XP - More IEP woes

CaptainSerious

I want to thank all of you who have offered me such good advice in the past.  Maybe you can help me with my next steps?

Not sure what my next step should be 

My situation has been explained in pieces through several different posts, but I'll try to explain it here, as briefly yet completely as I can.  I'm at a point where I believe we have to take action to the next level, but I see several different possible courses of action and don't really know the ramifications of each.  I'm open to advice on how to proceed.

My son, M, was adopted from Peru at the legal age of 7 (he's probably a couple years older than that) in 2010.  He attended private school for 2 years because they were better able to address his ESL needs, and is now attending third grade in public school, at the legal age of 9.  M is dyslexic and currently reading at a Kindergarten-1st grade level.  He also does not understand basic math fact, does not have a concept of time, cannot count money, and has virtually no working memory.

M is currently pulled out for language arts and math in a resource room setting (about 4.5 hours a day), but is mainstreamed for science, social studies, lunch, and specials.  M's IEP calls for a lot of modifications and reteaching, repeating, checking for comprehension, finding different ways to teach difficult concepts, etc. for the time while he is in the mainstream classroom.

Here's the problem:  right now, the classroom only contains one teacher and one paraprofessional, who's supposed to assist M and 6 other kids who all need extra help.  Due to the amount of individualized help M needs, we have always requested (and been denied) that M receives his classroom help from a person that is only assigned to work with him.  Further, it's clear that the teacher and child study team leader do not feel (nor do we) the para can carry out the modifications to M's plan or effectively teach to his abilities.

The special education teacher who works with M in resource room has offered to work with him during science and social studies in the mainstream classroom, and it's worked wonderfully on a trial basis.  The assistant superintendent, however, is intent on either moving the para or the special ed teacher out, which means that whoever stays will have to divide her attention amongst all the students needing extra help.  We are not okay with this.

Now, I know we have to do something, but I'm not sure what.  Should we call an IEP meeting (they did write that assistance would come from a paraprofessional into the IEP, despite our objections, and refused individual in-class support by a special education teacher)?  Should we take our objections to county?  For those of you with knowledge of NJ, what are SPAN and Protection and Advocacy (Disability Rights NJ), and how should they come into play?  Someone here, I think, mentioned we might be entitled to a free advocate from somewhere; how do I look into this?  Is it time to get a consultant/attorney involved?  I'm just looking for the best way to get this all resolved as quickly and cost-effectively as possible while creating the fewest troubles going forward.  What would you do if you were me?

Art Teacher

It sounds to me like you have a found something that is working for your son - the special ed teacher working with him while he's mainstreamed. It also sounds like that's about to change since they want a para with him and not a teacher.  I know from my experience teaching in NJ (about 7 years ago) students who needed one on one help were assigned a para and not a one on one teacher.  I'm sure every district is different, though.

It does sound like another IEP meeting needs to happen.  I would definitely address your concerns and mention how well it's working with the special ed teacher.  Maybe the asst. superintendent needs to be invited to the meeting so everyone is on the same page. 

Maybe after that meeting, if you still feel like your son isn't receiving the services he needs, you could contact an advocate.  I am not familiar with SPAN but I did find this:  https://www.arcnj.org/programs/education_advocacy.html#.  Looks like The Arc works with advocates and parents.  Even if they don't deal with your area directly, maybe they could guide you in the right direction.

I'm sorry it's been so hard.  Big hugs. 

IRR

UGH, sorry for the aggravation you are facing.  I don't know anything about NJ, but I will tell you a story about my nephew who is in NY.  My brother and SIL never thought he was going to receive the proper attention in public school due to some pretty big development issues, so they fought with their town to pay for his private school.  They won this battle for my nephew K-7.  Each year they had to plead their case in front of the BOE.  After 8 years of receiving a private school education with smaller class sizes he finally entered public school in 8th grade last year and did well enough that my brother has let him continue on to the public HS.  I know this situation isn't exactly the same, as it sounds like your son may have even more learning disabilities than my nephew did, but I would fight for his right to a proper education and if public school can't provide it, then find a private school that can and make your town pay for it.  GL, let us know how it goes.

kmkaull2

Ok, unfortunately, this is not unusual.  There are budget cuts all across the country, as well as a program called Response to Invervention (you can thank George W Bush's No Child Left Behind for this fun process) that is really cramping districts' use of paraprofessionals.

One para for 6 special needs kids (especially in science and social studies) is not unheard of, and honestly, was very common for the programs I ran.   This allowed me, the special ed teacher, to work with kids in a resource room setting.  In essence, there's the thinking that reading and math are the most important subjects, and then support is reduced for other subjects like science, ss, and specials.  This kind of program works well if the kids in the regular ed classroom are able to function fairly independently and actually comprehend what's going on.  If there are more complex needs, well, you have a disaster.  So if you have a special ed teacher working in the classroom, that is awesome . ..  just not very common any more. 

