Suzie: If a teacher disagrees with IEP placement (or lack thereof), is she/he legally required to sign it?
IEPs: IS TEACHER LEGALLY REQUIRED TO SIGN IEP
Special Education Law and Advocacy
I have been told I need to do a # year Re-evaluation for a student who I have never even see. I am a self contained teacher who just started at this school and the child is in the mainstream with pull out support. I know this is not best practice but is it even legal?
I am a second grade general education and I was told I needed to attend an IEP meeting for a student that is not in my class or in any other general education classes. Do I have to attend and sign the IEP.
Why would you need to be at the meeting. Did the parents request for you? Did you teach the child in first grade? (If you taught first grade) You need to get answers to those questions. If you never had this child you should not be going I am also wondering if his normal teacher will be there? Maybe she/he could not make it but they could just reconvene the meeting.
Yes, a general education teacher is a required participant at all IEPs whether the child is in general education or not. You are there as the knowledgeable person for grade level standards, not necessarily the particular strengths and weaknesses of the child. It should be very rare that a child does not access general education (perhaps a child with a profound intellectual disability).
Not true. A reg ed teacher is only required if the child is in, will be in, or may possibly be placed in, a regular education class. Otherwise the LEA is inviting an unnecessary person, and that is a violation of the child’s confidentiality. If the child is strictly in a special education school or program, the law requires that the child’s sped teacher and an administrator who is familiar with the student’s placement and who has the ability to make decisions be a part of the team.
Mari, I thought your answer was the correct the answer. It did not make sense to me for that teacher to be at the meeting of child she is not teaching.
You shouldn’t attend unless there is a chance that the child will be placed in your class – or if the parents have specifically requested a regular education teacher’s insight into 2nd grade curriculum or positive behavior interventions. If the child definitely won’t be mainstreamed, even partially, then a reg ed teacher isn’t needed.
Whenever one is required, it must legally be a regular education teacher “of the child.” Grabbing just any reg ed teacher to fulfill the regular education teacher requirement may actually put the LEA in legal jeopardy – they have now broken the child’s right to confidentiality. The IDEA are civil rights laws that are supposed to protect the rights of disabled students, so why would it be okay to drag just anyone to his or her’s IEP meeting?
This is different that what I have been told and I would love to share this information with my school system. Can you show me where in the regs it says this that the gen ed teacher must teach the child? I do see where I was wrong before and a gen ed teacher does not have to attend if the child is not served in gen ed, so thank you for that information.
Joannie : As Mari says – “of the child”
Check your Law Book on page 101 or page 246.
Stated in both IDEA, 20 U.S.C. 1414(d)(B)(ii)
“…regular education teacher of such child”
and the federal regulation at 34 CFR 300.321
“…regular education teacher of the child”
Keep in mind that even when a signature is not legally required, some districts have a custom of requesting/requiring signatures.
Also, I learned a technique from one of the advocate pages on Wrightslaw, if you are asked to sign an IEP that you disagree with, you can write on the IEP that you object to/reject the IEP as drafted, and then put your signature next to that statement.
No they are not required to sign it. I had a teacher that refused to sign the IEP but the remainder of the team did sign it and it was put into place.
This would depend on your state rules. Federal rules & model forms do not require signatures. Your state parent training & information center could assist you. http://www.parentcenterhub.org/find-your-center/