Do’s and Dont’s in IEP meetings

IEP meetings can be stressful…and doing the right thing is difficult to know. We trust the school people to know how to work with our child yet when we aren’t comfortable with our child’s progress or programming, we need to voice our concern.
This is where we can get hung up. Certain terms can mean something quite different to the educators. Expecting what is “best” for our child is not what the school has to provide. Parents need to be prepared and know what the lingo to be used is.
This is where a seminar at TheIEPCenter.com can help parents. On October 17, 2009, a guest advocate will present “Do’s and Dont’s in IEP meetings” at 9:30 – 11 a.m Saturday in the Kansas City metro area.
Visit the website for info; http://www.theiepcenter.com

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WHAT is in your student’s school records?

A parent might be surprised to see what’s in the records at the school…about the PARENT!
Some parents cordially ask the school office secretary to arrange to view the student records the following day…so the parent can get info from it to “give to the doctor”…
the files may contain test scores, attendance records, nurses notes, discipline notes…interestingly the e-mails between staff may not be present. A request is made for the e-mails that personally identify the student…and here is where the “dirt” may be found. Sometimes references to other activities the district is pursuing is mentioned in relationship with the name of the parent.
In Missouri, a “sunshine” law exists that is to allow for open records by public agencies…visit the Missouri Attorney General’s website for info. Pursuing “sunshine” requests can open a whole new world of info to the public about the operations of public schools.