it's supposed to be an LD school...

LD schools are private schools and as such are not obligated to keep kids who do not match their system. Sad but true. Many LD schools are reluctant to take on and work with kids who have anything which might resemble behavior or emotional issues- and there is enough demand for their services that they can do that. I don’t mean to sound unsympathetic- because I am very sympathetic- I have a friend in the same position- but that is the way it works and it is the risk you run with private school.

Robin

Sean,
I did want to say,both of my two boys are in a private school for LD also.
My youngest had significant problems with behavior issues the first year. It took a long time for him to transition into this new placement,and needed a med change,which didn’t help.

The one thing I did though. Maybe this might help you.
According to IDEA,the one thing my kid still had the right to was “child find”.
Which meant the public school district was still obligated to evaluate and identify needs. They were not obligated to provide services,but obligated to identify the need for them. They must identify ANY child in their district,whether they are in a private school or not.
I requested a functional behavior assessment and the public school psychologist came to the private school and did a behavior assessment. They provided reccomendations on behavior interventions,and possible precussors,which helped the private school deal with issues that were affecting my son. Don’t know if the assessment worked as much as it helped delay the expulsion,but something helped,and my kid finally transitioned,and is now doing well. Good luck to you,have been there.

thanks, hadn’t heard of the “child find” but will look into it. Am sending my son to pvt school via Carter Funding and believe me, pvt school was not my first choice. He had been attending public schools but none in NY could meet the criteria of his IEP and the state approved school they sent me to was 2 hrs north of here, not a 12 mo program etc. Anyway, thanks for the advice.

Hmmm,
mine are going to a school under a state voucher program. Do you have a choice of private schools? Does the district regulate where he must go? If so,then you have more rights then you think. The private school might be so private after all.

Tell me more about Carter funding,because it is funds from the state,you might have even more rights under IDEA. Child find is section 300.125 in IDEA.

Hmmm,
mine are going to a school under a state voucher program. Do you have a choice of private schools? Does the district regulate where he must go? If so,then you have more rights then you think. The private school might be so private after all.

Tell me more about Carter funding,because it is funds from the state,you might have even more rights under IDEA. Child find is section 300.125 in IDEA.

Carter was the name of family in Fla who sued local school board when they couldn’t comply with their child’s IEP, forced state to reimburse them for money they spent on pvt schooling. In NY, despite the fact they have billions for special ed, there are no NYC schools targeted specifically to LD kids. There are, however, pvt schools the state has approved but very few spaces. So many parents end up doing what I did, allowing the schools a chance to place kids in an approved school. When that process fails they usually offer to pay x amount of the tuition — after the fact. I don’t know what happens if child is expelled from school before term ends. It’s quite a conundrum.

Hi Sean,

Wow, that is a tough case, and it sounds like you need some support, and so does your son, to get through this. Requesting a FBA is a good place to start, I agree, and you need to also get him into some kind of counseling — the school is no doubt also obligated to pay for that, but outside counseling is another option, and your private health insurance may pay for that. I would try to locate a counselor who specializes in adolescent boys, and is willing to do some observations and interface with the school about these problems.

My son also attended a private school for a number of years, at public expense, but because of his emotional issues we started him out at a school that was specifically for behavior disordered kids — none of the LD schools would take him when they saw his record! So what happened is that he soon became bored with the restrictions and lack of challenging curriculum, and that gave him the motivation he needed to change the behavioral stuff (such as the annoying social behaviors you mention) so he could work his way out of that setting — and the counseling helped a lot there too. So over the next year he had no major behavior problems, and THEN the LD school was willing to take him…. don’t know if this might help your situation, but you might look and see if there is such a school near you, or one that specializes in NLD/Asperger’s kids (who often have social issues such as you describe), either as a backup or as what might possibly be a more appropriate placement than you now have… Good luck, and feel free to email me if you have more questions!

Sharon

Ld schools, like all schools, are each different from the other. While your son’s behavior may not be off the charts as far as LD students go, it may be off the charts for this particular school. And as Robin G. points out, private schools have the right to expel any student they wish.

What does your son say about all this? Is he happy at the thought of possibly leaving this school or can the news that he might be asked to leave help in any way to redouble his efforts?

In the meantime, you have the right to spend a day following your son around school. While your presence might alter his behavior, it might also give you the opportunity to see what’s happening.

The best way to interact with private schools is to ‘bite the bullet’ and be as compliant as possible. Agree with everything they say while continuing to restate your strong interest in having your son there and your interest in doing anything on your part that you can. Sometimes you can strike ‘deals’ with them such as having the child see a counselor on the outside of school etc. If you really want your son to stay there, ask them point-blank is there anything I can possibly do - my son may not be happy with your school but I certainly am….
That kind of compliant interest gets their attention and never puts the hair up on their back.

Good luck.

Thanks, Sara. In answer to your question, my son seems very surprised that it’s come to this and thinks that there is actually nothing really to worry about. He has not been privy to the email and conferences I have and I think he’s starting to take the situation a little more seriously now. Part of it’s teenage denial, part of it’s that individual teachers have been very understanding with him. And since a lot of his peers are ADHD, he can’t understand why they would be singling him out when they are much more voluble in class than he is.

Thanks for the compliancy advice. I plan on letting the school know we’ll do everythng we can to avoid his expulsion though I think they have already made up their minds.

Okay,it sounds like a state refered private placement. State funding is used for your child to attend this school. This would mean that ALL laws under IDEA would pertain. I would think that this private school is under the obligation to follow the discipline section of IDEA. This would mean a FBA should be,among other things, done before any expulsion from this school.I would check out the sections of IDEA,and see if you can force their hand. This is however after you have tried anything else.