Every state is different. You really need an attorney.
Around here, each school district is pretty small and how good it is depends on what town it's in. Many, many people have chosen to move based on how easy or hard it is go get services in their particular school district. It's something to consider.
I am writing this tonight looking for any advice and direction. We have been totally bullied by our school district and my son is paying the price.
My son has been attending an out-of-district school through MI school of choice since September of this year. Prior to enrolling him I met with the building principal and asst. princ. I laid everything out on the table for them regarding his diagnosis, past educational experience, interventions, ect. At that time they seemed so understanding and welcoming and listed all the services that they could provide for him. The school psychologist called me in August and told me how they would begin the IEP process for him. Everyone met the first week of school and all seemed well. Testing began to determine him eligible for special ed services. Just one small glitch along the way was my uneasiness with the teachers knowledge and understanding. I made the assistant principal aware of this after Open House at the beginning of the year but agreed to give the teacher a chance. By October my son was having alot of anxiety and pleading with me to have a different teacher. I made the principal aware of my concerns.
Coincidentally??? I received a call from the Spec. Ed director that because my son was a school of choice student he was not eligible to receive specail ed servcies and if I wanted them I would have to take him back to our residing school district. I pursued this with the compliance officer at the district who made some phones calls for me and basically told me that if I pursued special ed services that my son would be dismissed from the school district. I called the MI Dept. of Ed. and found that there was a loop hole in the law and the district was "slithering" right through it. So I declined special ed services and went with a 504 Plan instead. In the mean time we are continuing to have problems with the teacher and eventually request a room change with a teacher who had been nominated as teacher of the year for her work and understanding of ASD children.
Now today we were suppose to receive a decision regarding the room change - seemed simple enough. The principal immediately cut off communication and referred us to the superintendent. I spoke to him briefly on the phone and refused any info. until he met with us. When I expressed concern over my son's safety and treatment at the school, he refused to allow me access to my child unless I would un-enroll from the school. My husband and I met with him within the hour. We did bring a tape recorder to which the superintendent was uneasy about us using but since it was already activated decided he would allow it. He basically told us that it was their intention to dismiss our son at the end of January because at that time they would become responsible for the funding of any potential special ed services that he may need. He did not anticipate that the sending school district would pay for the services and he could not put the extra strain on his district to be saddle with any possible special ed services that might be necessary in the future.
I questioned him as to why they had not let us know about this upfront. He used the excuse that he wan't aware initially????? He took the criticism, as he said, that he did not inform us of this earlier. I had suggested that if I knew up front that this was even a remote possiblity that I would never have enrolled my son. Now I have to tell a child who has made friends and has began to "fit" somewhere that he can't go back to school. How cruel and cold to do this to a child.
Basically, the school district has known from the get go that they were not going to allow him to stay; and because I unknowingly allowed him to be determined eligible under OHI label, they had what they needed to dismiss him.
To make matters worse the superintendent also let us know that he made inquiries about our older son who is a great student at the middle school. When I asked him what my older son had to do with this situation. He told me that he just liked to know all about the families he was dealing with and he "did his homework." (Then why was he so unaware upfront?) In my opinion he was trying to "dig up dirt" on us and was letting us know that he could make problems for my older son as well.
So...does anyone have suggestions? Is there anything that we can do? At this point we don't want our younger son at this school, but do we have to be bullied in this way? Is there anything that we can do legally or simply to expose them? This is a small town in southwest michigan and the super has been there for 35 years. We knew from community advocates and parents that he is difficult to deal with, "old school" and doesn't like dealing with special ed issues. HELP! HELP! HELP!
My son is coming from a homeschool situation into public ed for the first time. We did not choose our district because its not a good place. Our behavioral ped recommended homeschooling over our residing district; therefore when we had success out of district with our older son, we approached them for our younger son.
Thank you for the names and my intention is to speak with an attorney today or at least get an appt. I've also called our state representative. He was understanding but...has anyone had success with these things at the state level?
