Frances: My child has an educational diagnosis of YCDD. In his early childhood setting, he was in a small class of 6 students and 2 teachers. He transitioned to Kindergarten this August and was placed in a class of 24 students. He receives more than 80% of his instruction in the general education setting and is pulled out for resources for about 40 minutes daily. He is constantly eloping from the classroom and I am very concerned for his safety. I have requested that he be placed in a smaller setting, but the IEP team is telling me that they need 6 weeks of data before doing an amendment. They said federal law prevents them from changing his IEP without sufficient data. Is this true?
If you are able to get an IEP meeting quickly, great! If not, I suggest you speak with the principal ASAP about your elopement concerns. Calmly point out that if an elopement results in the child’s death or injury in traffic, it will be on the principal’s shoulders.
Personally, I think that there are very few situations which are true emergencies, but that this is one.
Also, please talk to your local law enforcement agency about getting your child one of those bracelets that make it easier to locate a lost child.
You have a right to request an IEP meeting to review and revise your child’s IEP at any time. The federal law does not specify a “time limit” for requesting a revision.
How Can I Get My Child’s IEP Changed?
https://www.wrightslaw.com/advoc/ltrs/iep_revise.htm
https://www.wrightslaw.com/blog/how-many-days-after-signing-the-iep-can-it-be-revised/
IEP Facts: Review and Revision
https://www.wrightslaw.com/nltr/15/nl.0324.htm
Go to any Wrightslaw page and type a search term like “Revising the IEP” in the google search box.
Whenever the school tells me things like what you wrote regarding the law, I ask them to provide that information to me via a letter or other legal document listing the requirements & the law. Sometimes this gets what you want faster if they are not telling the truth. I suspect they already have the information to make the determination since it is required to collect information on all students throughout the year to determine if goals are being met. I would request an IEP meeting and ask them to provide the evidence on the law they are talking about. I would put the request in writing and send certified mail with a remark that I look forward to hearing back from them in 5 business days.
While the federal law does say that decisions are to be based on data, decisions are to be based on the student’s needs. What you are being told is someone’s interpretation of the federal law. Your state parent training & information center can assist you. Khan Academy is an app where are students can learn from a wide range of subjects. http://www.parentcenterhub.org/find-your-center/
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