Re: The school suspended my son..... is this legal?

[Guest guest]

Oh Jen… (HUGS). You are completely in the right to be

upset. They cannot deny services. Your son has the legal right to an education,

whatever that looks like for him. Tell them you want EVERYTHING in writing. The

suspension notice, the reasoning behind it, and when you “re-evaluate”,

ask for EVERYTHING in writing, including their “denial of services”.

It is NOT ok for them to give up on your son just because he’s “different”,

and his needs are outside of their comfort zone. The sad reality is that this

happens more than any of us with special needs children care to think about.

Stand up for your son. Keep your emotions in check, and stay factual. Don’t

be afraid to tell them that your son has the right to an education, and it’s

their job to organize extra teaching from the school board, to assist them on

teaching Aspie children, etc. You could even print off some teachers forms from

the internet (google teaching aspergers children and you should come up with LOTS).

And again, ask for EVERYTHING in writing.

If all else fails, you can go over the schools head. It’s

nice when we have lovely working relationships, but you aren’t there to

be friends with the principal. You are there to make sure your children are

getting what they need, and EACH child’s needs are different. This isn’t

about them assimilating him into what works for them… this needs to be

about them changing their narrow minded thinking to do what works for HIM. This

is about empowering children, and assisting them to be successful. There are

clearly reasons for his behaviors… and we ALL know that when children are

upset, communication is hard. But all those behaviors are communications of

some kind. They might be AWFUL communications, but it’s all he can handle

at that time.

DON’T let them be lazy… and that’s what this

is. Pure laziness. They’d rather scapegoat your son, instead of getting

out of their narrow minded box to think of some new way to help him. Call the

school board if you need to. Have you checked to see if there’s a

specific staff member hired for assisting with children on the spectrum? Most

school boards have a special needs liason as well. See about contacting them.

Good luck, stick to your guns, and don’t let them get away

with that.

Keep us posted !!!! Sending you strength !!!

=)

From:

[mailto: ] On

Behalf Of Jen Marks

Sent: Wednesday, October 21, 2009 11:47 PM

Subject: ( ) The school suspended my son..... is this

legal?

Alright, so the amazing school we have is maybe not so much.

Or maybe I'm being too hard on them.

My son had a major meltdown today. The school called

me about an hour after I dropped him off in the morning. When I went to

pick him up he was lying on the floor thrashing around and screaming " help

me mommy!! " . He was kind of halfheartedly slapping at the teachers

around him, and he was trying very hard to run away. It took me 20

minutes to get him calmed down enough to get into the van with me.

Within an hour, he was fine, and we went to do a social work

eval so we can get his IEP done. When we got home, there was a message

from the principal telling me that he is not allowed to be at the school all

next week, aside from the hour and a half when he will get his speech eval

done. And after all the evals are done, they will get together and

reevaluate having him at the school.

Am I missing something? I thought public schools HAD

to provide services. He did not have a weapon. He did not hurt

anyone. Are they allowed to do this? It makes it very hard on my

family because my older two girls go to that school and there is no bussing.

How in the world can I get him into the van twice a day to drop his

sisters off and pick them up when he doesn't get to stay.... he really loves

school.

I can understand why they can't deal with him now, because

they aren't really equipped to. His IEP isn't done yet, so he doesn't

have an aide or anything. But to say they will reevaluate whether they

can have him there? That makes me feel all sorts of angry, but before I

get too upset about it I want to make sure I'm correct about what is supposed

to happen.

I should say, too, that the first two days the school called

me to pick him up he wasn't doing anything that bad. I think he threw the

name tag on his desk away and pushed some paperwork on the floor the first day.

The second day he yelled during class a few times and was apparently disruptive

because of that, and there might have been one other similar thing. Oh, I

remember.... he went and stood by the door and they were afraid he was going to

try and run. So it's not like he's been having major meltdowns all week.

Thanks for any thoughts.

