MamGrizzley: I would like to know, once a hearing officer rules that an IEP provides FAPE, what can I do to get anything changed in it? Do I have to go to court? What if it is accommodations, like my son should have a 1:1 with him during lunchtime? Or that the toileting protocol needs to be coordinated with home? I am Scared to death to send my son to school!
You can request an IEP meeting at any time. You might not succeed in getting the IEP changed, but the fact that you went to due process and the district prevailed does not take away your right to request a meeting, and to participate in the meeting as a full member of the committee.
You may want to consider appealing the hearing officer’s decision.
Unless the hearing decision requires some other practice, you would treat this just like you would if you hand’t had a hearing.
More or less this means… you ask the school for a meeting to review and discuss the IEP. You present the Team with your proposals for revising the IEP. You provide them with the reasons why you think this should happen (which, to be most effective, will include stuff like evaluations, doctor’s reports, school work and tests). You involve a neutral third party (like an facilitator or ombuds), if you think it will help improve relationships. You negotiate your proposals with the Team. You advocate on your child’s behalf. You use dispute resolution options (like local resolution, mediation, hearings) judiciously.