As you all might remember, I posted a letter here that I had sent to the super. of the schools, concerning several concerns I had with my LD son’s education and requested they respond to me in writing.
When my son came home from school today he wanted to know if I was at that meeting today, I ask what meeting, he said oh I just thought you were, because his LD teacher and the LD teacher’s boss had a meeting today, with some “other important looking people”. I had spoken to the principal the other day, on another issue (my little “angel” was flipping kids with rubber bands„ LOL) and I just mentioned if he had gotten the letter, he is filling in for the regular principal, he said yes and the super. was out of town but would be back this week and they were planning a meeting, with me to, of course, to resolve some of my concerns.
So right now it’s just assumption that this meeting took place to discuss my kid that only person knows personally. But if they did have a meeting without me, is that legal?
Sue is right,here is the law.
Kathy,
yes,it is legal,except when they are making a placement decision
.b) Parent participation in meetings.
(1) Each public agency shall provide notice consistent with §300.345(a)(1) and (b)(1) to ensure that parents of children with disabilities have the opportunity to participate in meetings described in paragraph (a)(2) of this section.
(2) A meeting does not include informal or unscheduled conversations involving public agency personnel and conversations on issues such as teaching methodology, lesson plans, or coordination of service provision if those issues are not addressed in the child’s IEP. A meeting also does not include preparatory activities that public agency personnel engage in to develop a proposal or response to a parent proposal that will be discussed at a later meeting.
(c) Parent involvement in placement decisions.
(1) Each public agency shall ensure that the parents of each child with a disability are members of any group that makes decisions on the educational placement of their child.
(2) In implementing the requirements of paragraph (c)(1) of this section, the public agency shall use procedures consistent with the procedures described in §300.345(a) through (b)(1).
(3) If neither parent can participate in a meeting in which a decision is to be made relating to the educational placement of their child, the public agency shall use other methods to ensure their participation, including individual or conference telephone calls, or video conferencing.
(4) A placement decision may be made by a group without the involvement of the parents, if the public agency is unable to obtain the parents’ participation in the decision. In this case, the public agency must have a record of its attempt to ensure their involvement, including information that is consistent with the requirements of §300.345(d).
But look at it this way. Your letter made a big splash! Now there trying to decide how to deal with you. Most likely they are now coming to terms with the fact that;
A. Your not going away
B. That they need to spend money on your kid.
C. Maybe,you’ve made a good point.
Let them figure it out,and they will be meeting with you.
Re: Standard Operating Proceure
It’s been my experience that prior to every IEP meeting I’ve attended, there has been a meeting of all “school” personnel involved. The have to hash it out and get on the same page. At times however, they are fed the “party” line and the meeting goes on with that aganeda.
In your particular case, sounds to me like they were just covering their bases.
Re: I have reason to believe they had a meeting without me!
Sure, besides being legal, it would also be a wise professional decision. Can you imagine going into a meeting where there had been no communication whatsoever among school personnel regarding the child’s strengths, needs, etc.? (I’m sure it happens, but that doesn’t make it right). It is just good practice. I always talk with the classroom teacher and speech therapist before an IEP meeting so we can be on the same page as far as goals and coordination of services.
Now in THIS particular case, when the system fears the possibility of due process, you’d better BELIEVE that someone with authority is making the decision on what the “party line” will be. There is no possibility that they would invite a parent in without discussing it first.
Kathy, you wrote a very good letter. It obviously was taken seriously. Be strong when you go to meet with them! I think you have the upper hand right now as long as your requests are within reason!
Janis
Re: I have reason to believe they had a meeting without me!
Just for openers, how would we do our jobs if we didn’t discuss students with one another? If they are having a meeting with you and with any heavies, the heavies need to know what the issues are before they sit at a table from you, this is normal. Also, someone else on staff may have a suggestion for the teacher that may be helpful.
Re: I have reason to believe they had a meeting without me!
It’s just too darn bad all these great educators met,ONLY after the Mom was forced to write a letter to one of those heavies,only because no one would meet and discuss all those wonderful suggestions they might of had.
Meeting together and discussing your student is a GREAT idea. Absolutely should happen,should of happened way before they felt the needs to circle their wagons,don’t you think?
Re: Exactly
As we see, the meeting was scheduled and the agenda resulted in identifying a secondary issue to thwart any accountability on the part of the school and make the concern the child’s “behavior”. A “functional behavior assessment” is so needed here. I think my son was 13 as well when he had his.
Teachers and administrators are allowed to meet and talk about students without telling the parents. It would be lovely to imagine that they were holding a “staffing” where everybody got together to share positive ideas about how to make things better (these were held as needed at one school where I taught) — or, they could be sharing strategies on how to best cover their collective body parts. Either way, there is nothing illegal about their simply *talking* about students.
However, they are not allowed to change placement or anything reflected in the IEP without meeting with you.