My husband and I hired a stenographer to attend Alex’s IEP meeting to help prevent future misunderstandings. We wrote to them in advance to let them know of our plans. The day before the meeting we were informed that a larger meeting room had been arranged to make more space available for the stenographer. The meeting was to begin at 1pm. The teacher, program director, school psychologist and county supervisor arrived on time. We all had to wait for a school district representative. She showed up at 1:25 and said she would not be able to participate until she got a call from her supervisor. They were waiting for a call from their lawyer regarding whether or not they should participate with a stenographer present. When the call finally came, we were told that the district representative could not attend with a stenographer present. My husband and I ask if it was neccesary for the district representative to be there for us to proceed. After all, the district representative wouln’t have anything to contribute to Alex’s IEP and she could order a transcript from the stenographer to get a detailed account of what was said in the meeting. We were told the meeting couldn’t happen without the district representative present so that was the end of that. We sent the district representative’s office a bill. The meeting will be rescheduled after we obtain a court order to allow it to proceed with a stenographer. All this and we haven’t even asked for anything but for Alex to stay in his present placement another year… yet. After the un-meeting, I took my children to the little circus visiting our town. The show was wonderful and everyone involved was very nice. After all the hard work put into making the circus happen, everyone there made an exta effort to make sure everyone was having a good time. Wouldn’t life be a better place if everyone made a little extra effort to show they cared whether or not everyone was enjoying themselves?
Re: IEP Meeting Ended Before It Started
A written transcript would be easier for us to review. The stenographer is a court reporter and her accuacy is more acceptable in court than a tape recording. Peter Wright of “Wright’s Law” says, to avoid going to court, be prepared for court. The transcript would have been a clear and accurate report of what was said in the meeting for everyone’s future use.
Re: IEP Meeting Ended Before It Started
I think the concept of using a stenographer probably scared the living crap out of all of them, particularly if something clandestine is going on. Oh, to have been a fly on the wall when they really figured out you meant business. I bet that circus was pretty wild too! Good luck.
Andy
Re: IEP Meeting Ended Before It Started
Next time you deal with the scumbags do not play by the rules because they won’t. Wear a wire even though it may be illegal. If they freak out tell them it was in plain sight and they were aware of it. Lie Lie and Lie thats how they play the game. Fight dirty. Intimidate them. Berate them. Call them at home. Go to the school board. Call the commissioner of education. Post their home phone numbers on this bulletin board. maybe someone like me can get them to see the light.
Re: IEP Meeting Ended Before It Started
Before you spend lots of money getting a court order, what if both sides agree to tape the meeting (using two tape recorders) and then you agree to pay for a court reporter to transcribe the school’s tape? The main reason that tape recordings are questioned in court is that it is possible that the tape may be altered. If there are two copies, made by two separate tape recorders and in the custody of each party separately, you should avoid conflicts over whether the transcript is accurate. I suspect this would be a lot cheaper for you and would give the same result, namely, a typed out transcript that everyone can agree is accurate.
Andrea
That's a good idea.
It doesn’t cost us much to go to court to get a court order because my husband is an attorney but getting a transcript done from tape recordings that all participants agree are accurate is a good idea. As for members of the IEP team being intimidated by the presence of the court reporter… now they know how parents feel when confronted with a room full of professionals. The truth is that there has been some re-writing of history in the past and we are trying to avoid the possibility of future “misunderstandings.”
Re: That's a good idea.
I wish I could afford a stenographer at all my IEP meetings. I had a meeting recently that was attended by an atty and is was very interesting to see how quickly things were agreed to and got done!!
K.
Rose
Is there a reason why you did not use a tape recorder instead of a stenographer? The question for the school may have been whether they could verify that the stenographer was actually transcribing what was said. In that case, too, the school should have used a tape recorder. Many people in your situation notify the school that the session will be taped. Or some simply arrive at the meeting and put the tape recorded on the table.