group. I thought it might be good if you re-enforced it too. Thanks, Jeff"
I am EXTREMELY upset that I have not been told about this prior to today. I am also VERY mad that my child is able to stand up and walk the entire length of the school, walk passed the office and out the front door. God forbid anything would've happened....kidnapped, injured, walk 30 feet onto a main highway 11/15, or even fall in the hallways or down stairs and had to lay there until someone found him. I've lost any and all trust I had for the school to provide my child with a safe environment to go to school, that they will make sure nothing horrible happens to him and more importantly that they are NOT compliant with his IEP. If they were a child with Down Syndrome/Special Needs would've never been able to just walk out of a cafeteria let alone the entire school.
What should be my course of action? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!!

You should probably go for a sit-down with the people who actually matter, and discuss the situation calmly with them before even thinking about taking legal action.

Talk to the school.

And I trust you've also spoken with Codie?

 

[CodieBearsMom]

You should probably go for a sit-down with the people who actually matter, and discuss the situation calmly with them before even thinking about taking legal action.

Talk to the school.

And I trust you've also spoken with Codie?

Absolutely!!!!!! One thing I do is go straight to my child. He may have Special Needs but he also understands everything....it may take a few times being said for it to click but he learns just like anyone else.
My only concern is I no longer TRUST the school what so ever!!!!! I've discussed my concerns over and over prior to them moving him up to the middle school. Then again once he was moved. They are to protect and keep any and all kids safe and out of harm or dangers way.....let alone a special needs child who wouldnt understand that someone coming to talk to him on school property could potentially cause him harm or kidnap him. He walked through the hallway, right passed the office and OUT the front door. To me you put MY child in danger and that is something that is inexcusable, unforgivable and will not be given a second chance on. NOOO WAY would I ever let my child be at risk like this again. If I need to go to my local MH/MR office or a lawyer or wherever I'm willing to do whatever I need to do to ensure my child is safe and I can trust that hes being taken care of and watched over while not in my care.

 

[Proserpina]

Absolutely!!!!!! One thing I do is go straight to my child. He may have Special Needs but he also understands everything....it may take a few times being said for it to click but he learns just like anyone else.
My only concern is I no longer TRUST the school what so ever!!!!! I've discussed my concerns over and over prior to them moving him up to the middle school. Then again once he was moved. They are to protect and keep any and all kids safe and out of harm or dangers way.....let alone a special needs child who wouldnt understand that someone coming to talk to him on school property could potentially cause him harm or kidnap him. He walked through the hallway, right passed the office and OUT the front door. To me you put MY child in danger and that is something that is inexcusable, unforgivable and will not be given a second chance on. NOOO WAY would I ever let my child be at risk like this again. If I need to go to my local MH/MR office or a lawyer or wherever I'm willing to do whatever I need to do to ensure my child is safe and I can trust that hes being taken care of and watched over while not in my care.

I think there's a better-than-strong chance that the school will think you're completely over-reacting, so be prepared for that.

 

[I'mTheFather]

You ought to call for an IEP meeting to iron out the expectations. As the parent, you have that right. You can express your concerns and ask for a specific plan for supervision.

Just to clarify though, the IEP section you quoted says your son will have staff assistance. It doesn't say he'll have constant supervision. If the need for supervision has not been relayed to all relevant personnel, it should be. A meeting can address that.

 

[FlyingRon]

And a good suggestion for "the people who matters" were the people who were present at the original IEP. If that doesn't work, contact the ultimate school administrator and then the district wide special ed person.
You almost always have to avail yourself of the in-system process before going to court (absent some emergency situation which doesn't appear to apply here).

An education attorney will know what the due process procedures are for your district if your parental inquiries do not yield results. Frankly, I've found standing in the an administrator's outer office until he will see me worked pretty well.

 

[stealth2]

It would be helpful to know what exactly the IEP states - in writing - regarding supervision. From your original post, it seems that supervision was discussed, but not necessarily put into writing...

 

[Zigner]

Just for clarity - I understand that the child has wandered off - but has he been unsupervised during his wandering? It's entirely possible that staff kept an eye on him the whole time.