Jen

[Guest guest]

I second everything posted, you need to stand up for your son, it enrages me that schools think they can get away with treating our children this way. Get the reason for his exclusion in writing, if it is because of his meltdown, ask them if they would exclude an epileptic child for having a seizure, it should be treated the same way, the child should be made safe until the episode has passed, it is not something the child is in control of.

Its a shame, but the plain truth is most schools are lazy and cheap, the least money and effort is the first choice. You need to be strong and make sure your son gets what he is entitled to.

Lor B

From: O'Brien <nicole.obrien@...>Subject: RE: ( ) The school suspended my son..... is this legal? Date: Thursday, 22 October, 2009, 13:55

Oh Jen… (HUGS). You are completely in the right to be upset. They cannot deny services. Your son has the legal right to an education, whatever that looks like for him. Tell them you want EVERYTHING in writing. The suspension notice, the reasoning behind it, and when you “re-evaluateâ€, ask for EVERYTHING in writing, including their “denial of servicesâ€. It is NOT ok for them to give up on your son just because he’s “differentâ€, and his needs are outside of their comfort zone. The sad reality is that this happens more than any of us with special needs children care to think about. Stand up for your son. Keep your emotions in check, and stay factual. Don’t be afraid to tell them that your son has the right to an education, and it’s their job to organize extra teaching from the school board, to assist them on teaching Aspie children, etc. You could even print off some

teachers forms from the internet (google teaching aspergers children and you should come up with LOTS). And again, ask for EVERYTHING in writing.

If all else fails, you can go over the schools head. It’s nice when we have lovely working relationships, but you aren’t there to be friends with the principal. You are there to make sure your children are getting what they need, and EACH child’s needs are different. This isn’t about them assimilating him into what works for them… this needs to be about them changing their narrow minded thinking to do what works for HIM. This is about empowering children, and assisting them to be successful. There are clearly reasons for his behaviors… and we ALL know that when children are upset, communication is hard. But all those behaviors are communications of some kind. They might be AWFUL communications, but it’s all he can handle at that time.

DON’T let them be lazy… and that’s what this is. Pure laziness. They’d rather scapegoat your son, instead of getting out of their narrow minded box to think of some new way to help him. Call the school board if you need to. Have you checked to see if there’s a specific staff member hired for assisting with children on the spectrum? Most school boards have a special needs liason as well. See about contacting them.

Good luck, stick to your guns, and don’t let them get away with that.

Keep us posted !!!! Sending you strength !!!

=)

From: [mailto:AspergersSu pport@group s.com] On Behalf Of Jen MarksSent: Wednesday, October 21, 2009 11:47 PM Subject: ( ) The school suspended my son..... is this legal?

Alright, so the amazing school we have is maybe not so much. Or maybe I'm being too hard on them.

My son had a major meltdown today. The school called me about an hour after I dropped him off in the morning. When I went to pick him up he was lying on the floor thrashing around and screaming "help me mommy!!". He was kind of halfheartedly slapping at the teachers around him, and he was trying very hard to run away. It took me 20 minutes to get him calmed down enough to get into the van with me.

Within an hour, he was fine, and we went to do a social work eval so we can get his IEP done. When we got home, there was a message from the principal telling me that he is not allowed to be at the school all next week, aside from the hour and a half when he will get his speech eval done. And after all the evals are done, they will get together and reevaluate having him at the school.

Am I missing something? I thought public schools HAD to provide services. He did not have a weapon. He did not hurt anyone. Are they allowed to do this? It makes it very hard on my family because my older two girls go to that school and there is no bussing. How in the world can I get him into the van twice a day to drop his sisters off and pick them up when he doesn't get to stay.... he really loves school.

I can understand why they can't deal with him now, because they aren't really equipped to. His IEP isn't done yet, so he doesn't have an aide or anything. But to say they will reevaluate whether they can have him there? That makes me feel all sorts of angry, but before I get too upset about it I want to make sure I'm correct about what is supposed to happen.