I would call an IEP meeting, but you HAVE to include the district director of special ed (get the highest ranking person in the department) AND the principal.  The truth is, they make the budgetary decisions.  Time and time again, I saw the squeaky wheel (the parents who advocated) get the grease.  This isn't right, but it is reality.   The key is really getting the right people to hear about M's situation.  Schools don't generally love advocates, so I would hold on that for a bit.  See how this meeting goes first. 

Does he have anything like study hall or another time when he can work with his special ed teacher on science and ss?  She can do extra work with him to reinforce what's taught in the class, extra activities, vocabulary work, test prep (maybe not important now, but it will be next year), etc.  The teacher can also prepare some materials to be sent home for more reinforcement.  

 Sorry to tell you that I think this all comes down to money.  I hope you get them to agree to hire someone or rearrange another para's schedule to get M more support.  

CaptainSerious

kmkaull2:

I would call an IEP meeting, but you HAVE to include the district director of special ed (get the highest ranking person in the department) AND the principal.  The truth is, they make the budgetary decisions. 

The assistant superintendent is the district's special services director, and he's the one saying he's not going to let both the para and special ed teacher stay in the classroom.  The principal has been cc'ed on all my e-mails about this, and defers to him.  He's telling me to go back to an IEP meeting, but the child study team leader is telling me to go to county and take this up a notch.  The child study team leader, the general ed teacher, and the special ed teacher all tell me they think the current arrangement is best (with both the para and the special ed teacher) and I should fight for it.

With that information, do you still think another IEP meeting is out next step?

MrsZ816

I hope you don't mind me chiming in since I don't post very often.  I am a special ed. teacher in NJ and teach in a self-contained setting where my students are mainstreamed only for specials. 

In the IEP it should list M's program for each subject.  Does it say in class support or in class replacement for science and social studies?  If it says either of those then a special education teacher should be with him in the mainstream classroom.  I rarely see IEPs with resource settings for language and math but no services from a special education teacher during the other core subjects. However, it sounds like you are in a small school district which usually means limited resources.

If it does not state either in class support or in class replacement then I would push for one of those.  Another option would be to ask (again) for a one-on-one paraprofessional for your son so that there would be someone assigned to work with just him.  The third option would be to request a placement change to a more restrictive environment (usually a self-contained class) where a special education teacher would be the one doing the instruction and all students in the class would have special needs if you feel that his needs would be better met there.

I hope this helps.  Feel free to PM me if you want me to look at any IEP language or your son's diagnosis.  From the information that you gave it sounds like his disabilities are similar to those of the students that I work with.

kmkaull2

CaptainSerious:

kmkaull2:

I would call an IEP meeting, but you HAVE to include the district director of special ed (get the highest ranking person in the department) AND the principal.  The truth is, they make the budgetary decisions. 

The assistant superintendent is the district's special services director, and he's the one saying he's not going to let both the para and special ed teacher stay in the classroom.  The principal has been cc'ed on all my e-mails about this, and defers to him.  He's telling me to go back to an IEP meeting, but the child study team leader is telling me to go to county and take this up a notch.  The child study team leader, the general ed teacher, and the special ed teacher all tell me they think the current arrangement is best (with both the para and the special ed teacher) and I should fight for it.

With that information, do you still think another IEP meeting is out next step?

Yes, I think you have to do a meeting to determine best placement.  If the team decides that the current arrangement should be upheld, what will the assistant principal say?  I mean the general ed teacher, special ed teacher, and team leader can only say so much . . . at some point a "higher-up" has to make the call about if they are going to pay for an extra adult in the classroom. (Sucks, I know.) I would try to get them both to come to the meeting.  

If he doesn't agree, then yes, take it to the county.  I have never had to do that, so I'm not familiar with what that would entail.  Do you belong to any parent groups for kids with special needs?  Might be a good place to find an advocate.  The principal will not be happy, but you gotta do what you gotta do!

sassafras007

I have been out of it for a while but I feel like there is some type of appeal process...

mommyof4boys

Lurker but I can provide some suggestions.  First, the director technically has the "final say" in budgetary issues but legally can't say they won't do something that will provide FAPE for your son based on money.  If M's IEP states something they are legally bound to do it.  You can call your county supervisor and ask for assistance as well.

The several times I called SPAN they, they didn't return my calls OR called me back a few weeks later.  There's a start up group that I'm involved in called NJ Parent Advocates.  If you are on Facebook, you can search us out there.   

I would also suggest you come armed with the state code to all of your IEP meetings.  It helps just having them with you.  With my boys (all 3 of my little ones have IEP's) I bring it with me to their meetings.  I have had issues and it helps simply having it and being able to refer to code in meetings. 

CaptainSerious

All posters welcome!

MrsZ816:

In the IEP it should list M's program for each subject.  Does it say in class support or in class replacement for science and social studies?  If it says either of those then a special education teacher should be with him in the mainstream classroom.  I rarely see IEPs with resource settings for language and math but no services from a special education teacher during the other core subjects. However, it sounds like you are in a small school district which usually means limited resources.

