Our school divides the intervention specialist’s time for each class period between 2 classrooms. The specialist is only working with my child for half the class period. Or, the specialist divides her time by spending only 2 days a week in a class.
My daughter is not getting the full benefit of the help outlined in her IEP.
Does the school district have full discretion with the schedule or are they required to provide a certain amount of time in each class?
Your child’s IEP drives the services.
- What does the IEP say?
- How are the services outlined?
IDEA requires specific information about the frequency, duration, location, and projected dates for services be included in the IEP.
US Department of Education published a Model IEP Form that provides the format to record required information about services.
The frequency and duration of related services should be specific, not state as a range.
Does your child’s IEP include?…
- the date the service will begin
- the number of times per day or week
- how long, how many minutes, the service will last
- where will it be provided
- the date the service will end
Requirements for Statement of Specific Services
Learn what IDEA and the Federal Regulations (34 C.F.R. 300.320(a)(7)) require for statement of specific services in the IEP.
Turn to Chapter 4 and Chapter 5 in Wrightslaw: All About IEPs.
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The school says they don’t have the amount of special needs kids to warrant a full classroom period of help.
Note: Services are not based on “what the school has,” but on your child’s individual needs.
From Chapter 5, refer to Appendix A from IDEA 1997, Question #35.
The amount of services to be provided must be stated in the IEP, so that the level of the agency’s commitment of resources will be clear to parents and other IEP team members. A range may not be used because of personnel shortages or uncertainty regarding the availability of staff.
Tara, contact your local legal services or child advocate, get them on board and have them contact the superintendent. You can also contact directly but having a 3rd party do it, goes further. Or tell principal that you will sue them individually, and the school system and that you will contact the local press before filing. And follow through. Document all calls, paperwork, any and every thing. Give your child a cell phone and have them record bully and photograph bully every time they come near your child. Visuals are wonderful!
i am mostly disappointed in the reading program in which they use. My son is dyslexic yet they have him in a reading program for ELL. Complete waste of time, energy and early discovery. The district prefers to watch and see if he fails first instead of using the right program.
Try having your daughter on a IEP for seven years and then call the school to find out she’s been taken off without your permission. Yes this happened to my daughter I found out by her OCCT test scores. She had scored unsatisfactory. I contacted the school five times demanding that should be put back on her IEP to be told she didn’t need to be on one because she had all As and Bs. I was even told no by the assistant Superintendent. My daughter is in 8th grade and will probably fail the eighth grade reading test and that will affect her getting her drivers license later, among other things. Going to contact a lawyer since my rights have blatantly been violated!
Getting the services specified in the IEP is the actual problem. I spent 5 IEP meetings just trying to get specific services written in on the IEP correctly – to no avail. The school systems want generalization because it doesn’t hold them accountable.
The school district my son is in is giving him the bare minimum of his speech services. He has two audiologists who stated in their reports that he needs more 1 on 1 speech therapy but they are not granting him the services because they don’t see or have experienced the changes of speech.
what can i do to enforce the added speech services?
My son’s school is trying to expel my son who is disabled with an IEP for standing up to the bully who they turned their heads to every time my son tries to report the behavior. The principal refuses to discuss any IEP or bullying concerns with me. My son is in 3rd grade and attends elementary in California. I feel helpless because I dont know where to start to defend my son and get him the services and education he deserves.