Due Process

[Guest guest]

Hi,

Given what I've seen of special ed, I think the more interesting

question is why more parents DON'T file for due process.

[Guest guest]

I can only speak for myself, I was so stressed from dealing with the school

district, mental health professionals( ya right, more like unprofessionals) and

my son, that I didn't have it in me to go that extra step. I was also concerned

on how much it would effect my other kids since is my oldest. I have gone

to school officials before to voice other concerns with my son Josh, and later

Josh then paid the price of me going and talking over a situation that

was happening with Josh and one of Josh's teachers. Barb

weinert56 <weinert@...> wrote:

Hi,

Given what I've seen of special ed, I think the more interesting

question is why more parents DON'T file for due process.

[Guest guest]

Hi,

My intent wasn't to make any parent feel guilty for not going to due

process, but to express that I feel school districts frequently don't

adhere to the law, the child's IEP, etc.

I, too, chose not to pursue due process and am homeschooling instead.

Basically, I think IDEA is a law with a good intent (i.e., education

for ALL kids providing individualized extra help for those who need it

most), poor funding and no teeth. The worst thing that can happen to

a school district if they disobey IDEA is having to pay for services

they should have offered in the first place plus maybe some parents'

lawyer costs. There are no penalties that I am aware of. Maybe if

there are zillions of compliance complaints someone in special ed

might lose their job. In the meantime, they have lots of opportunity

for doing " punitively appropriate " things.

I just couldn't see that I'd want to send my daughter to a school that

I had just sued, even if we won. I can't see how that would make the

already grudgingly given, poor quality services any better. You can

sue but you can't make them care. The only " win " I could think of

would be to get the school district to pay for a private school, but I

couldn't find one that seemed right.

However, I do think that parents who pursue due process are doing all

of the rest of us (including parents of kids who have no special

needs) a service.

[Guest guest]

> Hi,

>

> Given what I've seen of special ed, I think the more interesting

> question is why more parents DON'T file for due process.

>

>

Yes, that is what I thought too. For some reason, he seems

fascinated by what drives us crazy parents to such lengths. I wanted

to smart off and say, " gosh, do you think the LAW has anything to do

with it???? " lol.

Roxanna

[Guest guest]

> Hi,

>

> My intent wasn't to make any parent feel guilty for not going to due

> process, but to express that I feel school districts frequently

don't

> adhere to the law, the child's IEP, etc.

>

> I, too, chose not to pursue due process and am homeschooling

instead.

> Basically, I think IDEA is a law with a good intent (i.e., education

> for ALL kids providing individualized extra help for those who need

it

> most), poor funding and no teeth. The worst thing that can happen

to

> a school district if they disobey IDEA is having to pay for services

> they should have offered in the first place plus maybe some parents'

> lawyer costs. There are no penalties that I am aware of. Maybe if

> there are zillions of compliance complaints someone in special ed

> might lose their job. In the meantime, they have lots of

opportunity

> for doing " punitively appropriate " things.

To an extent, yes. But the school is obligated to pay for a large

portion of due process proceedings. It is VERY expensive. For

instance, we had a disclosure hearing and the school was required to

pay for the transcriptionist, the hearing officer's fees and they

were also paying for their lawyer to spend hours preparing

paperwork.

I don't know why they felt it was worth this. But they do realize

that I am serious. I don't know if this will help or hurt in the

future. I've filed due process 2 times and gone to mediation 3

times. I'm a bit jaded on the process anymore.

Roxanna

[Guest guest]

-Interesting topic. I have no problem speaking my mind, esp if it

involves my kids' best interests. There were times in the past where

this was hard for me though. My nature was that of peacemaker. And

yes I worried about retribution. Due to this I let my son's first

preschool get by w/ neglect. I dropped my son off for a half day. I

changed him prior to drop off. When I returned he was soaked through

his diaper and pants. I did not even get a refund. I simply pulled

him out. I was too meek to fight back. And now I worry if my lack of

standing up for what's right put other kids in the same situation.

