I am trying to find an answer before my next scheduled IEP meeting.
When my son was in Kindergarten, I was told that he is mild on the Autism Spectrum and needed an IEP. However, I think that he just had a crappy teacher
and she wanted to pawn him off on someone else. I'm not saying my son is perfectly behaved but he has been stuck in a special education class for 3 years now. There are severely austistic kids in this class and the class ranges from kindergarteners to 2nd graders.
I really think the class is holding him back and he needs to be in a General classroom setting.
However, the teachers who help write his IEP don't think so. So my question is, can they actually force him to stay in a special education class?
It seems like they are trying to force him to adhere to this IEP just because a rather unfortunate label was slapped on my son.
I don't think this is right. Help anyone?

Go here:

http://www.doe.virginia.gov/special_ed/regulations/state/procedural_safeguards/english_procedural_safeguards.pdf

Under VA law, they have to educate your child in the least restrictive setting, which means regular classes to the fullest extent possible under the circumstances. You also have "consent rights" as a parent and the school must provide you with written notice if they refuse to accomodate you, which you may then appeal. I'd press the issue, say you don't want him in a special ed class, hand them a copy of this law, and say that you intend to obtain legal counsel if they refuse to grant your request.

Thank you! I will do exactly that. My son is incredibly smart. He does not have a learning disability. I will get him out of that class!

Have you ever seen Forest Gump? Just a thought.....

Getting a kid INTO special ed is not an easy thing. I think you're either lying to yourself about your son or the whole post is a trolling. One teacher does not make the decision, it's a myriad of people that evaluate and then they ALONG WITH THE PARENTs decide the best placement. If you didn't think he belonged in Special Ed, you never should have put him there.

As for how to proceed:
You can try to have him placed for certain classes in the general ed setting and see how he handles it.

You can take him out entirely and homeschool.

You can discuss the situation with the school representatives and your child's doctors and make an informed decision about what the best course of action should be.

Or you can come on FU and bitch about the crappy education system.

Good luck.

You can homeschool or send him to private school. Those are pretty much your options.


Rachael Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I am trying to find an answer before my next
> scheduled IEP meeting.
> When my son was in Kindergarten, I was told that
> he is mild on the Autism Spectrum and needed an
> IEP. However, I think that he just had a crappy
> teacher
> and she wanted to pawn him off on someone else.
> I'm not saying my son is perfectly behaved but he
> has been stuck in a special education class for 3
> years now. There are severely austistic kids in
> this class and the class ranges from
> kindergarteners to 2nd graders.
> I really think the class is holding him back and
> he needs to be in a General classroom setting.
> However, the teachers who help write his IEP don't
> think so. So my question is, can they actually
> force him to stay in a special education class?
> It seems like they are trying to force him to
> adhere to this IEP just because a rather
> unfortunate label was slapped on my son.
> I don't think this is right. Help anyone?

Rachael Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Thank you! I will do exactly that. My son is
> incredibly smart. He does not have a learning
> disability. I will get him out of that class!


You do realize that you are just severely hampering your son by doing this if he does indeed need special classes?

Just because you think little Finn is a genius doesn't make it so. He may benefit greatly from specialized classes. Probably gonna end up spending three years at NOVA and dropping out because of the decision you make today.

Let your kid have the help he needs, there is nothing wrong with that. All kids learn differently.

 

Aren't they doing re-evals and amending/re-writing the IEP based on his current needs and meeting goals from the old IEP? I'd push for this...

I can't believe how incredibly nasty people are. Sorry if your lives suck so bad that you have to be mean to people on the internet.
I won't let you steal my peace. I'll take the advice that I need and just leave.

this is a typical FCPS ruse, oddly some of the brightest kids end up on the "autism spectrum", which is a joke, Real GT kids have some behavioral challenges and the irony is that they are now using this as an excuse to keep kids out of the AAP program who really should be there. I would not let these morons label your child, and FYI, everybody they test ends up with a malady of some sort. Here is their label: Chronic Compliance and lack of Creativity. BARF

Sorry if it came off as nasty. I just hope you allow your son to get the help if he needs it.

 

By FFU standards Rachael it was fairly restrained. As a rule you need to have a thick skin and take a few punches. One thing you might want to consider is meeting with an education attorney before you have the kids review. There are a few who deal with this sort of thing, although the usual situation is a parent trying to get the kid in.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADHXahsxIGM

Something like this should work.

katiesmith Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> You can homeschool or send him to private school.
> Those are pretty much your options.

Those are options, but they are certainly not the only options. Last I knew, IEPs have to be renewed every three years, which means a new evaluation process. Personally, I would use independent evaluators (which you will have to pay for yourself), especially for the psychological assessment (can't emphasize that enough). Once your child has been characterized as something, it can be hard to get the school to revise their opinion.

