Did school IEP meeting plan for fall 2013?

Many schools conduct spring IEP meetings for students.  Usually the people at this meeting are the current staffers who work with the child.  However, in the fall some students will be in a different building or different program.  Was this taken into consideration for your child’s IEP?

Was someone from the future building/program invited to the IEP meeting?  Was opportunity provided for your child to preview the new facility/program? or arrangements made to do so before the start of school in the fall?

Other things to consider:

• bus scenario different? driver? pick up time? drop-off time?
• lunch scenario different? menus?
• different para? 
• different nurse?
• rules/expectations in new building different?  does IEP override those?

Advocates at The IEP Center support parents with IEP meetings, and, when issues in IEP meetings become redundant, The IEP Center advocates support parents in mediation, which states offer a free mediator.  The IEPCenter.com 

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Only one IEP meeting this year?

A parent told me in her school district there would be only one IEP meeting per year.  Since it was held in the fall she was concerned about planning for the next school year and felt she needed an IEP review meeting now (spring).

School districts may lead parents to believe that only one IEP meeting will be held each year; it is the school’s duty to conduct at least one a year.  Parents can request an “IEP Review” meeting any time during the school year.  After all, circumstances change, kids grow and change.  Kids have health issues that affect schooling and performance.

“Administrative convenience” is what was happening in a district that allowed a parent to continue to believe only one IEP meeting was allowed.  What other misleadings are taking place?  These lean toward civil rights’ issues.

Contact a professional advocate who is a certified teacher:

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IEP for speech not working

Some students have an IEP that has the public school providing speech services.  Many students, however, have more special needs’ than just speech.  Many of our kids have “hidden” disabilities, such as processing delays and reading and writing problems, as well as impairments that effect their ability to be successful in a classroom setting.

A parent has provided medical documentation to the public school about the student’s diagnosis, yet the school believes that since the child has an IEP for only speech so the IEP is sufficient. The school leads the parent to believe that is all that needs to be done and indicates there’s no need for an IEP meeting. It is suggested to the parent to discuss concerns with the principal.

Talk is cheap.  Unfortunately parents grew up with the mindset that the folks at the school know what they’re doing, and, they are “experts” in what our children need.  As long as parents keep talking, the school will continue to promote the “wait and see” approach.

Paper is power.  A parent can submit in writing concerns to the school about the student’s needs that have gone unaddressed. Parents need to know the right buzzwords to use in communicating with the school in order to work the “system”.

This is another scenario that a professional advocate at the the IEP center encounters.  Parents get bamboozled and don’t even know it.  Advocates at the IEP center are available for telephone consults where a parent can learn the buzzwords and approaches parents can use to work the “system” for the child with special needs.  http://www.theiepcenter.com

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