If it does not state either in class support or in class replacement then I would push for one of those.  Another option would be to ask (again) for a one-on-one paraprofessional for your son so that there would be someone assigned to work with just him.  The third option would be to request a placement change to a more restrictive environment (usually a self-contained class) where a special education teacher would be the one doing the instruction and all students in the class would have special needs if you feel that his needs would be better met there.

No, M's IEP includes a ton of modifications, but specifies that he should be working with a paraprofessional.  We have been pushing for in-class support from the start, and have been denied every step of the way.  How does that compare/differ from in class replacement?

This is not an issue of us being in a small district at all; that I could understand/forgive.  This is a district with 11 elementary-level schools, and no acceptable excuse.

We are not okay with a para providing the services M needs, because it includes reteaching, checking for comprehension, and basically filling the role of his teacher.  As for the self-contained class, there's a post a few down that tells about how my experience went when I observed the option available to us.  The teacher was absolutely horrific, and needless to say, that's not going to be a viable option for M.

I am interested in learning about in class replacement.  What is that, and how does it work?

CaptainSerious

mommyof4boys:

Lurker but I can provide some suggestions.  First, the director technically has the "final say" in budgetary issues but legally can't say they won't do something that will provide FAPE for your son based on money.  If M's IEP states something they are legally bound to do it.  You can call your county supervisor and ask for assistance as well.

The several times I called SPAN they, they didn't return my calls OR called me back a few weeks later.  There's a start up group that I'm involved in called NJ Parent Advocates.  If you are on Facebook, you can search us out there.   

I would also suggest you come armed with the state code to all of your IEP meetings.  It helps just having them with you.  With my boys (all 3 of my little ones have IEP's) I bring it with me to their meetings.  I have had issues and it helps simply having it and being able to refer to code in meetings. 

As best I can tell, the assistant superintendent I've been dealing with is the director of special services.  No where can I find a director listed, and he is the top person listed in the special services webpages, etc.

I called SPAN on Monday afternoon, and although I was worried I wouldn't hear back, they actually called me today.  They armed me with a lot of information, so now I have to read through everything they sent, and start drafting my next round of letters.  They recommended I write to the school district's superintendent, giving a detailed background of everything we've done/gone through to date, pointing out the inconsistencies with law (they said it's against code for a para to teach, and that is what the district is essentially suggesting in M's case) and advising them that we will be calling a new IEP meeting.  They suggested trying this before elevating it to the advocate/lawyer/county/state levels.  Would you agree with this, or do you think it will just waste more time?

I do always carry the code into meetings with me, and I have read it, but I don't know it well enough to pull things to back myself up in a meeting.  Are there any sections, in particular, you think I should narrow in on?

I will definately check out your group on FB.  Thanks for the heads-up!

CaptainSerious

Thanks, everyone, for all your guidance/advice/support.  It's not often I feel as if I'm fighting a battle and am the only one who doesn't know the terms of engagement.  I know what they are doing isn't right/legal, but I feel like I'm floundering because I don't want to tick them off while asserting our rights and getting the services M needs and is entitled to.

MrsZ816

CaptainSerious:

All posters welcome!

MrsZ816:

In the IEP it should list M's program for each subject.  Does it say in class support or in class replacement for science and social studies?  If it says either of those then a special education teacher should be with him in the mainstream classroom.  I rarely see IEPs with resource settings for language and math but no services from a special education teacher during the other core subjects. However, it sounds like you are in a small school district which usually means limited resources.

If it does not state either in class support or in class replacement then I would push for one of those.  Another option would be to ask (again) for a one-on-one paraprofessional for your son so that there would be someone assigned to work with just him.  The third option would be to request a placement change to a more restrictive environment (usually a self-contained class) where a special education teacher would be the one doing the instruction and all students in the class would have special needs if you feel that his needs would be better met there.

No, M's IEP includes a ton of modifications, but specifies that he should be working with a paraprofessional.  We have been pushing for in-class support from the start, and have been denied every step of the way.  How does that compare/differ from in class replacement?

This is not an issue of us being in a small district at all; that I could understand/forgive.  This is a district with 11 elementary-level schools, and no acceptable excuse.

We are not okay with a para providing the services M needs, because it includes reteaching, checking for comprehension, and basically filling the role of his teacher.  As for the self-contained class, there's a post a few down that tells about how my experience went when I observed the option available to us.  The teacher was absolutely horrific, and needless to say, that's not going to be a viable option for M.

I am interested in learning about in class replacement.  What is that, and how does it work?

I just read the post about the self-contained class and I am so sorry you had that experience.  Also, no matter the size of the district, there is never an acceptable excuse to place any needs above those of a child.

In class replacement works somewhat like in class support in that it takes place in the regular education classroom.  However, it requires a special education teacher to provide more modifications and makes the special education teacher responsible for the grading instead of it being a collaboration between the regular and special education teachers.  In a nutshell, it is a pumped up version of in class support.  My district tries to use this model instead of resource rooms for science and social studies because it is seen as a way for there to be better social interaction and provide more opportunities for hands on learning due to the size of the group.