Child advocate for student rights in IEP school meetings

The special ed law (IDEA) regulations allows for a parent to take to IEP meetings whomever the parent may invite.

Parents may have more control

Some parents take family members, some parents take case managers from other agencies.  Taking someone is better than taking nobody.

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However, who you take with you makes a difference.  In my experience, parents who took case managers from other agencies (systems) experienced the status quo from school district personnel. Parent’s don’t have to take a “fake” advocate.   After all, most case managers knowledge and experience with school districts is similar to how parents are treated regardless, and the school may routinely bamboozle them.  You and your case manager walk away from the IEP meeting assuming the meeting was productive which may not be reality.  School systems are very different from other public assistance/mental health systems.

The public education system in many states  is often filled with internal politics, hidden agendas, clicks and demagoguery.  Although Congress expects parents to pursue “individualizing” a program for our child, it may become one individual taking on an institution.  There are alternatives, allowed by Congress,  to multiple school meetings.

Our advocates are familiar with the tactics school districts use to keep parents at bay which  results in the child receiving a minimal “schooling” of our child.  Over the years many parents expressed to our advocates the parent was treated with respect and much differently than before.  Some of the most effective “buttons” a parent can “push” can occur outside or before an upcoming IEP meeting.

The IEP Center.com advocates are aware of strategies parents can trigger to work the system and avoid getting bamboozled.  We are available to participate online or telephone with parents in  iep meetings, suspension hearings, manifestation-determination meetings and mediation*. 

Don’t be bamboozled!   Parents who are serious about their child’s schooling and tired of being bamboozled use advocates at The IEP Center.com.  Parents who are serious about their child’s education use our advocates.

Contact our office for details, limitations and requirements.

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Read our blog (click below) commentary to learn how IEP meetings may not always the most efficient method to pursue correction of a public school problem.

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Special Education Parent’s Advocacy Link LLC dba The IEP Center.com™ are not attorneys and do not give legal advice. We are civil rights advocates.   We do not give advice; we give information about the problems of children with special needs. We do not represent anyone. We are not licensed to practice law in any state. Consult an attorney.

©2017, 2019, 2022, 2023 Copyright Special Education Parent’s Advocacy Link LLC

Your child is worth it; this is a low-cost service.  Thankfully, we are not affiliated with any government agency.

**Participation in IEP meeting with the school contingent on factors including availability, applicability, prepayment, scope, locale, jurisdictional restrictions, other. Participation may be via telephone, virtual, or in person.

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IEP meeting deception in Missouri, Kansas schools

Parents go to IEP meetings trusting the public school staff to do right by their child. However, many school districts often operate on the premise of providing services to a child that fits what already exists at the district, and disregard the unique needs’ of the child that the IDEA indicates a child with special needs’ is entitled.  This hidden agenda may exist the entirety of the student’s educational experience.

Within the last ten years this advocate sees a decrease in the amount of support staff available to our children with IEPs who need it.  Paraprofessionals, especially, are often available to groups of children rather than for an individual child.  The overburdened paraprofessional quickly suffers burnout and our child’s needs go unaddressed.  A parent might hear in an IEP meeting that their child will have a paraprofessional; however, unknown to the parent is that the para serves four or five student simultaneously. Teachers are overwhelmed.

Some public schools continue to deceive parents that everything is fine at the school.  Those schools continue to do this because no one has called them to the carpet on it, or, parents don’t know how to  stop it. Parents have more control than we realize; many mechanisms outside of the school district are waiting to receive reports from parents of inappropriate public education scenarios of children with disabilities.

Advocates at the IEP Center give parents the information to help them acquire the services a child needs.  We recognize  tactics schools use to bamboozle parents.  We are available to participate in IEP meeting when invited by the parent*.

Don’t be bamboozled!  Parents who are serious about their child’s education use advocates at The IEP Center.com

Parents who are serious about their child’s education use The IEP Center™

Call 913-210-1200 from MO/KS/OK.

To have an advocate contact you complete this form:

parent/adult Name(required)

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no no but I need one yes the school set it yes I set it up other

My child is currently NOT attending school because:

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Special Education Parent’s Advocacy Link LLC dba The IEP Center™ are civil rights advocates with special knowledge about the problems of children with disabilities.  We are not attorneys and do not give legal advice.  We do not give advice; we give information about the problems of children with special needs. We do not represent anyone. Consult an attorney.  We are not a government agency and we are not affiliated with any government agency.

*Participation in IEP meeting with the school contingent on factors including availability, applicability, prepayment, scope, locale, jurisdictional restrictions, other. Participation may be via telephone, virtual, or in person.

© Copyright Special Education Parent’s Advocacy Link LLC 2014-2022

 

Students get extra help from para (paraprofessional) at the public school

So you’ve been told that your child has a paraprofessional to help him while at school.  Sometimes these support people are called classroom aide, teacher’s aide, etc. What does this mean?
It may mean that the paraprofessional is also helping many other students in addition to your child. It may mean that your child gets help from a paraprofessional during certain portions of the school day. Don’t assume it is a one-on-one scenario. Some schools have wording in the IEP “student will have adult supervision”; I would hope so!  All public school children have “adult supervision”.

