transition to kindergarten meeting -- help

deafdyke said:
The fact that they have D/hh kids at the school you want him to attend SHOULD be THE sticking point. You could argue that you want a sped department and mainstream teachers that is experianced with dhh kids, and didn't just spend a day in their teacher training general sped class talking about deaf ed.
Click to expand...

Yes, this is what I've been rehearsing in my mind. This is what matters.
 
You may not need an advocate at this point. Just be strong today, always keeping in mind your Childs needs. Express to them the importance of having peers similar to him for the social aspect of his education. I can't find the Ed Code right now, but I can find it before your IEP meeting I'm sure. IDEA encourages placement with other peers who share a similiar "disability". Just don't sign anything today, and on that note no parent should ever consent to an IEP until they've taken it home and gone over it with a fine tooth comb. You'd be surprised at things that may have been missed. You just check the box that says, "I choose not to make a deciscion at this time." like I said, you don't need an advocate at this point. Hopefully the SD will do what is right by your child. Good luck today, and be confident. When you have time, check out Wrightslaw.com. Great resource, lots of information.
 
Placement is never determined before an IEP is layed out, with the specific needs, goals and accomodations for the student. So I'd be a bit surprised if placement was determined at this meeting. Either way, the law is on your side.
 
last year, before my son started school. when I went to my son's ARD/IEP the school he was suppose to go to were all present (mainstream teacher, RDSPD teacher, principal, my ECI rep, speech pathologist who tested my son), along with 1 teacher from the school I wanted him to attend. At that meeting it was decided where it was best for him to attend along with if transportation was needed. We had the meeting at the school he was suppose to attend. I'm in Texas.
 
CSign said:
Placement is never determined before an IEP is layed out, with the specific needs, goals and accomodations for the student. So I'd be a bit surprised if placement was determined at this meeting. Either way, the law is on your side.
Click to expand...

I should have said, placement shouldn't be determined before the students goals, needs, and supplemental services etc. Are determined. It us from all of the above that the appropriate placement is supposed to be determined.
 
I would assume that his next eval wouldn't be until after the school year started, no?
 
TheOracle said:
I would assume that his next eval wouldn't be until after the school year started, no?
Click to expand...

Not necessarily, I think it depends on when his annual IEP is. If there is another area of suspected disability that could be assessed at any time so that all the Childs needs are being met.

I hope the meeting went well, do let us know
 
CSign said:
Not necessarily, I think it depends on when his annual IEP is. If there is another area of suspected disability that could be assessed at any time so that all the Childs needs are being met.

I hope the meeting went well, do let us know
Click to expand...


Yeah...her IEP is from last year...so this meeting is awkward...not sure when the last assessment was. When I worked at a SPED school, they did it assessment beginning of the year & academic review quarterly & then things like speech & OT once a year. If something had to be modified, they'd do an IEP review.

But this was a a specific school for SPED, so I'm sure the protocol was different. Still, when I worked in public school last year, I know a lot of assessments were done at the beginning...and added to file...but the OP didn't mention anything about recent assessment.

In the ed world, who knows? They're :crazy:
 
Also, this is the time of year where school placement decisions are made in charters, limited enrollment, private, etc.
 
IDEA encourages placement with other peers who share a similiar "disability"
Click to expand...
I did not know that! That's pretty cool.....then that makes creation of magnet programs for dhh kids a bit easier
rivenoaks, so the Tempe school is basicly the unoffical "magent school for dhh kids?
And look into Sequia. It might be better then it appears on paper. Plus there's the fact that even specialized schools that serve mostly mentally disabled kids or that may have low scores have really good early childhood programs, that you won't generally find in the mainstream.
 
I apologize in advance for not having the lingo for everything. I will try to explain as best I can, if someone has further questions. I'm still learning!

So, the meeting was basically to discuss the evaluations that were done in the past month.

His IEP meeting is in April.

The meeting was ok. Placement definitely wasn't decided; it was discussed a little bit. He remains eligible for an IEP.

The evaluation results didn't necessarily surprise me; my son has a good command of language, both expressive & receptive. He was never below middle-average on any results and most were very high.

The SLP's evaluation did give her more of an idea of what articulation goals should be written for next year. There is a clear pattern & it is due to his hearing loss.

So, it turns out that Carminati (the school I thought I preferred) is not a magnet school for Tempe (there are only two or three d/hh kids there right now). Apparently, there are d/hh kids at many of the elementary schools; they're all spread out, including at Frank, to which we are assigned.

If there are schools which draw d/hh kids from their districts in the greater Phoenix area, they're probably the Sequoia schools (there are two; only one goes thru high school), Desert Voices, and PDSD.

The hearing specialist will write into the IEP to visit him weekly. That will up the time he sees her.