I should say, too, that the first two days the school called me to pick him up he wasn't doing anything that bad. I think he threw the name tag on his desk away and pushed some paperwork on the floor the first day. The second day he yelled during class a few times and was apparently disruptive because of that, and there might have been one other similar thing. Oh, I remember.... he went and stood by the door and they were afraid he was going to try and run. So it's not like he's been having major meltdowns all week.

Thanks for any thoughts.

Jen

[Guest guest]

One suspension for a whole week in such a casual way is horrifying!

Search internet for " IEP and Suspension for 10 days " , or check out the websites

like:

http://www.dphilpotlaw.com/html/expulsions_suspensions.html

There is the so-called " 10 free days " rule, but it's not really free... You &

your child have the legal rights to get FAPE. And do keep good record: get them

in writing from the school, even if you are just asked to pick him up early for

a few hours.

I went through that with my son last year, but the school did panick when I

brought in a legal advocate and also told them the accumulated time had gone

beyond 5 days. They provided all the support immediately, even though they had

been telling me that there were just no resources only a couple of days ago.

Some excerpts from the website:

A *series* of suspensions that accumulate to more than ten days per school year

*may* constitute a change of placement without an IEP. If they represent a

pattern because of such factors as the length of each removal, the total amount

of time the student is removed, and the proximity of the removals to one

another, the series of suspensions would be in violation of 34 C.F.R. Sec.

300.519(.

Suspensions same as short-term removals

Complaint No. 1778.01 -- Due to behavior, a six-year-old student was often sent

home early during the first half of a school year. The school did not maintain

records to indicate how often this occurred, nor did it consider that these

actions constituted " suspensions " for Article 7 purposes. Under 511 IAC 7-29-1

(a), a suspension is defined as a " unilateral temporary removals of a student

from the student's current placement by the public agency. " Short-term removals

pursuant to a student's IEP are not considered suspensions. These removals were

not pursuant to the IEP. As a result, each removal constituted a " suspension. "

>

>

> From: O'Brien <nicole.obrien@...>

> Subject: RE: ( ) The school suspended my son..... is this

legal?

>

> Date: Thursday, 22 October, 2009, 13:55

>

>

>  

>

>

>

>

>

> Oh Jen… (HUGS). You are completely in the right to be upset. They cannot

deny services. Your son has the legal right to an education, whatever that looks

like for him. Tell them you want EVERYTHING in writing. The suspension notice,

the reasoning behind it, and when you “re-evaluateâ€, ask for EVERYTHING in

writing, including their “denial of servicesâ€. It is NOT ok for them to give

up on your son just because he’s “differentâ€, and his needs are outside of

their comfort zone. The sad reality is that this happens more than any of us

with special needs children care to think about. Stand up for your son. Keep

your emotions in check, and stay factual. Don’t be afraid to tell them that

your son has the right to an education, and it’s their job to organize extra

teaching from the school board, to assist them on teaching Aspie children, etc.

You could even print off some teachers forms from the internet (google teaching

aspergers children

> and you should come up with LOTS). And again, ask for EVERYTHING in writing.

>  

> If all else fails, you can go over the schools head. It’s nice when we have

lovely working relationships, but you aren’t there to be friends with the

principal. You are there to make sure your children are getting what they need,

and EACH child’s needs are different. This isn’t about them assimilating him

into what works for them… this needs to be about them changing their narrow

minded thinking to do what works for HIM. This is about empowering children, and

assisting them to be successful. There are clearly reasons for his behaviors…

and we ALL know that when children are upset, communication is hard. But all

those behaviors are communications of some kind. They might be AWFUL

communications, but it’s all he can handle at that time.

>  

> DON’T let them be lazy… and that’s what this is. Pure laziness. They’d

rather scapegoat your son, instead of getting out of their narrow minded box to

think of some new way to help him. Call the school board if you need to. Have

you checked to see if there’s a specific staff member hired for assisting with

children on the spectrum? Most school boards have a special needs liason as

well. See about contacting them.

