Due process anyone

mommyof4boys · February 2014

We filed a due process (and it was settled prior to going to mediation) in November to force the district to do an IEE in speech/language/and social skills for Jonathan. We finally had the meeting to go over it on the 10th of February. The district did not agree to the recommendations in the report of the IEE.

It shows Jon's articulation went from the 25% at age 4 to the <1% now. It shows inconsistencies in goals, reporting on the progress sheets, documented the district didn't provide documentation or reports to the person doing the IEE, said he mastered goals he didn't...I could go on and on. The district is now saying the IEE is an opinion and they do not need to follow it.

I know they have to consider it and not necessarily agree to it. With 30 pages of documentation as to why it needs to be followed, I don't understand why they will not. IMO, they had no intention of following it from day one. I'm emotionally drained and I'm not completely in the process yet. I am not backing off of this though. Any help...words of advice, etc?

PipSqueak0313 · February 2014

Hugs.

I don't know that I can offer much more than that to help.

I have had to file a formal complaint with the state department of education on my older son's previous school district. This whole process is hard enough without school districts making it feel like it's a you vs them kind of process.

mommyof4boys · February 2014

-auntie- said:

I'm so sorry you're dealing with this.

I've never lived this, but know a couple families who have. From what I have observed second hand, this can sometimes be a no-win situation. Even if you engage an attorney and process through the court system, it can be years before you prevail. Given that you have 3 for whom you need to advocate going forward, I don't know that it's worth taking on.

Have you thought about what it is- exactly- that you want?

What we want is for the district to provide the correct services for speech, correct goals, correct placement for reading, and provide documentation that he is progressing. We asked for the documentation and they couldn't provide it. The SLP said she doesn't have the data he did progress but it is on the progress sheets. His sheets say M for most things that he has still not done. We want them to address the appropriate things during social skills.
Is there some way to get the pieces that you can get in school and cobble services for the other issues outside of school? Are their families in local districts who are getting the services you need?

Not all families are getting what they need. The general consensus is parents are unhappy with related services saying they are not enough. We were told last year that they had to cut services because they didn't have enough people to service the kids.

Would moving make sense? We've talked about moving but that's not going to help with everything. We could do anywhere and still have a similar issue.
DS had a classmate in NJ whose parents rented in order to provide the best district for their DS on spectrum and their son with CP. It made more sense for them to be able to move around based on what district was working best for them. They sent their GATE child (they were triplets) to a Hebrew day School.

Are they dismissing the entire document? Are you working with an advocate or attorney? Have you filed a complaint with the state's DOE?
They are dismissing the entire eval saying it's an opinion and not based on fact. I am working with a few other advocates through an advocacy group but am doing it all on my own. I am SPAN trained but have never had to go through this. The complaint is next and is coming as there were other issues.

CaptainSerious · February 2014

I'm so sorry you are dealing with this. How underhanded of them!

I'm currently in the midst of a due process proceeding. Our settlement date came and went with no hope of an agreement in sight, and we are preparing for the hearing. We also just switched lawyers, because we felt like our first lawyer didn't get the full picture and was advocating we acquiesce too much to the district's demands. But like your situation, I have serious concerns about whether the district would even keep up their part of a settlement agreement or try to wiggle out of it, so it seems we're likely to go the full round. We started got our first lawyer involved in July, didn't file until November because we tried and tried to work with them, and now we are just hoping to reach a resolution before we have to hammer our our next IEP.

Our situation is a little different than most, but I've our district has pulled so many violations it's not even funny. We're willing to let much of it go, if the main point of our suit is addressed. I just hope that the hearing judge will see the case as clearly as the settlement judge, because she told us she was 100% behind us, and really tried to convince the district to settle.

Unfortunately, I don't have much advice to offer, but I will offer loads and loads of support. Auntie makes a great point, in that once you are involved in a lawsuit, you are kind of locked into this adversarial relationship that is often beyond repair. I wouldn't be here if I didn't have to be; we really tried to avoid it. If you have any other alternatives, I would seriously consider them, but if you, like us, feel this is the only way to truly support your sons, then you've got to fight the hard fight. I'm sending you logs of support and well wishes.

mommyof4boys · February 2014

I've tried working with them on the same thing since K. The previous case manager altered documents and did not give us the correct information. She did some pretty shady things. They did not provide the appropriate information to the person doing the IEE, etc. They marked that he made progress and was doing well with 2 sessions and all his teachers are coming to me with concern about his speech. In the observation that the IEE person did she documented the SLP asking Jon to be quiet because she was tired and wanted to stretch. In 30 minutes per session, there should be no quiet time! I could go on and on but won't.

Captain Serious, that is where I am at. I am willing to let go of some things but not everything. He is refusing to talk in school and when he does the kids make fun of him. I have asked for more speech for 2 years and documented the reasons why. I tried in K to do it there way but that didn't work. I broke down and cried during the meeting in 1st and this year the SLP is quoting ethics that she had to agree to when she became an SLP. It is quite ridiculous!

I have a friend who is a parent leader in another district who said she would file for mediation for things and it never changed their relationship. It was used as a third party to work out differences. That is my hope.

There have been many code violations over the past several years and I let them go in an attempt to work with the district on what our concerns were. Unfortunately the SLP is not budging on what she is saying and meanwhile Jon's being left in the dust.

mommyof4boys · February 2014

We filed the paperwork yesterday and checked off mediation only. We will go to due process if we need to. We have called multiple attorney's and are waiting back to hear from a group that does pro bono work as we are not financially able to afford much.

When I talked to the state before filing they encouraged me to do so and said the documentation they provided is lacking. We have 30 pages of an IEE with documentation on what the district failed to do, is failing to do, etc to meet his needs.

They can't produce the documentation and I can. He's worked on the same thing with zero progress since December 2012 and they are continuing to work the same way! I'm not asking for the world! I'm asking for him to articulate his name and make progress on his goals.

CaptainSerious · February 2014

Oh mommyof4boys, my heart goes out to you! I totally get where you are coming from and wish you all the best as you try to work this out!

mommyof4boys · February 2014

The bottom line, Auntie, is you are right. Nothing will change unless the SLP changes. We were told they have SLPs in district who do what we are asking for and when I called the company who does the training, they said there weren't any in the last 5 years. What I want is for her to try a different approach since she's done the same thing for over a year and have not gotten a result with it at all.

We have tried to bring our voice the the IEP table but are met with resistance as far as the SLP is concerned. The other areas are receptive, just not this SLP.

I'm in a group for parents leaders in NJ and unfortunately this is similar to what others have experienced. I have a friend who is going to ASPEN meetings. I need to go with her but Boy Scouts are the same night. I go to school board meetings which are also on the same night. My hubby comes home from work early once a month to let me attend them. I'm not sure if I can get him to do both.

Due process anyone

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