There is also some kind of appeals process where the situation is elevated to a higher level (can't remember what its called). Some schools are much less receptive to special needs kids, and it may help to involve people who might be more objective. You might also raise the possibility of transfer to a different school.

You might also seek assistance from an educational consultant. Not cheap, but worth it. They can give you insight on the politics at different schools, and strategies on how to pursue what you're looking for.

You really have to be an advocate for your child. That can sometimes mean being a pain in the butt. Be kind to the staff that are trying to look out for the best interests of your child, and ruthless with those who are not.

Finally, it drives me nuts when people say to just homeschool your child, especially when they would probably be the first to complain if they were dealing with the situation themselves.

Take him to get him tested, a teacher doesn't diagnose autism or LD. For IEPb and 504's teachers give evaluations, but they don't and can't diagnose your son or daughter nor can they force them to be in special Ed

Like with ADD u can outgrow it. So many famous and rich and pioneers in their respective industries have a learning disability. Michael phelps, bill gates, Charles shwab(Charlie brown dude)

I think you mean Charles Schultz. Charles Schwab is some financial company.

Parents have final say. You can withdraw him from special education whenever you want. Initiate a re-evaluation process and end it by indicating you want all services terminated. If the school disagrees, they will note their disagreement in the paperwork but ultimately, it's your decision. Works the other way too. If we do testing and find that a child is no longer eligible for special education, the parent can sign that they do not agree and we're required to keep them in the program even though they no longer qualify for services.

There's no reason you can't walk in to that IEP meeting and say you want him in general education with support rather than in a special education (self-contained) setting. BUT, if your son is being accommodated in the general education setting and he ends up failing, you need to consider that maybe all these teachers who are telling you that self-contained is the right setting might be right after all. Get in there. Observe him in school. Observe his self contained classes. Observe his general ed classes. See what works best. It could be a combination of the two.

I teach 8th grade special education - some self contained, some co-taught. Been doing it for 13 years. I can tell in the 1st week of school if a student is properly placed or not and I spend all of September moving kids who were inappropriately placed to a better setting.

I LOATHE people who use self-contained classes as a dumping ground for behavior or attention problems so I believe it COULD be happening to your son BUT you have no given enough information for me to say one way or the other. It's odd to me that for 3 years now every IEP team would keep saying self-contained if it really WASN'T the appropriate setting.

Who diagnosed your son with Autism? Is there a medical diagnosis? We used to have to have one but recently the rules changed and I don't believe medical documentation is required anymore.

Keep in mind too that most schools don't have programs for each, individual disability. Autism, OHI, LD, ED, PD...they're all put together. We only have an ID program at our school and an LD program. If you're anything but one of those two things, you're lumped in with the LD program. If you require more intensive support for something like Aut or Ed, there are centers at various schools that can provide that. But if your child has mild Autism like you say he does, then you pretty much are dealing with an LD program which may not be the perfect fit for him.

Anyway...like I said. You are the parent. You have the final say. If you don't trust the teachers decisions (keeping in mind they are the ones who are educating him 8 hours a day 5 days a week and who have degrees in education), then you do what you want...as long as you don't blame them if he doesn't do well once you take that support away.

. If you don't trust the teachers decisions (keeping in mind they are the ones who are educating him 8 hours a day 5 days a week and who have degrees in education)

Meaning nothing in terms of a clinical diagnosis, it drives me crazy when parents think that teachers have training in clinical diagnosis, not only are they not trained or authorized to make a diagnostic assessment, they should not, ethically be putting in their less than two cents into the process, remember this parents- you want the "least restrictive environment" it certainly is best for your child. Teachers are not trained nor do they know anything about spotting pathology. Go to a nonpartisan (good luck, find one not in the pocket of FCPS, no relationship, forget George Mason Psych Dept they sold out long ago), therapist who can give you real diagnostic information apart from teachers and other FCPS hacks.

OP - aint a soul on this thread being mean to you. You asked for advice and have gotten a lot of useful stuff.

@joey- lotsa parents dont know shit about clinical diagnosis either. also ROFLMAO@u and the "sold out" conspiracy theory you have running around in yr head

@ jef3r, frisky, You Have Options, & lawyer - sooooooooooo +1. I hope OP listened

fuck you Gordon Blvd, you need a job or something- I didn't say parents know diagnostics, I said find a nonpartisan therapist to conduct a real assessment and it isn't a paranoid delusion, since I have been doing this work in Fx Cty for the past thirty years. I am a therapist working with parents. Thousands of kids in this system are "diagnosed" by poorly trained teachers who have no training or education and parents just believe them because they have a vague sense that they are authority figures. It becomes a self fulfilling prophesy.

oh wow................ A therapist who says "fuck you" as a response. ha ha hha ha ha ha ha ha! Yep, you sound pretty non-biased.

