Ask the Advocate
Q: Is it permissible for the school to have the IEP completed before the IEP meeting begins?
A: No. The school may come to an IEP meeting prepared with evaluation findings and proposed recommendations regarding IEP content, or a draft IEP but it must be made clear to the parent that these are merely recommendations for review and discussion. Parents have the right to bring questions, concerns, and recommendations to the meeting to be used as part of a full discussion of the child's needs. Only after full parent participation may a final IEP be drafted.
Q: Despite several conversations with my son's teacher about some concerns with his learning, no action was ever taken to accommodate him in the classroom. What did I do wrong?
A: If you are concerned that you child has a disability, special needs, or learns differently, put your concerns in writing!! Describe the disability and how in your opinion, it adversely affects educational performance. If you report your concerns orally, for the purpose of law and litigation, you've said nothing. Follow-up your conversations, meetings, and phone calls with letters that restate what you have discussed and your concerns.
Advocacy Tip...
Courts do not have sympathy for individuals who know they have rights, fail to protect their rights, and complain that their rights were violated. Individuals who complain that their rights were violated must be able to prove that they took reasonable steps to protect themselves, and despite these steps, their rights were violated. (Wrightslaw)
If you'd like your question answered, please contact us at 785-8703.
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The Parent Education Programs (PTIC and SEPC) at NRCIL have had a very busy fall. Our parent trainers Richelle David, Hollie Lowe, and John Waterhouse have, or are scheduled to provide a variety of parent trainings in the Adirondack, Copenhagen, South Jefferson, Lyme, Belleville-Henderson, Carthage, Oswego, Sackets, and Plattsburg School Districts. We have continued outreach by attending area CSE Chair meetings, meeting individually with CSE chairpersons, attending school psychologists meetings, and attending VESID Conferences and trainings. It is the long range goal of these efforts to improve the advocacy skills of parents, thereby improving the educational outcomes of their children. We are very interested in providing additional trainings. Our schedules are flexible and we can develop and deliver trainings to meet specific requests. Contact the Northern Regional Center for Independent Learning in Watertown NY at 315-785-8703, visit our web site, or e-mail johnw@nrcil.net.
Together we can make a difference for kids!