I would definitely get legal advice on this. The truth is, I wouldn't want my son in a school that doesn't WANT him. He WON'T get the proper education there. I have no idea why you opted for a change of schools, but this school is clearly the WRONG school. Kids like ours needs very specialized interventions. It's feasible to get them thru 504, but school districts don't get reimbursed from the Feds AT ALL for 504 interventions whereas they get reimbursed a small percentage (I believe it averages 17%) for interventions in an IEP. So agreeing to a 504 essentially means "Yes, my son has a disability, but he only needs accommodations and modifications that won't cost you anything." Your district is paying tuition to the new district, so your son is a profit center for them. But, clearly, they are only interested in making a profit off kids who are no trouble to them. YOur district is OBLIGATED to pay tuition at the school of your choice, but the receiving school is NOT obligated to take a particular child. If it were me, I'd hire a lawyer or advocate. Here are some reputable ones in Michigan:
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tzoya - thanks for the info. we are trying to move. we've had the house on the market for 18 months now.
i also spoke to one of the attorneys you listed today. Very knowledgeable. The lastest is that the school district has now retained counsel. The school district is now trying to force me to have another IEP - we just had one 4 weeks ago. It was determined at that time that my son did not need special ed services - everyone agreed that he would be better served with 504. I signed IEP refusing services in lue of 504 accommodations. School district screwed up because since my son is 504 they do not have grounds to dismiss him without facing a discrimination suit. But now they are telling me that they now have new IEP forms for me to sign and asked me to come in asap for emergency IEP meeting. I declined because I said I was happy with current accommodations. Special ed director calls me back and states that she was told to call me and insist that I choose one of the first three days back after the holidays for an IEP meeting. This was msg left on my answering machine. I know that what they are trying to do is say that he needs services so they have grounds to dismiss. But I'm being told that I can still reject the services, opt for the continuation of his 504 and if necessary request an IDEA meeting to determine that he does not need special services and therefore not under IDEA. At the very least it would stop the dismissal process and get my son through his school year. The new teacher he is suppose to begin with in new year is great and I see no reason to change that -this is my barometer for continuing, as long as this does not affect my son and he is happy I intend to fight for him to stay - if he is not then he's out.
Any thoughts?
The BEST way for you to eventually prevail is to LOOK as COOPERATIVE as possible. ALWAYS agree to an IEP meeting. You don't have to agree to anything that is SAID at the meeting. YOu can always just stick with the "stay put." If they are involving counsel, you must seek counsel, too. Hearing OFficers look very negatively on ANY parties who seem obstructionist, so COOPERATE, COOPERATE, COOPERATE. Just don't SIGN anything.
What would be the best response? The school wants me to agree to meet for another IEP on one of the first 3 days back to school after the holidays. Can I refuse and suggest a more convenient date for us. Can they really force me to have an IEP with no basis?
I hope things work out for you and that you get your son what he needs. I agree with tzoya if this goes further than the district you are going to want to look as if you have been nothing but cooperative. If those dates truley don't work I would call and say you know I really have a problem with those dates could we do it early the next week. This seems like a simple enough request. HOwever, I can see how this district seems to be a pita in the first place. Just make sure you go to the IEP meeting. When they determine what services they think your son needs have a good reason why you think the current plan should stay in place. Then refuse to sign or agree to the new IEP. If your son is doing ok with the current plan and you can prove that through report cards etc. you will have that on your side also. The thing I would watch out for is the district becoming crappy towards both of your children because of this. Teachers, principles, superintendants can be cruel, and I have seen instances where the district became upset with the parents and took it out on the kids.
Good Luck!
If you can't make those 3 days after Christmas break, suggest 3 or more other dates in a response to them. But I wouldn't go to an IEP without consulting an attorney first at this point. If you do go, stay very quiet, but be sure to state on tape that a lack of response from you doesn't mean you agree with what's being said.
Tzoya's point about looking cooperative is a huge one. At this point any letters you write to them/communications you have with them are not for the sake of the message you wish to communicate so much as for how it will look down the road. Keep your letters simple but polite, and consult an attorney as soon as you can.
It may be true that they can do what they are doing. I'm sorry. What Barnekim said about districts spending thousands of dollars... and not wanting to do that for a child who is not a resident... makes sense. I am trying to look at this another way. If my child were being denied services, and a child from another district was receiving services in my district, I'd be very upset. That being said, I hope you can work this out.
No child in this district or any district should be refused a special education becasue others are and the school district is having to spend money on them. Out of district or not. The only way your child can be refused a special education is if they do not meet IDEA guidelines in your state for having a disability. Just because the current school district might have to provide thousands of dollars in his edcuation doesn't mean that any other child can be denied services on the basis of money.
Also, I am not sure if I agree with the poster who commented that it is the responsibility of the zoned school to provide services. And that the zone school should be the one to provide services. While this is true to a point, it is confusing the way it is stated. For example, the zoned school does have to provide an appropriate education to the child and family without the parent having to eat the cost of it. According to what I am understanding the district decided the best placement for you son is this current school. This current school took your son and the zoned school has to eat the cost of that. So in some sense, the zoned school is responsible. But when the chosen school takes your son in to educate them, they have to follow the rules and laws Of IDEA. I hope that makes sense, I think I confused myself. lol
Anyway, I agree with Tzoya, get some help on this one. Especially if it's a loop hole. You are going to need the support since we often don't know about the loop holes.
