My friend’s husband wanted to know what SELPA stood for… Special Education, Liars and Parent Antagonizers… One of our local SELPAs is holding workshops on how to have less confrontational IEP meetings. I said that our little group of moms attending would be the like a bunch of heathens attending a bible study meeting. Before anyone gets their panties in a twist… I’ve had some good SELPA experiences, think most of my children’s teachers are great most of the time and I even have the good fortune of liking our current district representative. I am very optimistic about how thing are going but… Things had been going so wrong for so long that we were preparing for a law suit. Our district rep arranged SELPA mediations and most things were resolved. It’s still a one size fits all program with nothing specific to the needs of high functioning autistic children like Alex but at least they’re no longer threatening to reduce services. There was some permanent relationship damage but it was at the preschool special ed level and my youngest son is transitioning to mainstream kindergarten so we won’t be dealing with them in the future anyway. Alex is attending mainstream kindergarten one day a week for 40 minutes and we will work our way up from there until he goes full time in the fall. This plan seems to be best for everyone. Alex has a chance to adapt to the new class, the teacher has a chance to adapt to Alex, and the school district has a chance to get Alex mainstreamed without having to provide an aide. I think it all has a good chance of working out well. But if I hadn’t learned the law and been willing to use it, we wouldn’t be in the positive position we are in today.
Re: Had a funny memory
If we’re thinking of the same person, I want you to know that the district is moving in very positive directions for special education. I think that part of that is having to face issues like the ones your family brought to light. So as painful as it was, you paved a road for change that will benefit many, many children to come. You, your wife and son began a legacy of change. Thank you.
SELPA. Ours was quite the joke. When we FINALLY were told about selpa, my wife, brother in law/sister in law and I attended a meeting. We had already begun the mediation portion of our saga. We had experienced records violations, document manipulations and many flagrant IDEA violations by our district administrators. We were told that selpa was the “bridge” between parents and district. The little picture on thier flier was a bridge holding hands between parent and school….
We got to the meeting and the lady who was the special education administrator was in charge of the selpa meeting! She dictated what went on, who was to speak, on what topic and all the little bobble heads who cow towed to her authority piped in and backed her up. Some bridge. I got up and walked out. Wife and kin stayed out of curiosity, I couldn’t handle the irony I guess.
Anyway, seems funnier now that many years have passed… doubt much has changed as she is now the head of special ed in the district :(