Anywho, you told the lady to find something, thing you turn right around and tell her it dont exist what you are telling her to find? TALK ABOUT PARANOID DELUSION!!!! ARE YOU EVEN READING WHAT YOU WRITE!?!!?!?

Cant imagine how kids could be "diagnosed" poorly around here since you've been on the case 30 yrs ha h ah ha ha

for all y'all without kids. Kid dont just get hauled off to LD class. There are hella-meetings involved, school admin involved, and in case you didnt know, OP signed off on this shit when it all started. County cant just up and say one day "yr kid's slow so off she go" (hey, a little rhyme :) nice job, Gordo)
Attachments:

Rachael Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I can't believe how incredibly nasty people are.
> Sorry if your lives suck so bad that you have to
> be mean to people on the internet.
> I won't let you steal my peace.

sounds like they already did. Just a suggestion if you are seeking solid caring advice this is the wrong site. I recommend the Patch sites which are full of parental stuff and school issues. Not a sermon just a thought.

Gordon Blvd Wrote:
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> OP - aint a soul on this thread being mean to you.
> You asked for advice and have gotten a lot of
> useful stuff.

Telling the lady to have sex with a school official to get her kid out of special ed isn't mean?

Nobody is being nasty, but we DO need you to post his medical diagnosis/records/progress reports ...etc. to make proper recommendation for junior.

joeysa Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> . If you don't trust the teachers decisions
> (keeping in mind they are the ones who are
> educating him 8 hours a day 5 days a week and who
> have degrees in education)
>
> Meaning nothing in terms of a clinical diagnosis,
> it drives me crazy when parents think that
> teachers have training in clinical diagnosis, not
> only are they not trained or authorized to make a
> diagnostic assessment, they should not, ethically
> be putting in their less than two cents into the
> process, remember this parents- you want the
> "least restrictive environment" it certainly is
> best for your child. Teachers are not trained nor
> do they know anything about spotting pathology. Go
> to a nonpartisan (good luck, find one not in the
> pocket of FCPS, no relationship, forget George
> Mason Psych Dept they sold out long ago),
> therapist who can give you real diagnostic
> information apart from teachers and other FCPS
> hacks.

Sorry...I wasn't clear in my statement. I wasn't referring to the autism decision when I made that statement. I was referring to the LRE decision. I agree with you that teachers should NOT be making clinical diagnoses which is why I found it so bizarre when they changed the Autism BCD form to allow for an eligibility committee to find a child eligible under that category even if he didn't have a medical diagnosis.

I stand by my statement as it was originally intended though...the teachers are the ones in the classroom with him day in and day out all year. They are best suited to make the determination on what the least restrictive environment would be for him.

No one on here can tell you that your kid should or should not be in self contained classes. We don't know the details. YOU in conjunction with the rest of the IEP team are the ones who should be looking at all the information and making a decision. There is NO reason why you couldn't advocate for general education classes for him at LEAST on a trial basis. If it works, GREAT! You were right! If it doesn't, then you can re-visit the IEP and make adjustments as needed.

Gordon Blvd- you really think you are an expert on everything,hahahahah. What are like a nasty little 14 year old boy? In terms of the "IEP Team", do not go to meetings without a stated outcome, and an agenda, you, the parent-take control of the agenda. It is not a supportive system. Anyone who has dealt with Spec Ed people knows this, and YES they do haul your kid off to special classes all the time. And yes I am a therapist in touch with my anger, which is healthy, if more people in this area expressed it there would not be the ratio of asshole:human, Gordon blvd, great example of this, FUCK YOU,hahahaha.

joeysa Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Gordon Blvd- you really think you are an expert on
> everything,hahahahah. What are like a nasty little
> 14 year old boy? In terms of the "IEP Team", do
> not go to meetings without a stated outcome, and
> an agenda, you, the parent-take control of the
> agenda. It is not a supportive system. Anyone who
> has dealt with Spec Ed people knows this, and YES
> they do haul your kid off to special classes all
> the time. And yes I am a therapist in touch with
> my anger, which is healthy, if more people in this
> area expressed it there would not be the ratio of
> asshole:human, Gordon blvd, great example of this,
> FUCK YOU,hahahaha.

While the tone of these statements is a bit harsh - this guy is right. The special ed process can be very adversarial. Just ask any special ed parent. We all want to think that the educational system is working in the best interests of our kids, but it isn't always true. We lost a LOT of time figuring that the school knew best. It wasn't until we talked to a special ed consultant that we found out that our principal was notorious for denying special ed services. We were ultimately able to work around her, but is was extraordinarily painful, time-consuming, and costly.

