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.
To have an advocate contact you:
sign up for our ezine The IEP Center Advocator
©2014 Special Education Parent’s Advocacy Link LLC dba The IEP Center Advocates are not attorneys and do not give legal advice. We do not represent parents or students. Consult an attorney.
Missouri Special Education Advocates 
You must be logged in to post a comment.