IEP Today

I just want to make sure you are aware.
If they propose a change in placement they must give you what is called Prior written Notice. It is part of your parental safeguards in IDEA. The purpose of this prior notice is to be an active participent in the process you must be able to go to the meeting already knowing what they want to suggest! In other words you shouldn’t have to go to this meeting wondering what they want to talk about when every one else already knows!Know what I mean?

They are claiming that they have no pre-concieved idea what the plan is before the meeting but we all know what’s going on. The teacher covered her ass today by refusing to acknowledge that she told me that her recommendation would be that Alex be mainstreamed in the morning and spend afternoons in a communication hadicapped classroom. She even went so far as to say that the recommendations she gave me for highly structured private mainstream programs were at my request. The school staff refuses to acknowledge the validity of his DX (autism) by a nationally recognized developmental pediatric specialist. Then they add that even if he is autistic that doesn’t mean he’s eligible for special ed services. They said they can’t discuss his placement until he’s retested and I haven’t given them permission to test because they tested him without my consent last year and tried to take away his autism eligibility based on those tests so I know exactly what to expect. The psychologist that did the testing is 3 years out of school and has spent the entire time working for Alex’s school. Nobody at that school is qualified to make decisions regarding Alex’s education. None of them are specialists in autism, let alone let alone high functioning autism. Children like Alex tend to test better on language tests over time and eventually are found to be ineligible for services based on a communication handicap so if they are stripped of their autism eligibility they can end up with no services and no legal protection. I know someone this happened to who is now considering residential placement for her son. I have two good friends going through similar issues. One of them has already gone through due process and won. The other is now in due process.

Wow.
Okay,first off, did they put all of this in writing? If not write a follow up letter to this meeting,write down everything that you can remember they said,ask then to respond within 7 business days if there is any confusion on your part to what they said. Make sure you mention they refused prior written notice by stating they had no plans:-) Then I would agree to an evaluation only by a evaluator who is qualified in evaluating autistic children. Suggest that if they have no such evaluator you can find one at district expense. I would request in writing the specific reason they will not recognize the report of a well qualified person.
WHat you are doing Rose ,is holding them accountable in writing for their actions. In a lot of cases they back off,when they are asked to do this. I would suspect they ask for another meeting. Good luck.

Requesting a specialist in autism to test Alex is a great idea. We mentioned wanting someone other than the person who tested him without consent before at the meeting and were told it was against their policy. Putting that request in writing may change things. Everything at the IEP meeting has been documented by a court reporter. If they keep insisting to test Alex, we’ll end up in due process eventually. After that, we’ll probably end up in due process again over their placement recommendations. We won’t need to request a due process hearing because we’re happy with the teacher he has now and he’ll “stay put” through any due process hearings they request. If we aren’t successful in due process hearings we’ll sue and Alex will still “stay put.” By the time all is said and done the school year will be over.

this is very true.. Good luck.