Special Ed Due Process Reform in Missouri in 2012?

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If you don’t request, your kid won’t get

Our children with special needs may require specialty programming at the public school in order to make gains. Services under the special ed law known as IDEA list “related services” as services available to our children so that they can benefit from public schooling.

Parents need to know what these “related services” are so that they can request them for the child. Do a search for the “Individuals with Disabilities Education Act” at ed.gov. Then search for “related services”.

Common related services in the public school are physical therapy (PT) and occupational therapy (OT). Many students routinely receive a few minutes each week of these. OT’s are especially helpful when a student struggles with handwriting and coordination issues.

Another related related service as listed in 300.34(c)(8) of the IDEA:

(8)(i) Parent counseling and training means assisting parents in understanding the special needs of their child; (ii) Providing parents with information about child development; and (iii) Helping parents to acquire the necessary skills that will allow them to support the implementation of their child’s IEP or IFSP.

It may be beneficial in the long run for a parent to request these “related services” so that later perceptions of the parent aren’t negative. Since some of the “related services” listed in the IDEA are not typically known by school personnel they may dispute availability.

Often its better to ask for something rather than find out years later what was missed.

Advocates are available to assist parents in Missouri.  Visit the website.

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SEPAL advocates are not attorneys and do not give legal advice.

Paraprofessionals at the school for your child?

Warning signs that your child might be in a class where the teacher has been teaching too long

1. the teacher requires students to sit up straight at their desks at all times
2. the teacher requires the other adults in the room (paraprofessionals) to ask for her permission before they may leave to use the restroom
3. the teacher is not admired by other staff in the building
4. students get mixed signals about expectations in the class
5. students get mixed signals about expectations in class that change from day to day
6. students get criticized by the teacher in front of all the other students needlessly
7. the paraprofessional assigned to my child is not invited to attend the IEP meetings
8. the paraprofessional is not allowed to study the child’s IEP

The child advocates at  theIEPcenter.com recognize the seriousness of having a teacher who maybe shouldn’t be working with our child.  TheIEPCenter.com child advocates help parents with issues at the public school for their child who has a 504 accommodation plan or IEP.

Complete the form below if you’d like an advocate to contact you.   We are advocates who participate in IEP meetings over the phone and, when possible, in person.  Advocates are independent, therefore there is a fee.

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Child Advocates Help in IEP meetings

Media reports indicate proposed cuts to school budgets across the country.   Budget cuts may affect the employment of para-educators (also known as paraprofessionals). Often a paraprofessional is assigned to a student (or group of students) who have special needs.

Students who meet eligibility requirements get special services through a document called an IEP.   The IEP is where the services of a paraprofessional are determined and resulting in the mandate for the service(s).
In order to eliminate the paraprofessional that is mandated through a student IEP, the IEP would have to be adjusted.   The parent must be fully informed when this occurs.   There must either be an “IEP meeting” or an “amendment” to the IEP must be made. In either case, parent involvement is required. This is where the parent can indicate that a paraprofessional continues to be required in order that the student receive “educational benefit”.

The process can be confusing and parents can be easily misled. A child advocate can help here; they can prepare communications for you upon request and also attend those IEP meetings. Some may also prepare an IEP amendment upon your request so that you may submit it to the school.

The IEPcenter.com has child advocates who assist parents in Kansas and Missouri and others over the phone/internet.  Google voice phone # 816 865-6262.

Special Education Buzz Words Teleseminar / Webinar January 26, 2011

 

Jan. 26, 2011  webinar by phone, internet  7pm CST

“Buzz Words Parents Need to Know”.  55 mins live.

 

We’ll cover the words that many don’t realize play a significant role in what services our kids get from the public school   Using these words can save a parent years of struggle…and avoid wondering what just happened in that IEP meeting!

 

Your specific questions can be submitted during the teleseminar over the phone or on the internet.

 

You will receive a copy of the presentation shortly after the teleseminar.  Register using a credit card or check thru Paypal.

Register by clicking on the link.  Cost is $19.00.   After you register you will be sent via e-mail insructitons how to access the teleseminar.

 

 click here:  http://home.earthlink.net/~marily17228/id7.html

School advocate to Missouri parents

More and more I see parents of children with disabilities who have been bamboozled by the inflated egos of certain public school administrators.  It seems the status quo is what the system seeks for their student, although the parent assumes and expects that “specialized”  instruction is being provided to the “special” child.