To what extent are your child’s needs met (or not) with or without a para?  Don’t assume that the teacher alone can meet all your child’s needs and all the other students’ in the room (in an IEP meeting, teachers won’t ask for extra staff in the room but parents can request para supports!)  Schools are now explaining that budget cuts result in less staff; your child who previously had a para may not now–unless you ask you may not know!  Our advocates can go to school meetings with parents.

Ask the school:

• how many students are served by the para?
• at what times/scenarios does the para work/assist my child?
• what real-life experience does my para have working with a student who has the disability my child has?
• what training specific to the disability has the para attended?  if none, why not?
• what training does my para receive that is different than   the professional teachers receive?  what does the para know about my child’s disability?
• who will substitute for the para when the para is absent? how available is the sub?
• what training/experience does the sub have?

Perhaps your child has a paraprofessional assigned to him and you are concerned that the para may provide too much or not enough support to your child.  Ask the school:

• In what subjects/activities does the para provide direct instruction?
• In what subjects/activities does the para provide social guidance/set or guide interaction with peers?
• In what settings does the para fade to the background and serve only as a monitor?
• In what settings does the para provide physical/hands-on support/assistance?

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These questions are best asked of the para privately and later to the staff in an IEP or 504 meeting.  A parent can request that these details be included in the IEP under supplemental aids/services.  In a 504 plan, it can be listed as accommodations.

The para may need ways to make his life simpler at the school.  Ask the para if he needs access to closets/storage areas at various points in the building for ease in acquiring extra clothing or a private area to change the student’s clothing.  Offer to provide extra clothing in an additional backpack close to the lunch area in case of spills. Don’t forget the para on the bus; she may need items as well.

When discussing your child’s needs at the school, be careful of the terms you use.  Yes, we all want our children to be “independent”; however, school personnel may interpret “independent” to mean that the student should be left to his own vices as much as possible—resulting in limited assistance from the para.  In primary settings, this may not be the desired scenario for some children. A standard Missouri had for our kids back in the early 90’s was “maximize the capabilities”.

If your child has been assigned a paraprofessional (para), more questions need to be asked!  A proactive parents helps prevent a child from incidents that result in suspensions or change in placement(s).

Accolades to all the hard-working wonderful paras!  Thank you.

Don’t be bamboozled by the school!  Our advocates inform parents about what Congress has for parents to help your child. We also go to those confusing IEP meetings!  Visit our website to set a phone consult;  theiepcenter.com

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©2015 , 2017   Special Education Parent’s Advocacy Link LLC dba The IEP Center™.  We are civil rights advocates.

We provide information at low-cost to parents so they can better advocate for their child with disabilities in the public school.  We can go with parents to meetings at the school.

Special Education Parent’s Advocacy Link LLC dba The IEP Center are not attorneys and do not give legal advice.  We are not licensed to practice law in any state; we do not represent parents or children.  Consult an attorney.

IEP meeting: Okay to not agree in Missouri IEP meeting

IEP meetings can be frustrating; for both parents and teachers.  However, the information acquired from school staff can be quite helpful to the parent. Parents can ask about the specifics of a child’s schedule and staffing.  Parents can ask about the social dynamics of classes their child participates in.

One of the most important questions to ask is who has expertise in the child’s specific disability?  Does the district have such expert on staff?  Availability of that staff to work with my child?  Schools that have “programs” based on disability sometimes need to be reminded that the IEP meeting is not about a “program”, but rather about “individualizing” a child’s plan.  If you don’t agree with what is being offered, a parent can say so…and ask for more options.

Advocates at The IEP Center™ help parents solve IEP problems by providing information so they can advocate for the child with special needs.  Don’t be bamboozled!  Waiting and hoping for problems to go away allows our children to regress.  Hoping the problem will go away will only delay getting the problem addressed.  If you’ve had an IEP meeting and issues weren’t resolved, you need an advocate on your side!

Never go alone to an IEP meeting; our advocates are available!

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Contact an advocate below:

Name(required)

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age of child/disability

struggles at the school(required)

Upcoming meeting at the school in five days?

If child not attending school; why?

Parent phone numbers

Best time for advocate to call you

Optional: phone number of parent

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Special Education Parent’s Advocacy Link LLC dba The IEP Center™ provides information to parents regarding the problems of children with disabilities.  We are civil rights advocates for parents of children with disabilities.  We are not attorneys and do not give advice.  Consult an attorney.  We do not have a license to practice law.

We help parents at low-cost.  We help parents prepare for school meetings and also go to mediation and IEP meetings with parents.

©2015 Special Education Parent’s Advocacy Link LLC dba The IEP Center™