Good luck and keep us posted!
I'm not at home right now, so I don't know if a pm would be sent to another computer, but I haven't gotten one here. I'll check tomorrow when I get home.
Believe me, the home school has LOTS of power. The "providers," be they individual service providers, private schools approved of by the home district, county run schools or schools within other districts, ALL want to get paid. And they get paid HANDSOMELY by the home school, so the home school has plenty of leverage. Every situation is different in terms of the agreements, of course, but I believe out-of-district schools sign contracts that agree to implement the IEP to the letter. If the school is a private school paid for by the PARENTS, though, that is very different. However, if it's an approved private school paid for by the District and it's the placement of record on the child's IEP, the District has PLENTY of power, since it holds the purse strings. It's imperative that there be ONE entity with authority and power. Otherwise, no school could ever be pinned down. So, the home district is the one with the responsibility and the authority. If the parents have trouble in an out-of-district placement, they need to go to the administrators in the HOME DISTRICT and tell them, preferably in writing, that the child's IEP is not being implemented. The home district is paying PLENTY for the IEP to be implemented and they will be the ones in trouble if it ISN'T implemented, so they have a vested interest in seeing that the other district does the job it has agreed to do. Of course, the out-of-district school can say, at the outset, that they are limited in what they can provide, but then the home school needs to find another way to provide that service. If there isn't ONE entity that is ultimately responsible, then no one will ever be responsible.
Interesting Tzoya, I guess I just have not experienced this situation to know word for word what the law says. What you are saying makes sense and I have no doubt you are correct. But I still don't agree with it. The school that the child is being sent to for the "provider" can pretty much get away with doing nothing if the responsibility is going to fall back to the home school. That my opinion.
By the way, Tzoya, I sent you a pm. Let me know if you don't get it. It didn't tell me your box was full but I know sometimes they don't go through.
The District of parental residence is TOTALLY responsible, legally. That does not mean the child has to GO to the local schools, but it means the the local school district has to make sure that any school it sends the child to is following the IEP and conforming to IDEA (as well as the state laws). However, if the school your district is paying tuition to to send your child to says it CANNOT provide something (for example, enough speeech therapy), it is the local district's responsibility to make up for that in some way. Using the speech example, if the school the child is attending can only provide 3 speeches a week and the IEP says 5, the local district will have to pay an outside provider to send in an outside speech therapist to provide the other 2. The ONLY reason a child is being sent to that other district is because the IEP team has decided that THAT placement IS appropriate. If that supposedly appropriate placement turns out to NOT be appropriate, for whatever, reason, the local district (the district of parental residence) HAS to step in an address the problem in one way or another. To put it another way, the school the child is going to is the PROVIDER, just as an outside service could be a provider. The school of parental residence is the one that has to meet the legal terms of the IEP, either through doing the IEP themselves or making SURE than providers do it.Just a note to say thank you for your replies, advice and direction. I have been silent the past couple of weeks because this situation has consumed a tremendous amount of time, but I do have an update.
We had the "imperative" IEP today. Prior to attending I consulted and hired a wonderful Advocate. She was worth everything I paid her today and so much more! I also consulted with an attorney as well as the Michigan Protection and Advocacy Services. I read their publication Special Education: An Advocate's Manual along with Wright's law. I wouldn't say that I'm well versed, but I at least know the language. What happened today was positive. We (myself and the advocate) accomplished what we set out today to do; but this is far from over...The superintendent (who is the person driving this whole thing) tried to come to the meeting. He was not on the Invitation list provided by the school to attend the meeting therefore by law we had the right to ask him to leave or we would "table" the meeting. My advocate gave him the news, and he very sacrastically said to me in front of witnesses "You'll notice that we are cooperating with you. But if you want to play games I'll play your game." Those of us standing there just smiled and shook our heads, and I politely said, "This is not a game Mr.............. This is the law." He walked off to his office. This has been his tactic since before Christmas - to bully and intimidate me through his words and emails. He has been unresponsive to my request for information and has tried to scare me at every corner into backing down.