>  

> Good luck, stick to your guns, and don’t let them get away with that.

>  

> Keep us posted !!!! Sending you strength !!!

>  

> =)

>  

>

>

> From: [mailto:AspergersSu pport@group

s.com] On Behalf Of Jen Marks

> Sent: Wednesday, October 21, 2009 11:47 PM

>

> Subject: ( ) The school suspended my son..... is this legal?

>  

>  

>

>

>

>

>

> Alright, so the amazing school we have is maybe not so much.  Or maybe I'm

being too hard on them.

>

>  

>

> My son had a major meltdown today.  The school called me about an hour after

I dropped him off in the morning.  When I went to pick him up he was lying on

the floor thrashing around and screaming " help me mommy!! " .  He was kind of

halfheartedly slapping at the teachers around him, and he was trying very hard

to run away.  It took me 20 minutes to get him calmed down enough to get into

the van with me.

>

>  

>

> Within an hour, he was fine, and we went to do a social work eval so we can

get his IEP done.  When we got home, there was a message from the principal

telling me that he is not allowed to be at the school all next week, aside from

the hour and a half when he will get his speech eval done.  And after all the

evals are done, they will get together and reevaluate having him at the school.

 

>

>  

>

> Am I missing something?  I thought public schools HAD to provide services.

 He did not have a weapon.  He did not hurt anyone.  Are they allowed to do

this?  It makes it very hard on my family because my older two girls go to that

school and there is no bussing.  How in the world can I get him into the van

twice a day to drop his sisters off and pick them up when he doesn't get to

stay.... he really loves school.

>

>  

>

> I can understand why they can't deal with him now, because they aren't really

equipped to.  His IEP isn't done yet, so he doesn't have an aide or anything.

 But to say they will reevaluate whether they can have him there?  That makes

me feel all sorts of angry, but before I get too upset about it I want to make

sure I'm correct about what is supposed to happen.

>

>  

>

> I should say, too, that the first two days the school called me to pick him up

he wasn't doing anything that bad.  I think he threw the name tag on his desk

away and pushed some paperwork on the floor the first day.  The second day he

yelled during class a few times and was apparently disruptive because of that,

and there might have been one other similar thing.  Oh, I remember.... he went

and stood by the door and they were afraid he was going to try and run.  So

it's not like he's been having major meltdowns all week.

>

>  

>

> Thanks for any thoughts.

>

>  

>

> Jen

>

>  

>

[Guest guest]

Thank you to all who responded.  I very much appreciate it! I haven't had time to read links yet, since I feel like I've been on the phone constantly the last couple days trying to figure this out, but I plan on reading all I can before Monday.I spent all day yesterday trying to figure out exactly what I want to do here.  I'm wondering if I want to have him in a program where they know what they are doing.  At this school they apparently do not.  I don't know if I want to push them to accommodate him or if I want to try and get him in somewhere better.  I really really like his teacher at this school, and so does he, so I'm torn.I'm really upset that the principal called and left a message on my voice mail, when she knew I would be gone (we

were getting the social work eval done at the school's other site).  I guess that just tells me she truly doesn't have a clue about what she is supposed to do.I left a message with our district's parent advocate (I think that's her title).  Apparently she is supposed to help make these things go smoothly.  Hopefully she will call me back today.Here's hoping today is a bit less stressful than yesterday.JenFrom: caijiao <caijiao@...>To:

Sent: Thursday, October 22, 2009 11:36:22 PMSubject: Re: ( ) The school suspended my son..... is this legal?

 

One suspension for a whole week in such a casual way is horrifying!

Search internet for "IEP and Suspension for 10 days", or check out the websites like:

http://www.dphilpot law.com/html/ expulsions_ suspensions. html

There is the so-called "10 free days" rule, but it's not really free... You & your child have the legal rights to get FAPE. And do keep good record: get them in writing from the school, even if you are just asked to pick him up early for a few hours.

