My son will be going to a new school for 6th grade. I spoke with the site coach at the new school (not my son's home school) and told her that I wanted my son to be mainstreamed starting in 6th grade and that I would like for her to attend the IEP meeting that will be held at the end of April. She got me really confused because she started asking if I would have a 1:1 aide for him and that she wasn't sure how he would be placed since he is currently in ESE for reading and math, and she wasn't sure about transportation since I want him mainstreamed so he wouldn't be under a "disability" category. What?!?!? Does my son have to be in ESE? He's doing well in reading and math now. I thought the school needed to provide transportation no matter what even if my son won't be attending his home school. I'm just so confused. I didn't think it would be a problem mainstreaming my son...but I guess I was wrong? ESE has a seperate type of busing/transportation if requested. They will provide regular busing usually (ours have to be over 2 miles from school for them to provide). He doesn't have to be in ESE if you and your team decide not to outsource him to it. He might do well in regular ed w/ an aide to help him...or without an aide - maybe that's what she's asking. Do you want an aide? As long as your son receives special ed services, regardless of whether or not he is mainstreamed, he should be eligible for transportation services. My son is fully mainstreamed in the 7th grade, and receives door to door transportation. I would double check with the special ed teacher at the new school. It doesn't sound right to me
IBGECKO does your son have an aide? I would really like my son to have one.
Yes, my son has had an aide since midway through 3rd grade. Getting an aide can sometimes be a daunting task. I was very fortunate, in that in spite of my son's high functioning level and academic ability, there was no way he could achieve his IEP goals without the services of an aide, and no school wants the nightmare of being in non-compliance of IEP goals. Of course, I had no idea that at that time, said goals were well below state academic standards, so it was an illegal IEP anywaySo IEP goals need to be in compliance with state academic standards? How do we know these standards. From what I can remember of my son's IEP, he has percentages as goals.That's why your supposed to have a regular ed teacher there. Last meeting the guidance counselor was at ours and she was WAY MORE HELPFUL. I'm going to request her next time.
[QUOTE=almostsane]So IEP goals need to be in compliance with state academic standards? How do we know these standards. From what I can remember of my son's IEP, he has percentages as goals.[/QUOTE]
The only reason I was aware of this was because I was on the brink of filing for Due Process for a myriad of reasons that the school was failing us. I had an attorney and a paralegal look over his IEP, and they were the ones who pointed out this glaring non-compliance issue.
[QUOTE=ladydi]Becareful of you school systems....They are notorious for not giving you information. I did not know my son could be provided with transportation until he actually left the system. In fact they keep things from you. If you dont ask you dont know.
The biggest problem of all is What to ask?
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So true. Your best defense is to network with the other parents of special ed kids at your child's school, social skills group, etc. I stumbled onto a wealth of information this way. Also, even though at one point I had to hire a private speech therapist, working with a provider outside of the school system was immensely valuable. I hate to make the school district out as the enemy, but it is good for everyone to know that when they tell you they have your child's best interests at heart, know that this translates into: We have our bottom-line financial interests at heart first, and then if it makes economic sense, we have your child's best interests at heart second. Many times a school isn't intentionally trying to deceive you, but rather they are just as ignorant of the laws as you are! I've seen this at play first hand. Know your rights, and since that can be a daunting task, if need be hire someone that knows your rights to make sure you are not being had.
The most helpful person I ever encountered from the school district was the district Program Specialist, who was brought into one of our final IEP's before we went forward with Due Process. She really knew her sh!%, and nailed the school to the wall right there at the IEP on several inaccuracies and non-compliant goals. But at that point, it was too little too late. It was like putting a band-aid on a gaping chest wound, and we went forward with Due Process.Becareful of you school systems....They are notorious for not giving you information. I did not know my son could be provided with transportation until he actually left the system. In fact they keep things from you. If you dont ask you dont know.I haven't read all the responses but I wanted to emphasize two things:
1. The IEP TEAM makes all the decisions about your son's placement and education, not one administrator.
2. The I in IEP means INDIVIDUAL and the law totally supports that. If your son, individually, needs to be mainstreamed but also needs special transportation, that has to be included in his IEP.
All that said, I'd love to know why you want him mainstreamed in 6th grade and what supports you think he'll need to transition into a mainstreamed situation in Middle School. MS is a HUGE transition for ALL kids and is particularly difficult for kids with autism of any kind. That's not to say that mainstreaming is a wrong choice, but ANY choice for next year HAS to be thought through carefully by anyone on the IEP TEam (and this includes you). Have you seen the Middle School classes you want him in? Can you think of any way in which he will need support in order to "make it" in those classes? What are his current issues? How will they be addressed? Of course, they HAVE to put him in the LEast Restrictive Environment in which he can make educational progress. But "make educational progress" is the key part of that. Mainstreaming may or may not be the least restrictive environment for your son. Maybe it is. But you'll have to make a CASE that it is and the first step toward doing that is to actually SEE the possible mainstream classes and compare them to the next most restrictive environment. MS is VERY challenging for an ASD child just at the moment when the hormones kick in. Anxiety increases, biologically, so you have to factor that in, too. There will have to be a BIG safety net for your son. Mainstreaming might be great for him but not withoug full cooperation from the school and full support written into his IEP.
I thought about this so much that my brain hurts. I feel like my son is not learning up to his potential in his current classes. He will more than likely still need to be in ESE for reading comprehension, but I feel that he can learn more and that is one of the reasons I want him to be mainstreamed.