The problem is not just a funding issue, but the district has made numerous mistakes on the IEP forms, evaluation and have failed to implement the 504 Plan. I have been legally advised that we have a civil rights case for retaliation. Believe it or not, this whole thing is over us advocating for a room change for our son. His present gen ed teacher is not capable of understanding and implementing accommodations for my son. There is another teacher who is well versed in ASDs and sensory integration which is where we have requested that our son be. Both the principal and the superintendent have told us that this would be in the best interest of everyone. When they thought we were going to withdraw our son, we were told that if he were going to stay changing his classroom would be a "simple solution." One that could be done in a day or two. Well, we didn't withdraw our son and now...well, now its not such a simple solution anymore??? hmmmm???? In fact today after we had to table the IEP meeting because there was conflicting information regarding the purpose of the meeting, we (principal, special ed director, myself, advocate and overseeing ISD special ed director) began discussing what the true issues were and how to resolve. When my advocate stated that a room change was a must, the principal said, "Oh, that will be a problem." Those involved in my case cannot believe that a superintendent is willing to take a district down a path of official hearings that he very well could lose as well as be exposed to a civil rights action, all because he does not want to grant my request for a room change. Hopefully, now that someone from the overseeing district is involved, who by the way, was very resaonable, maybe they can advise the superintendent of what is in the best interest of the school and more importantly my son. We have also garnered the attention of our state representative. Next step the school board.
I'm learning alot! But as always, I am appalled by the human nature of some people. I say this tongue-n-cheek but everyone should live by the principles written in the little book, "All I Needed to Know in Life, I Learned in Kindergarten."
This is a prime example of how the HUMAN interaction in an IEP Team is more important even than the law. Of course, in the end the law will triumph, but it's already been nearly a month. If this team were working in concert, your son could have been in an appropriate placement long ago. What I don't understand is why the school district's own lawyer doesn't sit down with that Superintendent and explain the Facts of Life under IDEA. Good for you for getting an advocate. Please continue to keep us posted.Good for you!!! Hope this gets resolved very soon.
Just anothe update. A couple of days after the "imperative" IEP meeting, I rec'vd a call from the principal telling me that my son was going to have a class change. She told me how happy they were to have my son at their school and what a wonderful student/child he was - can we all say, "damage control."
Anyway, he started in his new classroom the following Monday without a hitch. It was not the original classroom we were seeking but one that we were comfortable with and my son is comfortable in. The new teacher is so much more approachable and truly interested in meeting the educational needs of my son, AND he has his own ideas on how to accomplish it.
The superintendent sent me an email also on that Friday stating that my son may continue to attend and that I should direct all communication back to the principal. My advocate and I are thinking that someone must have strongly recommended that he back off before HE cost the district alot of $$ and investigation in the form of a OCR complaint.
We are now going back to the beginning and having the assessments done appropriately. The school will begin the AI eval next week. They still tried again to do the minimum possible in terms of testing but I was prepared. I pulled out my MPAS manual and read to them the law which states that they must assess all areas of suspected disability. It was amazing how quickly they offered up additonal testing???? The other thing I did during this last evaluation planning meeting was NOT to sign anything. I brought the form home with the proposed testing and have checked it out with professionals that I trust. I've taken a week to do this but as I told them - "I'm in no hurry."
I have learned and am learning alot from this process. I've learned to always question never accept anything on face value. I've learned to prepare for the worse and expect the best. I've learned ALWAYS focus on the best interest of the child - no one dares to argue openly with that. (I've yet to read a law that states that schools only have to do whats in the best interest of the child IF they have the funds, IF they have the staff, or IF they have the resources.) I've learned to take detailed notes - everything in writing - no phone calls. I've learned to take deep breaths and to act not react. And I've learned the importance of educating myself in the area of special ed law. Its amazing what even the appearance of knowledge can do - walk into a meeting with the Wright's Law book or in my case the MI Protection and Advocacy Manual. Believe me they take notice. Don't "get me wrong," I'm still nervous. I get "butterflies" over meetings and my hand "shakes" when signing forms but I feel good about what I accomplished when I look back.
I'm now on a mission to get information to as many parents as I can in our district. I've now connected with three other parents and if each one of those connects with three more - wow, think where we could be by the end of the year! Knowledge (information) is powerful and parents with knowledge are even more powerful. Michigan has a law which states and I'm paraphrasing....'It is the right and responsiblity of parents and legal guardians to DIRECT the care and education of their children. It is the responsiblity of the public school to SERVE the needs of their pupils by cooperating with parents to provide a safe, nuturing ecuational experience.' I passed the information along to our superintendent just so he might find enlightenment.