I went through that with my son last year, but the school did panick when I brought in a legal advocate and also told them the accumulated time had gone beyond 5 days. They provided all the support immediately, even though they had been telling me that there were just no resources only a couple of days ago.

Some excerpts from the website:

A *series* of suspensions that accumulate to more than ten days per school year *may* constitute a change of placement without an IEP. If they represent a pattern because of such factors as the length of each removal, the total amount of time the student is removed, and the proximity of the removals to one another, the series of suspensions would be in violation of 34 C.F.R. Sec. 300.519(.

Suspensions same as short-term removals

Complaint No. 1778.01 -- Due to behavior, a six-year-old student was often sent home early during the first half of a school year. The school did not maintain records to indicate how often this occurred, nor did it consider that these actions constituted "suspensions" for Article 7 purposes. Under 511 IAC 7-29-1 (a), a suspension is defined as a" unilateral temporary removals of a student from the student's current placement by the public agency." Short-term removals pursuant to a student's IEP are not considered suspensions. These removals were not pursuant to the IEP. As a result, each removal constituted a "suspension. "

>

>

> From: O'Brien <nicole.obrien@ ...>

> Subject: RE: ( ) The school suspended my son..... is this legal?

>

> Date: Thursday, 22 October, 2009, 13:55

>

>

>  

>

>

>

>

>

> Oh Jen… (HUGS). You are completely in the right to be upset. They cannot deny services. Your son has the legal right to an education, whatever that looks like for him. Tell them you want EVERYTHING in writing. The suspension notice, the reasoning behind it, and when you “re-evaluateâ€, ask for EVERYTHING in writing, including their “denial of servicesâ€. It is NOT ok for them to give up on your son just because he’s “differentâ€, and his needs are outside of their comfort zone. The sad reality is that this happens more than any of us with special needs children care to think about. Stand up for your son. Keep your emotions in check, and stay factual. Don’t be afraid to tell them that your son has the right to an education, and it’s their job to organize extra teaching from the school board, to assist them on teaching Aspie children, etc. You could even print off some teachers forms from the internet (google teaching aspergers

children

> and you should come up with LOTS). And again, ask for EVERYTHING in writing.

>  

> If all else fails, you can go over the schools head. It’s nice when we have lovely working relationships, but you aren’t there to be friends with the principal. You are there to make sure your children are getting what they need, and EACH child’s needs are different. This isn’t about them assimilating him into what works for them… this needs to be about them changing their narrow minded thinking to do what works for HIM. This is about empowering children, and assisting them to be successful. There are clearly reasons for his behaviors… and we ALL know that when children are upset, communication is hard. But all those behaviors are communications of some kind. They might be AWFUL communications, but it’s all he can handle at that time.

>  

> DON’T let them be lazy… and that’s what this is. Pure laziness. They’d rather scapegoat your son, instead of getting out of their narrow minded box to think of some new way to help him. Call the school board if you need to. Have you checked to see if there’s a specific staff member hired for assisting with children on the spectrum? Most school boards have a special needs liason as well. See about contacting them.

>  

> Good luck, stick to your guns, and don’t let them get away with that.

>  

> Keep us posted !!!! Sending you strength !!!

>  

> =)

>  

>

>

> From: [mailto:AspergersSu pport@group s.com] On Behalf Of Jen Marks

> Sent: Wednesday, October 21, 2009 11:47 PM

>

> Subject: ( ) The school suspended my son..... is this legal?

>  

>  

>

>

>

>

>

> Alright, so the amazing school we have is maybe not so much.  Or maybe I'm being too hard on them.

>

>  

>

> My son had a major meltdown today.  The school called me about an hour after I dropped him off in the morning.  When I went to pick him up he was lying on the floor thrashing around and screaming "help me mommy!!".  He was kind of halfheartedly slapping at the teachers around him, and he was trying very hard to run away.  It took me 20 minutes to get him calmed down enough to get into the van with me.

