Advice wanted.

[happynoodlelady]

I've had to go to school a lot recently to help escort my daughter to and from class, the lunchroom, ect, because she will balk and refuse to move when instructed to do so. She laughs and runs away from her teachers. She has had a doctor's diagnosis of HFA for several years now, but the school still won't work with us on an IEP. When I asked the

Comments

[happynoodlelady]

They told me she didn't qualify because her diagnosis isn't impeeding her ability to be educated. I tend to disagree if I am having to walk her to and fro every other day.

[azalynn]

WTF, that is totally ridiculous! But I know schools can be like that. Unfortunately everything I have heard about dealing with this kind of thing seems to involve parents having to be really, really persistent and be up on the relevant laws, etc. So if the situation is going to be fixed you're probably in for a lot of unpleasant meetings with school officials.

Is moving her to a different school an option?

[happynoodlelady]

Not really. All the other schools are overenrolled at the moment. And I'd prefer it if she was able to make it at this school because it's right across the street and we can't afford to transport.

[kibbles]

My children have IEPs, go to different schools that are more appropriate, and because of this, get transport. One gets it on a 504, the other has it as part of his IEP. If your kid isnt getting a FAPE at the local school, then THEY ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR TRANSPORTATION TO ANOTHER SCHOOL.

[happynoodlelady]

Not unless she's on a 504 or IEP. I asked the school about switching to one that might be better suited for her and they said without her having a plan that would be our opting and when you opt to move your kid out of the school zone you have to transport yourself.

[kibbles]

Right but if you can get the 504 or the IEP to state that is the school she has to go to, they will transport her. That is what ours has on it. That this is not the zoned school but it is the most appropriate school, and since that is the case, since the local school can't accommodate him properly, they transport him. So during the whole IEP process, try to see if you can have it at another school.

[oakmouse]

You can (and will probably have to) challenge that. A friend of mine had the same problem with her daughter's principal denying that her daughter needed an IEP for her extremely severe learning disabilities. She got a letter from the doctor who had diagnosed her daughter, and when the principal refused to accept the letter she took it to the school board and the local media. An IEP was forthcoming.

[kibbles]

There is actually a process to all of this. It doesn't necessarily go to the school board, you can skip the media and the board and go through the proper channels. And if they didn't give the parents the right when they did a refusal (Which needs to be in writing) then they are in even deeper shit.

I have links, I had to get a lawyer, this is unfun stuff.

[oakmouse]

Yes, certainly there's a process, but the exact process differs from district to district. In her school district, the school board is (or was at that time, it may have changed since) the right place to go in order to appeal the principal's refusal to act. The media was just to make sure the school board acted, because they have a history of blowing off the parents of special needs kids and the local paper likes to hassle them over it. Both steps were taken at the advice of her boss, a family law lawyer.

[kibbles]

Actually, it is based on federal law, and the appeals process is very particular. If you skip steps, you could lose some rights. Whilst you're playing Don Quixote, and media darling, you might be missing out on filing important paperwork, that if you don't file within X days, they can say 'ha ha, too bad, how sad

[conuly]

Agreed.

[tooimpurenangel]

They can refuse to re-evaluate them. I remember this from when I was in high school.