Barbara: I have a child that is a senior and only needs 2 credits to graduate. I have put her in a classroom where she is doing her classes online with one teacher, in the behavior unit. she has lunch with her peers and has eighth period athletics. The school wants to take her out of this environment and put her into classes. Why I can’t have her where we have her now? She suffers with anxiety and she has acted out before. could this not be my choice since I do know what is in the best interest of my child and her education? We had an ARD earlier this month where we all had agreed that she would do her classes with this one teacher and take her classes online. I don’t know why they are so adamant about having another ARD and claiming the least restrictive environment.
They may be trying to improve their numbers of students included in gen ed classes.
LRE (least restrictive environment) is an important concept in the federal special ed law. However, the ARD/IEP team decides what LRE is appropriate for the student based on their specific needs. It appears odd that this quickly the school wants to make a change. I work for the TX parent training & information center to support parents. You can contact me at cnoe59@hotmail.com, & our staff in your area can assist you.