Vanessa: Can I request a different IEP Case Manager (Special EducationTeacher). I don’t want placement changed, just the TEACHER WHO BULLIES MY CHILD.
IEPs: CAN I REQUEST A DIFFERENT IEP CASE MANAGER?
Special Education Law and Advocacy
My son has a very complex disability, Prader Willi syndrome. He’s transitioning into high school next year. I am so worried I was sent an email that wasn’t meant for me to read From the special-needs Director, warning the transportation department that the mother is rather high maintenance. I have so insulted if you don’t advocate your piece of crap and when you advocate as high maintenance, it is insulting. I don’t trust this woman anymore. What can I do?
My child comes home and tells me that whenever he’s at school and he goes to see a IEP case manager for help on work, his main IEP case manager goes in the room and tells him he shouldn’t be in that room and tells him to go to her room. he tells me that she’s jealous of the other IEP case manager because she helps the students and just yesterday he comes home and says that his case manager told him not to go back into the other room. What should i do?
I suggest contacting the principal, and district special education director.
I’m desperate for some help and not sure where to ask… I was just notified the day before winter break that my child case manager was changed and not by their choice the principal chose to switch them to fit the new curriculum they are putting into place. Can they do that? I love his case manager and would Never consent to this change. Is this legal? What can I do to get them back?! I feel so blindsided! Thanks!
Unfortunately, there is no rule or law to prevent a school from doing this. Trying to work with the special education director is an option.
I need some advice. I am having a problem with my son and his high school. He has an IEP and a case manager that he has who was previously my oldest son that graduated high school last year’s case manager. I’ve never had a problem with her up until now. She made changes that I was not aware of.
My child was I engineering class, and because it was too difficult for him, the case manager, and I’m not sure who else thought that it was a good idea to ask my son to switch to a different classroom when he agreed because he agrees to everything there was no classroom to put him in the only classroom left was choirs . My child has sensory issues. The noise drives him crazy. He’s also saying that when he’s in this classroom, the teacher would yell at him in front of the classroom, my son has mental issues on top of anxiety and one of the mental problems that we are dealing with is he perceives things differently than other people. I’ve been emailing the case manager for over two weeks I believe, to request a meeting. I receive a phone call today from the principal of my sons high school, because the case manager did not like the email that was sent to her last night. Also, my son’s is going to have a 0 in that class, he won’t sing and he won’t take his mask off. The principal calls today to discuss the situation which he says that he does not get involved in. He then proceeded to tell me that he was not aware or he did not know how my son got into engineering class. I did explain to him that that was discussed at the meeting we had and that’s how he got in that class. My question is how do I request for my son to have a different case manager. I’ve been dealing with my child school district for more than 16 years and it’s always been a hassle especially when it comes to my middle child with all the documents and paperwork that they have from his psychiatrist,Therapist ,doctors there’s no reason why this kid should be having the hardest time in school. any advice is much appreciate it.
Elizabeth, if I understand the facts in your post, your child was not doing well in engineering class so his case manager asked him to agree to change his educational program and placement. Your child agreed. The only class with space for him was choir, so that’s where the case manager placed him.
There are several problems in this situation. Any decision to change a child’s program and placement must be made by the IEP team, which includes the parent – not by a case manager. This case manager’s decision was based on what was convenient for the school and herself.
A case manager is an adult authority figure. She should never ask a student to agree to change their special education program and placement. This is an abuse of power and disregarded the child’s needs.
Since the principal contacted you, it’s important that you document the facts in a note or email to the principal AND special ed director. Describe what happened as you did in your post. Request an IEP meeting to develop an IEP that meets your son’s needs – ASAP. Be polite. You want the principal to understand what happened and to help resolve it. Use your emotions as a source of energy, not as a weapon.
When the case manager changed your child’s program to choir, without an IEP meeting, the school was no longer providing him with the appropriate educational program developed by the IEP team. The IEP team needs to fix these problems. The case manager must learn that her role has legal and ethical limits.
I agree that school should not be so hard for a child with emotional problems and anxiety who struggles to learn. Please keep us posted.
Well written response, Pam.!!
Thanks Chuck.
Update: I’ve sent four requests, maybe five requests for a meeting with the child study team. Absolutely no response back. The only time the principal has called was when I sent an absent note in for my child with the wrong date. Which his doctor fixed and sent it the same day with the correct date on it. Other than that no one is responding back to my emails for a meeting . My son has a 10 grade in chorus class. At this point, I don’t know what else to do.
I was first told that course is a requirement to pass high school now all of a sudden it isn’t. ♀️♀️
Two agencies in your state can help. Start with your state’s Parent Training & Info Center. If they can’t help you (and I expect they can), contact the Disability Rights /Protection and Advocacy for your state. Contact info below.
Parent Training & Information Centers (PTI): Parent centers help families obtain appropriate education and services for their children with disabilities; train and inform parents and professionals on a variety of topics; resolve problems between families and schools or other agencies; and connect children with disabilities to community resources that address their needs. Find contact info for your state PTI here:
Parent Training Info Centers
Disability Rights / Protection & Advocacy for Individuals with Disabilities are the largest provider of legal advocacy services to people with disabilities in the US. Find contact info for your state’s Disability Rights/ P&A here: https://www.ndrn.org/about/ndrn-member-agencies/
I am being told by the AP at my sons HS that he doesn’t have a case manager and his resource room teachers only responsibility is to write his iep and retract him material. She may sign his IEP goals report but a case mangers responsibilities are not the same as one on the junior high level therefore she is not responsible for communicating with his teachers, she is not the main contact and his teachers don’t have to notify her or communicate with her because it’s high school not jr high? What are a case managers responsibilities on the high school level and who is the case manager?
Case manager is not a concept in IDEA rules. Your state may have this position in their rules. The basic issue is whether the school is addressing his needs & providing FAPE. You may need to get information & guidance from your state parent training and information center. http://www.parentcenterhub.org/find-your-center
Last school year, my childcare manager only contacted me once through the school year and that was to sign the paperwork for his IEP. I have been told by other people that this teacher isn’t even qualified to be an IEP case manager. How do I find out if this is true?
How do I find out who my IEP case manager is? I called the school to ask and they said that there is no assigned case worker and that those are pretty rare? But I read online that if you have an active IEP that there is a case worker and it should be listed on your paperwork. I have read my paperwork and I don’t see a case worker listed anywhere. Any direction would be really appreciated 🙂
The case manager should either be the person listed as the special educator or local educational agency (LE) representative. Contact that person.
Vanessa –
You can always request a change. But personnel decisions are generally left to the discretion of the school.
I was hoping you could help me in what I can do if the school is not helpful. I was told i can file a complaint with EEOC. Its is complicated because the teacher is also the IEP case manager. My son is so upset hates school crying. I am worried for his emotional wellbeing.
I’m having the same problem with my son, he is in high school and refused to go to his intervention class because of the teacher, and he is on a IEP and I asked the principal if we could put him in another class she she said the IEP was done so he was stuck in ISA everyday ( in school suspension) and he failed the math class because he said the teacher picked on him and nobody did anything
Get an advocate and call for another IEP