Guest guest Posted January 28, 2009 Report Share Posted January 28, 2009 Contact your state autism society. They should know exactly who you need to talk to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 30, 2009 Report Share Posted January 30, 2009 The principal does not get to make the decisions. If everyone on the team agrees that she needs an aide, then she needs an aide. One person does not make the decision - it is a team decision based on her needs. It is also based on her needs right now today. It is not based on what she had last year. I would tell the principal that we need to focus on her present needs and what she did last year is not under consideration. Also, you need to get everything in writing. When they deny something, ask to have that refusal in writing for your records. Principal needs to write down why he/she is denying the aide and what he/she considered in making this decision. I would write a letter after all meetings to restate what was discussed and decided. And for this meeting, I would state that everyone agreed she needs the aide but the principal then said, "blah blah blah" and refused to authorize the aide. Then I would state you need your written notice from principal stating why she can't have the aide and what reasons he/she considered in making this decision. Also I would mention that this should be a team decision and not a decision for one person at the meeting to make. I would disagree with the way this was decided and handled and request that your ds get the aide that everyone agrees he needs. My own ds, now 20 yo, hfa, did not have an aide until he was in middle school. Again, it was based on his needs at the time and not anything else! All things your ds will need in his education should be based on his needs at the time. These needs will change over time! RoxannaYou're UniqueJust like everyone else... ( ) IEP vs. 504 My son, was given a diagnosis of PDD-NOS about 2 years ago at the age of 4. I still think he has some aspergers tendencies, but the PDD-NOS was enough to qualify him for services, so I'm o.k. with this diagnosis. I also know that diagnosis can change over the years, so as long as he gets services, I'm fine with it. He presently has an IEP and gets pulled out for speech, OT, PT, and whatever else he needs. He is in 1/2 day kindergarten and sees the special ed teacher regularly too. So he is certainly getting all he needs.The only other thing I would like for him to have is a paraprofessional. He did not have one in pre-school - and at that time, I really didn't want him to have one (silly me, I didn't want the "stigma" attached to him). I asked about a para at our last meeting with the team and all heads nodded in agreement - with the exception of the principal of the school - she simply stated " didn't have a para in pre-school - if he had come to kindergarten with one, it would be easier, but since he didn't need one before...."Now I know that the principal is only saying that because it is her job to keep costs down - lets face it - it's all about the mightly dollar these days.So my question is - what do I need to do to push the school in to this? We have another IEP coming up on 2/12 and I want to be fully prepared and armed with everything I need to get this one last thing through. It's not just my guy, but the other children in the class - there are just 17 kids in his class which is a pretty good ratio, but the teacher does seem to have to spend a lot of time just with - I want to point out to the school that this would really benefit the other children in class as well since they would have more of the teacher's attention if had the one-on-one of a paraprofessional in the classroom as well.I also am thinking forward to next year when he will have full day school and will really need the assistance to stay focused.Any thoughts would be appreciated.Thanks.Janna No virus found in this incoming message.Checked by AVG - http://www.avg.com Version: 8.0.176 / Virus Database: 270.10.14/1917 - Release Date: 1/26/2009 6:37 PM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 30, 2009 Report Share Posted January 30, 2009 > > The principal does not get to make the decisions. If everyone on the team agrees that she needs an aide, then she needs an aide. This is dependent on your state and school district. Our principals in Texas get to make a lot of decisions. Not everybody on an IEP team has to agree. Our school district takes a vote. And while, theoretically, the " team " makes decisions, the principal can say " no, we can't do that, that isn't practical or we don't have the money " , and most likely most of the team will go along with that. Now, they can't make the decisions by themselves, without the rest of the team present, but I wouldn't say they can't make decisions, from a practical perspective. And it works the other way too. The parent may speak up and ask for something none of the others thought of, and the others may go along with it simply because the parent wants it and it is reasonable and makes sense. Now in the particular case where every single person on the team except the principal agrees she needs an aide--that is a problem. I would definitely fight that one. If it is a matter of money--and it probably is--the principal will have to re-adjust his budget somehow. Not your problem. Ruth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 2, 2009 Report Share Posted February 2, 2009 If the principal was the sole person making the decision, then they can't do that no matter what state they are in. I agree that many times, the people go with whatever the staff person in charge wants but in that case, it's not just one person holding things up - it's the team. In the email she wrote, she said everyone agreed she needed an aide but the principal said she couldn't have one because she didn't have one the year before. That is not a reason to deny an aide plus, it does appear as if one person is making the decision and not the team. They can't do that. They will do it and try to get away with it. But it depends on how far a person will go to call them on it. But they can't legally let one person make the decision for the team. She should let them know that this is a violation of the IDEA, document what is going on and make her request again. RoxannaYou're UniqueJust like everyone else... Re: ( ) IEP vs. 504 >> The principal does not get to make the decisions. If everyone onthe team agrees that she needs an aide, then she needs an aide. This is dependent on your state and school