I'm not freaked out as much anymore, as many ADers have given me excellent suggestions for further research; I can get educated, but that will take time.

I remain concerned that despite the claim of Open Enrollment, the district will not approve him to attend our school of choice, because of the IEP. Even though the IEP will follow him, no matter where he attends.

Because I don't have a full grasp of IDEA yet, can they do that?

I have other things I need to look into, people to call, but I'm not sure I have all the right questions to ask. It's one of those, you don't know what you don't know sort of situations.

My concerns of his being with his d/hh peers, who will help him w/ HAs during the day, etc., weren't exactly brushed off, but I think I was feeling the "mainstreaming will be FINE" vibe.

Have to run to go deal with another problem in my life, & hub just got home, so will try to post more later.

Thanks all!:ty:
 
:) As far as placement and IDEA goes, I *think* it depends where you are. For example, MA has stricter requirements than most states. Soo...if they can argue that the minimal requirements for accessible education are being met, you may have an issue.

Again, you can always try to fight it. Why can't you go around the board and talk directly to that school? Is it a charter? Public? How does it work? (Sorry, again, my district has different rules...)

What are your goals? Speech? ASL? etc? that will help find the best placement <3
 
The evaluation results didn't necessarily surprise me; my son has a good command of language, both expressive & receptive. He was never below middle-average on any results and most were very high.

The SLP's evaluation did give her more of an idea of what articulation goals should be written for next year. There is a clear pattern & it is due to his hearing loss.
Click to expand...
Oh so he doesn't have any real spoken language issues? The only issues he has are articualtion and the typical hoh mechanical issues? That is good news, in that you don't have to worry about spoken language issues (which are common in both deaf and hoh kids, even in the early grades ). Also, you won't have to worry about finding a SLP who is experianced with spoken language issues with dhh kids. On the other hand, speech therapy just for articualtion and other hoh mechanical issues is REALLY BORING.

So, it turns out that Carminati (the school I thought I preferred) is not a magnet school for Tempe (there are only two or three d/hh kids there right now). Apparently, there are d/hh kids at many of the elementary schools; they're all spread out, including at Frank, to which we are assigned.
Click to expand...
That SUCKS. Again, maybe a good idea might be to try to work with other parents to create a magnet school, for dhh kids. I do think many if not most parents would love it if their dhh kid was in a formal program, rather then just receiving dhh services. Like the kids in the formal program wouldn't be lumped in with the "Resource Room" sped kids, and their teachers would know how to teach dhh kids. Also the speech therapist would be experianced with dhh kids, rather then one of the generic ones who works on kid's lisps.

I
f there are schools which draw d/hh kids from their districts in the greater Phoenix area, they're probably the Sequoia schools (there are two; only one goes thru high school), Desert Voices, and PDSD.

The hearing specialist will write into the IEP to visit him weekly. That will up the time he sees her.
Click to expand...
I wonder if you could do something like arrange for a weekly visit to PDSD or Sequioia in place of having an iternient TOD?
 
Why did they sry he can't attend that school because of his IEP? That sounds fishy to me. I could understand if they already have a school that's "appropriate" with the proper resources, staff etc., but... Really, if they specifically said "he can't go because of his IEP" that's discrimination.

IDEA is federal law, so each state has to abide by it and cannot supersede it. As Oracle mentioned, done states have more stringent laws so it would be to your benefit to familiarize yourself with the state laws as well.

Wrightslaw.com is a good place to start. I'd also encourage you to buy Wrightslaw Special Education Law, and From Emotions to Advocacy. They have other good books, but the Sp Ed law book is a must for any parent with a child that qualifies for Sp Ed and related services.
 
CSign said:
Why did they sry he can't attend that school because of his IEP? That sounds fishy to me. I could understand if they already have a school that's "appropriate" with the proper resources, staff etc., but... Really, if they specifically said "he can't go because of his IEP" that's discrimination.
Click to expand...


Here's the redacted version of an e-mail I received on the subject:

Q.does Tempe allow open enrollment even with an IEP?
A.That's a bit complicated. Technically, they do. In practice, it doesn't often happen. The way it works is that the district's director of special needs, (X), has to approve an open enrollment application. She does this based on the caseload of the therapists involved. So since (son) qualifies for speech therapy, she would look at the caseload of the SLP at the school you want him to attend, and make a determination about whether they have room for a student from outside the school's boundaries. I don't think (hearing advisor) services would have an impact since she can see students at any and all TD#3 schools.

I started printing out some stuff from Wrightslaw yesterday. I know what I'm reading this weekend!
 
Even the charter schools whose curriculum is exclusively accelerated must accept students with IEPs. A school cannot exclude a student who can do the work with appropriate accommodations. If you don't get this resolved, go up to the next level of administration.
 
Back
Top