The first quarter of a school year has passed;  here’s some recent observations:

• a second grade students’ mother learned the specialist who was suppose to meet quarterly with the girls’ teachers had not done so.
• A first grader who was suppose to have someone assist him on/off the bus due to neurological problems supposedly had someone watching him from afar.
• Another school district tells parents that their student gets “full direct supervision” in response to a parent requesting an aide for the student (what student in a public school doesn’t get “full direct supervision”?).
• A dad indicates to a school that he wants his child to be “more independent”.  The school interprets this to mean less support from the paraprofessional; as a result the student lags further behind academically.
• A district claims they use research-based curriculum for a specific group of children;  however,  the district cannot provide documentation that the  curriculum they purported being used was purchased by the district in years.

No longer can parents trust that their child’s needs are adequately addressed at the school; the system responds to parents who know what to ask and to whom/when to ask it.

kcspecialed @hotmail.com

IEP’s for the summer a.k.a. Extended School Year (ESY)

“Summer school” enrollment is fast approaching; it is offered by school districts to ALL children–yes, our kids with disabilities can participate.  You might need to request accommodations so that your child can have “equal access” to what is being offered.

Our children who have IEP’s may receive ESY during the summer.   This may include services to address goals in the IEP as well as related services (for example OT, PT, ST, etc.).

Many school district IEP teams rely only on a criteria of “predicted regression” to determine if ESY is necessary for the student; this is outdated.  This is not the only criteria.  IDEA address ESY at CFR 300.309.

Some students get ESY for a few hours every morning for a few weeks during the summer.  The most I have seen provided in Missouri is three hours for five mornings a week for eight weeks.

A resource you’ll find helpful is  http://dpi.wi.gov/SPED/pdf/esyguide.pdf        Be sure to print it and take the copy to your IEP meeting.

IEP’s have a special section for “consideration” of ESY; be sure this section is completed by your IEP team.  It should indicate the duration, amount, frequency and specific service(s) of the ESY.    If you believe your child should receive ESY services over the summer but the district doesn’t, a parent can indicate objection by saying so during the meeting and also writing such.  It might be an issue for a child complaint with the state.

If you don’t want to deal with school over the summer, then don’t  pursue ESY.   Some kids need the summer to chill and take a break.

Special Education Legal Help Attorney Selection

Locating an attorney to help a parent deal with special education issues with the public school can be a daunting task.

If a parent hires a local attorney with no experience in the state’s special education processes, then a parent ends up funding getting this attorney educated about the process.

Parent’s can review state due process hearing panel decisions to learn names of attorneys who have handled those hearings in the past.   These decisions will list both school district and parent attorneys; a consumer will want to make sure they contact the right one.

Many of the attorneys for parents don’t do this line of work for the money.  So, they must charge fees to maintain their offices and staff.  If this is too cumbersome for a family, perhaps an advocate might be more affordable.

In Missouri there are some public interest law firms that accept some cases; usually a parent has to apply.

Think Twice Before Sharing Medical Records with the Public School

What you think might help you could hurt you.

Sharing medical recods about your child with the public school when pursuing eligibility for IDEA needs to be thoroughly examined.  A parent wants to convince the school people that the child has medical issues. However, since the public schools are an “educational system”, they don’t necessarily have to “recognize” incoming information from a different “system”.

Unknowing parents submit medical records to the public school that may work against the student.  The medical records may not contain wording that would make the student eligible in the “education system”.

Parents typically aren’t told accurate information  by the school what they must do to get the school to pursue eligibility for their child.  Many parents don’t know they can  request in writing to have the school evaluate their child for “eligibility for special education under IDEA/504″, and, taking it a step further, ask the school to arrange for a medical professional to evaluate for diagnostic purposes to determine if any qualifying condition under IDEA exists.

I am not an attorney;   this is not advice of any kind.

Observing your child at the school

Observing your child at school can be quite an eye-opener. 

Recently a parent dropped in the elementary school unannounced and learned several things; one being her son was not allowed regular recess like the other kids.  At another school a parent learned her son was being picked on during lunch.    Another parent learned her son was sleeping during most of class time in high school.

Yet another parent networked with other parents in her district and learned they were being allowed to observe their children at school, yet she was not being prevented an  observation of  her child.

Many school districts have “board policy” which defines the parameters of observors in the schools.  I have known many professionals who have observed children while at school and that information benefitted the IEP teams over the years.  Parents can ask to review the district’s policy on classroom observations.     www.theiepcenter.com