New IEP?

At the very least it should be amended if he isn’t receiving Resource Room services- though if he needs them for specific remedial services he should get them regardless of how his class is configured. The fact that the Special Educator teams in the room does not preclude the need for some individualized remediation for some students. If his team decided that remedial instruction aqway from the classroom program was what he needed last year, then they should be able to show why he doesn’t need it now. To do so without notification and some level of agreement (a meeting in other words)from you may be a change of placement- this is not kosher. And the saw- this is what we offer at this level- is insufficient reason. Now- they may be right and this a a great place for him that has just what he needs interms of intensity and form of service. But you should have been a part of the decision.

Robin

I would take a good look at what your child goals and objectives are and determine if it can be met in the general education classroom. Ask specific question of the inclusion person on how services for the individual goals will be carried out.

If your child needs remediation he usally will not get this in an inclusion model without pull-out. Some models do both. If there is pull-out find out how many students are pulled out at once. Do not blindly rewrite the IEP changing the services to inclusion without considering what your child needs.

Helen

Okay,I was always told that resource room is a service not a place. Resource room usually means remediation of some type. Is he recieving remediation in the inclusion classroom? If not,the school is in violation of your son’s IEP. The IEP team felt it necessary to provide to your son,remediation of skills. If they are not providing this,then they are not following the IEP. If he needs this,then no change in placement is needed.They simply must follow the IEP.

Resource room is a place where services are provided. On our IEP forms, you need to specify where, as well a who and how long and a what. Services in the RR are pull out services,though it may happen fairly discreetly(math during math time for example) services in a classroom are not, and need to be written differently into the IEP. They are not better or worse- just different:)

Robin

It’s special education that’s a service, not a place ;) The “resource room” is… a room. The key is just what you said, htough — what *services* are dow2n on the IEP as being provided there? If there isn’t anything specified, then there is a certain amount of change they’re allowed to make as far as time in separate setting (resource room)… but more than that amount of change is a “change in placement” and needs an IEP meeting.

And it really sounds like in this case they have decided that given their current class rolls and staff, it fits better in the schedules to change him from resource room to inclusion… so their next step is to figure out how to make it look like his needs are being met there because they probably aren’t set up to do that resource room thing. Unfortunately one thing that could happen is that if they’re backed into a corner they’ll go ahead and put the kiddo in that “resource room” and write down the services they’re “providing,” and it can be awfully hard to prove its not happening, much less change things so it is. They may tell the self-contained teacher who’s already got her hands full “the parent says he has to have resource room, so Johnny will be in your room fourth period, here are the goals on the IEP.” (BTDT)

Yes, different schools do this in different ways, even within one district. In the one I work for that my kids go to, 5 of 6 lower elementary schools use resource rooms, but one has the resource teacher go to the classrooms and helps with the specific 4 children that need remediation.