I am sitting here almost in tears. You are SUCH a great example of what all parents should do. I've been helping parents advocate for years (informally....now I'm beginning a formal career doing this). My GREATEST frustration is that so many parents never bother to learn their and their child's rights and incorporate that knowledge into their behavior with the District. I've had parents come to me year after year with the same complaints and I have to offer up the SAME answers to the SAME people. WHat you have done is what I want ALL the parents I work with to do. YOur advocate pointed you in the right direction and you RAN with it. BRAVO! You GOT a copy of your state law, you learned your rights, you stood up to the bully, you girded your loins about the possibility of having to go to Due Process. Some of what you learned is VERY basic to IDEA (and is in EVERY state's laws). ALL parents should know it and learn it (and example is that the school district is responsible for testing in ALL areas of suspected disability -- this HAS to happen in each and every state). Becoming familiar with your state's laws is also important if your state offers more protections that IDEA does (which many states do, tho not all). YOu have remained business like and have learned the TWO most important tenets of special education advocacy -- GET IT IN WRITING and KNOWLEDGE IS POWER. An important correlary to the second tenet is to get professional help when you need it. Many on this board know that I've learned a lot during my 14 years in the world of special education. However, I am about to hire a lawyer to help me with transition to adulthood issues for my son. All my advocacy work on my son's behalf has still left gaps in what he should be getting help with (and hasn't in the past). I plan on holding the Disrtrict's feet to the fire on this and feel I need professional help to do it. I may choose an advocate instead of a lawyer, but this may end up in Due Process and I would NEVER go down that road without an actual lawyer.
Great going. May this new placement work out really well for your son.
MCA2 -- If a child is cross-districted, the district of parental residence pays all the costs, so your district is not gypped of money. However, since there are limits to how many special ed students can be in some classes, it's possible that an out-of-district child could be taking up a needed seat. However, in the $$$ area, most districts MAKE money on out-of-district children, from what I understand.This is true that the recieving school districts make money on out-of-district students. In our case, we have school of choice. Some schools choose not to participate but the one we chose obviously did CHOOSE to participate. The gen ed funds follow the student to the recieving district. They recieve 80% of those funds in November and 20% in February (in our state). The issue arises when special ed services are requested and needed. There is a clause in the school of choice law that states an agreement must be reached between the two districts as to how these services are to be paid. Unfortunately the law is very ambiguous and leaves much to interpretation. In speaking with the superintendent for the overseeing ISD of our resident district, his position is that its the risk a school district takes when participating in school of choice. Apparently it must be enough $$ incentive for the recieving district in our case to accept school of choice students and assume the risk. An example used is a student is accepted as a gen ed student under school of choice until he graduates (as our letter of acceptance reads). The student attends for a number of years or even one year as a typical gen ed student. Then a tragic accident occurs and that student needs special ed services. Does the recieving district then "throw" the kid back to the sending district because he/she is going to cost them more money than his attendance is bringing to the district?
In our particular case there were NO services being provided; therefore what agreement was to be made? The recieving district was trying to force the sending (our resident) district to sign a "blank check" agreeing to pay for whatever services might possibly be needed somewhere in the future. Of course, the sending district said ah..."NO!" They wanted a little more specific information - imagine that! It was because of this, no services being provided, that kept the superintendent from being able to dismiss my son who was also under a 504. IF he had tried to dismiss my son that would have been a flagrant violation of my son's civil rights. So, my son is still at school. Now we are proceeding with an AI evaluation and I will be pushing for this label which can only be assigned with special ed services attached. Why? Because it is in the best interest of my son. As far as his enrollment status, the superintendent himself told us that after February 1, my son became their responsibility which is why he needed to make a decision by the end of the semester (Jan. 19). AND why they tried to force into an "emergency" IEP and get me to agree to some bogus services which would have allowed them to dismiss my son. I also have an email from him stating that the districts legal counsel advised them that an agreement must be reached by Jan. 19, 2007. Well it is now Feb 2. ????? I have also checked with our resident district and their legal position is very confident.
My son's not taking up a spot of a resident child. The school wants him there because of the $$; but that still does not give them the legal right to deny him a free and appropriate education because he may need and is entitlted to special ed services.
I only know the rules in NY. Each state is different, especially if there is a school choice situation. You MUST check with your state. Your child is legally REQUIRED to receive a Free and Appropriate Public Education. If your state allows school choice, it MUST have rules about how to ensure your child's FAPE in WHATEVER public placement he's in. You might need to check with a lawyer on this if you can't get the State Ed Dept. to give you a straight answer. The one thing I KNOW is that, whatever choice you make (as long as it is not a private placement paid by you), your child had the right to all the supports and services he needs to get to access educational benefit (academic, physical, communication/social and behavioral).
In some states, it is possible for one public school district to make money from tuition paid by another public school district. I don't mean in the sense that a business makes a profit (obviously , a public entity is non-profit) but in the sense that they can pass on more than their out-of pocket cost. HOwever, cross-districting can be very complicated, so many school districts refuse to accept tuition paying students in states that don't REQUIRE that they accept out of district students.