district. Our principalsin Texas get to make a lot of decisions. Not everybody on an IEP teamhas to agree. Our school district takes a vote. And while,theoretically, the "team" makes decisions, the principal can say "no,we can't do that, that isn't practical or we don't have the money",and most likely most of the team will go along with that. Now, theycan't make the decisions by themselves, without the rest of the teampresent, but I wouldn't say they can't make decisions, from apractical perspective. And it works the other way too. The parentmay speak up and ask for something none of the others thought of, andthe others may go along with it simply because the parent wants it andit is reasonable and makes sense.Now in the particular case where every single person on the teamexcept the principal agrees she needs an aide--that is a problem. Iwould definitely fight that one. If it is a matter of money--and itprobably is--the principal will have to re-adjust his budget somehow.Not your problem.Ruth No virus found in this incoming message.Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 8.0.233 / Virus Database: 270.10.16/1925 - Release Date: 01/30/09 07:37:00 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 2, 2009 Report Share Posted February 2, 2009 > > If the principal was the sole person making the decision, then they can't do that no matter what state they are in. I agree that many times, the people go with whatever the staff person in charge wants but in that case, it's not just one person holding things up - it's the team. In the email she wrote, she said everyone agreed she needed an aide but the principal said she couldn't have one because she didn't have one the year before. That is not a reason to deny an aide plus, it does appear as if one person is making the decision and not the team. They can't do that. They will do it and try to get away with it. But it depends on how far a person will go to call them on it. But they can't legally let one person make the decision for the team. She should let them know that this is a violation of the IDEA, document what is going on and make her request again. I agree with everything you're saying Roxanna. I'm just saying that, in reality, oftentimes the principals and other school staff do hold meetings amongst themselves and make decisions--which are not official decisions but decisions nonetheless--and the IEP/504 meeting is just a rubber stamp--unless the parents are savy enough to catch on to what is going on and speak up. Which I think is exactly what you are saying. That's why I always try to speak to everybody outside of the meetings as much as I can, since by the time the meeting comes up, many times many members have already made up their minds and aren't very open-minded--sometimes, not all the time. Ruth Ruth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 2, 2009 Report Share Posted February 2, 2009 I think we are saying much the same thing. I just wanted to note that it is not legally correct, even though it is done anyway. So people should definitely read the laws and speak up against this. sometimes they will realize you can read and knock it off. It depends on how committed they are to doing it their way. RoxannaYou're UniqueJust like everyone else... Re: ( ) IEP vs. 504 >> If the principal was the sole person making the decision, then theycan't do that no matter what state they are in. I agree that manytimes, the people go with whatever the staff person in charge wantsbut in that case, it's not just one person holding things up - it'sthe team. In the email she wrote, she said everyone agreed she neededan aide but the principal said she couldn't have one because shedidn't have one the year before. That is not a reason to deny an aideplus, it does appear as if one person is making the decision and notthe team. They can't do that. They will do it and try to get awaywith it. But it depends on how far a person will go to call them onit. But they can't legally let one person make the decision for theteam. She should let them know that this is a violation of the IDEA,document what is going on and make her request again.I agree with everything you're saying Roxanna. I'm just saying that,in reality, oftentimes the principals and other school staff do holdmeetings amongst themselves and make decisions--which are not officialdecisions but decisions nonetheless--and the IEP/504 meeting is just arubber stamp--unless the parents are savy enough to catch on to whatis going on and speak up. Which I think is exactly what you aresaying. That's why I always try to speak to everybody outside of themeetings as much as I can, since by the time the meeting comes up,many times many members have already made up their minds and aren'tvery open-minded--sometimes, not all the time.RuthRuth No virus found in this incoming message.Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 8.0.233 / Virus Database: 270.10.16/1930 - Release Date: 01/31/09 20:03:00 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 2, 2009 Report Share Posted February 2, 2009 > > So people should definitely read the laws and speak up against this. sometimes they will realize you can read and knock it off. It depends on how committed they are to doing it their way. ITA. Figuring out what laws are involved and getting to know them has probably made as much difference as anything in our journey. I don't even have to confront them on it, i.e., actually mention the word " law " or read the actual law to them, I just make a statement about what is going wrong and they pick up that I know what I'm talking about. I think it also serves the purpose of reminding them. The two things that really started turning the tables for us were when I figured out that everything had to be in writing (that stopped all the game playing dead in it's tracks when I started documenting everything and asking for everything in writing) and when I learned I could call one of the SPED directors and make one of these statements and they would always take action on it. Typically, they will call either the principal or one of the assist principals and that person will take it from there. Most of our problems have been with teachers rather than administrators, once I realized how helpful they can be if I give them enough information in the right manner. If we can just get them to give the teachers more training, things might actually start working at school. Ruth Ruth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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