And it isn't paranoid to say that a number of therapists have a symbiotic relationship with the school system. Where do think they get a lot of their referrals? It is really important to deal with independent evaluators and therapists.

There are a lot of good people in the special ed system, but there are some who are less than honorable or are misguided or uninformed. You really have to immerse yourself in the process to understand it as a parent.

@you - never said schools are perfect (far from it LoLz) but to act like the teachers are out to getcha or whatever which was kinda the vibe joeysa was putting out there................well, that's just sad.

Yeah, I bet it can be adversarial. Some stuck up parent gets to hear for the first time that lil Johnny aint the stereotype of "the best and the brightest" I cant even IMAGINE how "adversarial" that can be in Fairfax County LoLz. All I know is that when I am dealing with the school system personnel about my kids, I've yet to run into an "adeversarial" scenario.............and I pray that continues :)

Dunno what yr particular situation was - sorry you had to go thru that...............but I know you understand that is NOT the norm. Why was yr pricipal infamous for denying spec. ed? That's gotta be an interesting story............

@joeysa-being angry at stranger on the interweb. Yep, that's the VERY DEFINATION of "healthy" there LoLz

Rachael,
The Procedural Safeguards document that someone provided a link to above is important for you to be familiar with. In fact the school should have provided you with a copy of this at the beginning of your child's special ed evaluation and eligibility process. You had to have consented to the provision of special ed services and you have the right to withdraw your consent. Here is the federal regulation that provides for this withdrawal of consent:

section 300.300(b)

4) If, at any time subsequent to the initial provision of special education and related services, the parent of a child revokes consent in writing for the continued provision of special education and related services, the public agency--
(i) May not continue to provide special education and related services to the child, but must provide prior written notice in accordance with Sec.300.503 before ceasing the provision of special education and related services;
(ii) May not use the procedures in subpart E of this part (including the mediation procedures under Sec.300.506 or the due process procedures under Sec.Sec.300.507 through 300.516) in order to obtain agreement or a ruling that the services may be provided to the child;
(iii) Will not be considered to be in violation of the requirement to make FAPE available to the child because of the failure to provide the child with further special education and related services; and
(iv) Is not required to convene an IEP Team meeting or develop an IEP under Sec.Sec. 300.320 and 300.324 for the child for further provision of special education and related services.


Other sources of good information are www.wrightslaw.com

idea.ed.gov

and for state information http://www.doe.virginia.gov

You will find that you can not rely on what others tell you unless they can also direct you to the specific passage in the law that provides for the issue you need to know about. You need to see it in writing before you believe it. Even then, case law will also come into play when determining the final interpretation of any part of the law.

You do have a right to an Independent Educational Evaluation, paid BY THE SCHOOL SYSTEM, if you disagree with their evaluation. You must request everything in writing, keep a paper trail of all interactions with school personnel, and do your best to be unemotional, calm and cooperative at meetings. Inform the school a few days ahead that you will be audiotaping the meeting. Then do it. Try to have someone to go to the meeting with you just to help take notes, etc.

Anything you ask for the school to do for your child or things they want to do that you may or not agree with require the school to provide a "prior written notice" before they do it or after they refuse to do it. You may have to ask for them to provide this written document because it requires them to spell out why they are doing what they are doing-or not. Look up the definitions of terms you don't understand on the two web sites I mentioned.

Ultimately, parents have to enforce the special ed rules. You can always file a state complaint if you can't resolve a conflict. If all else fails mediation or due process is available but don't go there unless you mean to win and are willing to go all the way. It's costly and parents rarely win. In the world of special education, a little skeptical paranoia will serve you well. Good luck.

No, they need to put him in the least restrictive environment. Typical of this county. File a complaint. Last option, (Google) A parent revoke consent
of IEP. You sign a paper canceling all services and child will be in normal classroom and considered normal.
***

Take him out and send him to private school. Public schools these days are the worse thing you can do for your kid.

As a parent you have full power of your child's IEP until they are 18. At that point the school allows the child to take over and dictate for themselves. You do have the right as a parent to reject the IEP, as some parents do. Having spent time working in the Fairfax County School system I know that you will have to sign papers saying that you are revoking the papers,(as said above), however you as a parent also have the right to change the IEP to your personal specs. Remember the school has no power in these types of situations, they can only "suggest". NO matter how many times they may try to bully you, just say that you are going to hire an advocate, and they will practically bow down to you. If in the end they still don't comply, go through with your threat, advocates are the best way to get around a bureaucratic school system. Most are lawyers that specialize in that particular area of study, so they know what they are doing. In the end just remember YOU ARE THE PARENT, and the school has no right to say what's best for your child

Please keep your autistic son in SE classes and away from Gen Ed. He won't district the general population and be neglected. Man up, admit his problems, and get him the services he needs. Ain't no shame in yo' game.