>

>  

>

> Within an hour, he was fine, and we went to do a social work eval so we can get his IEP done.  When we got home, there was a message from the principal telling me that he is not allowed to be at the school all next week, aside from the hour and a half when he will get his speech eval done.  And after all the evals are done, they will get together and reevaluate having him at the school.  

>

>  

>

> Am I missing something?  I thought public schools HAD to provide services.  He did not have a weapon.  He did not hurt anyone.  Are they allowed to do this?  It makes it very hard on my family because my older two girls go to that school and there is no bussing.  How in the world can I get him into the van twice a day to drop his sisters off and pick them up when he doesn't get to stay.... he really loves school.

>

>  

>

> I can understand why they can't deal with him now, because they aren't really equipped to.  His IEP isn't done yet, so he doesn't have an aide or anything.  But to say they will reevaluate whether they can have him there?  That makes me feel all sorts of angry, but before I get too upset about it I want to make sure I'm correct about what is supposed to happen.

>

>  

>

> I should say, too, that the first two days the school called me to pick him up he wasn't doing anything that bad.  I think he threw the name tag on his desk away and pushed some paperwork on the floor the first day.  The second day he yelled during class a few times and was apparently disruptive because of that, and there might have been one other similar thing.  Oh, I remember.... he went and stood by the door and they were afraid he was going to try and run.  So it's not like he's been having major meltdowns all week.

>

>  

>

> Thanks for any thoughts.

>

>  

>

> Jen

>

>  

>

[Guest guest]

Nope, not so legal to suspend a kid for showing up with his disability

showing. lol. You really have to get yourself educated about the law

so you can manage them. It sounds to me like they are really lacking

in knowledge and ability. If you know the laws and advocate for him,

they will have to learn and accommodate. You can learn so much by

going to www.wrightslaw.com and learning about your rights. Look up

suspensions and learn what they have to do when they suspend a child

with a disability. Then let your school personnel know you will expect

them to follow the laws. Put everything in writing to create a paper

trail - be nice and professional about it but document what they are

saying and doing.

Roxanna

" The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do

nothing. " E. Burke

( ) The school suspended my son..... is this

legal?

Alright, so the amazing school we have is maybe not so much.  Or maybe

I'm being too hard on them.

My son had a major meltdown today.  The school called me about an hour

after I dropped him off in the morning.  When I went to pick him up he

was lying on the floor thrashing around and screaming " help me

mommy!! " .  He was kind of halfheartedly slapping at the teachers around

him, and he was trying very hard to run away.  It took me 20 minutes to

get him calmed down enough to get into the van with me.

Within an hour, he was fine, and we went to do a social work eval so we

can get his IEP done.  When we got home, there was a message from the

principal telling me that he is not allowed to be at the school all

next week, aside from the

hour and a half when he will get his speech eval done.  And after all

the evals are done, they will get together and reevaluate having him at

the school.  

Am I missing something?  I thought public schools HAD to provide

services.  He did not have a weapon.  He did not hurt anyone.  Are they

allowed to do this?  It makes it very hard on my family because my

older two girls go to that school and there is no bussing.  How in the

world can I get him into the van twice a day to drop his sisters off

and pick them up when he doesn't get to stay.... he really loves school.

I can understand why they can't deal with him now, because they aren't

really equipped to.  His IEP isn't done yet, so he doesn't have an aide

or anything.  But to say they will reevaluate whether they can have him

there?  That makes me feel all sorts of angry, but before I get too

upset about it I want to make sure I'm correct

about what is supposed to happen.

I should say, too, that the first two days the school called me to pick

him up he wasn't doing anything that bad.  I think he threw the name

tag on his desk away and pushed some paperwork on the floor the first

day.  The second day he yelled during class a few times and was

apparently disruptive because of that, and there might have been one

other similar thing.  Oh, I remember.... he went and stood by the door

and they were afraid he was going to try and run.  So it's not like

he's been having major meltdowns all week.

Thanks for any thoughts.

Jen