Shelly: If I have a student with an IEP that says they are required to have an one on one aide and they are placed into my art room without an aide, can I demand that the aide be present in order to be in my room? Sometimes I will have up to four very low functioning students in my room without the IEP required aide. Is this legal?
Please help. School has decided that my son needs a 1:1 aide or he cannot be in the general education classroom. However school refuses to hire one so that they do not have to mainstream him with his non-disabled peers. They flat out will not hire anyone because they don’t want to take money from the General Education kids who will do things with their lives. In their mind my child is not going to amount to anything. What should I do?
I suggest contacting your state parent training and information center. They can help you understand your rights and options in dealing with this. http://www.parentcenterhub.org/find-your-center
Is it legal? I don’t know. I see this more at the middle and high school level when parents are not as involved. When I was an para, this occurred a lot or I would have to care for several students while the other para(s) were out to lunch or covering other students. School districts play a game with spreading paras too ‘thin.” Safety issues were my concern. Parents are not aware that their children in these classes (art, gym, music, etc.) may not have their aides with them. Try talking to the case manager–if that helps. If not, I have seen teachers get very creative with accommodations to service the students when there are no aides.