Our next daycare was much better, but we had issues w/ Hunter's

special needs. I ended up finding a new daycare. However I told them

we were moving. I did not want to confront them w/ what I saw as

their weak areas. I was afraid they'd take it out on my son. So they

never knew how I felt. And they might very well have made better

choices in the future had I spoken up. At our next daycare I caught

them putting kids in a dangerous situation by overloading the van and

double buckling the kids. I had already been unhappy w/ the lack of

fluids provided during the summer. I tried to get other parents

involved. Noone was willing to say anything. So I spoke up. I can't

say it did any good, but I felt better knowing I did what I could. I

should've gone further by complaining outside of the daycare, but

atleast I went in the right direction. I also found myself having to

speak up to the school. They messed up my son's IEP and he was going

to be dropped from special ed before he even started k due to a

paperwork error. So as time went on I became more vocal. After a few

such occasions I became more comfortable w/ it. At that point though

I still had alot of misplaced faith in the school system. I still let

ALOT slide. I saved my new firm " voice " for the really important

things only. Somewhere along the line my idea of important has

changed. I think I started to realise how much I've lost by not

speaking up and demanding what is rightfully ours'. I'm mostly

referring to special ed. Even now though it is so tiring. You fight

the school. You fight the insurance. It feels like all you do is

fight. It is beyond stressful. And last school year I just could not

go on. I threw up my hands and said fine, you do not want to help my

son than you deal w/ it, but do not bother me. I refused to help him

w/ homework or class projects. I refused to answer letters about

behavior. I figured they deserved what they got. I did not provide

extra therapy as I was beyong stressed about finances. It seemed so

unfair noone would help us. This was only about a two month period,

but I still have trouble believing that was me. So this summer I

found some new ways to provide help for my son. Yes I'm paying ALOT.

I also hired an advocate. And I am fighting back w/ all I've got. Do

I want Due Process? No. It's yet another financial burden. Plus it's

extremely stressful. Do I worry my son's may be treated poorly? Not

really. Most people in a public position are not going to take it out

on an innocent child. They may think I'm a real witch, but they know

I'm watching. Touch my child, say something negative to my

child....and BEWARE! I guess there are no guarantees, but then as far

as I can tell life doesn't offer many of those no matter what you do.

Will I get good services even if I win? Hmmm...maybe not. So why

fight? Well I can not homeschool my kids. It's just not right for us.

I can not find a private school willing to do more than what I'm

getting. The difference would be I'd be paying them. So I work w/

what I got. I already know it is doubtful I'll get social skills

classes so I am paying for that privately. I doubt I'll get OT and

definitely not PT so we are trying swimming. I AM hoping to get a

label that reflects my child's challenges. I want a BIP. I want

classroon mods. And I want a tutor for language arts. I think all

that is reasonable. How grudgingly it'll be provided I can not say,

but be assured I have certain expectations. I know that an IEP is

simply writing on a paper unless you make it more. I'll be watching

them to see that it's adequate. And by this time next year we will be

looking at middle school. My youngest will remain there and I was

worried it'd be a hard road for him. Then again he's got alot more

significant delays than my oldest so chances are I'd be fighting the

school anyways. OK I'll hush now. This was very therapeutic!

There's no right or wrong, but this is why I am personally willing to

go Due Process should it come down to it this year. My son deserves

it.

> I can only speak for myself, I was so stressed from dealing with

the school district, mental health professionals( ya right, more like

unprofessionals) and my son, that I didn't have it in me to go that

extra step. I was also concerned on how much it would effect my

other kids since is my oldest.

[Guest guest]

We are going through due process and the hearing is in early April. We do

have an advocate and this has been a very long process. Any words of advice

or wisdom would be greatly appreciated. My son hasn't been in a placement as

of yet and he will be 6 in April. If I lose, I will not have him placed in

the totally inappropriate placement. However, we have been doing a full-time

home program for over 3 1/2 years and funds are running out. Please help

with any advice if you can. I am so scared for my little boy, we have worked

so hard and so has he.

Dawn

[Guest guest]

what is due process and mediation i am so scared to buck the school system now they seem to want to send him away his court date is jan 5 it has been put off two times so i feel like they said merry christmas i want the school to pay for all therapies if they arnt gonna care i want them to think before they do it to another kidDebra Balke <dlbalke@...> wrote: It is truly shocking, now isn't it. I am a pediatric neurologist. At least he is out of there now and at home doing

well. ( ) due process Roxanna, Have you ever gone to mediation or due process with any of your kids? Get easy, one-click access to your favorites. Make your homepage.

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[Guest guest]

What state are you in?

RoxannaAutism Happens

Re: ( ) due process

If I am an "expert" in the field through my profession, can I be my own expert witness and also represent myself? It is just that I don't want to spend one more penny on these idiots and one more minute of my time. Did you have lawyers/advocates or what? We want to keep him at home, away from the school, and use K12 Inc. as his curriculum. But, I still want to try to get funding out of the school. So, I have nothing to lose at this point through due process is my thinking

[Guest guest]

In short;

No! You cannot be your own expert. Either you are an advocate or an expert, not both. As a practical matter you are too easily impeached. You clearly have a bias (as you should, its your kid) and as a result any "opinion" you try to proffer can as a matter of law be accorded less weight than the SD's "expert"

Further, you are really a fact witness you are any kind of witness. The purpose of expert witnesses is to assist the trier of fact in making determinations with respect to things that are beyond the experience of the average person. You really don't want to place yourself in the position of confusing the hearing officer or even worse a reviewing court as to what your role is.

Very truly yours; Todd B. Kotler

Attorney and Counselor at Law

PO Box 2041

Massillon, Ohio 44646-2041

330-777-0065 Phone / Fax / VoicemailDISCLAIMERThis e-mail contains information intended only for the use of the individual or entity named above. If the reader of this e-mail is not the intended recipient or the employee or agent responsible for delivering it to the intended recipient, any dissemination, publication or copying of this e-mail is strictly prohibited. The sender does not accept any responsibility for any loss, disruption or damage to your data or computer system that may occur while using data contained in, or transmitted with, this e-mail. If you have received this e-mail in error, please immediately notify us by return e-mail. Thank you.

-----Original Message-----From: [mailto: ]On Behalf Of Debra BalkeSent: Wednesday, November 28, 2007 5:59 PM Subject: Re: ( ) due process

If I am an "expert" in the field through my profession, can I be my own expert witness and also represent myself? It is just that I don't want to spend one more penny on these idiots and one more minute of my time. Did you have lawyers/advocates or what? We want to keep him at home, away from the school, and use K12 Inc. as his curriculum. But, I still want to try to get funding out of the school. So, I have nothing to lose at this point through due process is my thinking

[Guest guest]

California

Re: ( ) due process

If I am an "expert" in the field through my profession, can I be my own expert witness and also represent myself? It is just that I don't want to spend one more penny on these idiots and one more minute of my time. Did you have lawyers/advocates or what? We want to keep him at home, away from the school, and use K12 Inc. as his curriculum. But, I still want to try to get funding out of the school. So, I have nothing to lose at this point through due process is my thinking

[Guest guest]

California

Re: ( ) due process

If I am an "expert" in the field through my profession, can I be my own expert witness and also represent myself? It is just that I don't want to spend one more penny on these idiots and one more minute of my time. Did you have lawyers/advocates or what? We want to keep him at home, away from the school, and use K12 Inc. as his curriculum. But, I still want to try to get funding out of the school. So, I have nothing to lose at this point through due process is my thinking

[Guest guest]

We use K12 curriculum through a Virtual School!!!!!!!!!!!!! You apply to a VS in Feb during the "school choice" time. When you apply to the school, what you are really doing is switching your school "residency". It's considered public school, so any money that they WERE getting, now goes to the VS (Considered public). You get the curriculum and computer and SPec. Ed teacher and homeroom teacher and everything. I'd google your state and then add 'virtual school'. Good luck.Debra Balke <dlbalke@...> wrote: If I am an "expert" in the field through my profession, can I be my own expert witness and also represent myself? It is just that I don't want to spend one more penny on these idiots and one more minute of my time. Did you have lawyers/advocates or what? We want to keep him at home, away from the school, and use K12 Inc. as his curriculum. But, I still want to try to get funding out of the school. So, I have nothing to lose at this point through due process is my thinking. Any thoughts? ( ) due process Roxanna, Have you ever gone to mediation or due process with any of your kids?

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