Julie: We received written notice of the schools intention to hold an ARD meeting for my daughters IEP. Neither my husband nor I were available on that date at the stated time. I requested in writing a different time for that day or any other day that same week or the following week.
The special education coordinator responded saying that my daughters plan expired thus the meeting had to happen prior to that date. I reiterated our flexibility for any other time and asked why the plan expired, since we had written her most current plan only 6 months ago. It should be good through May 2017, I stated in my written message.
I received no answer to my question about the expiration, however, the special-education Coordinator sent over a number of other dates into mid January. I responded with the specific dates that work for both my husband and me.
Yesterday, I received a phone call that the team had held the ARD meeting without me and my husband on the original date and time which we had stated was unacceptable because we could not attend. They did modify my daughters IEP.
However, since we were not in attendance, we could not waive the five day wait therefore we have five days from yesterday to dispute the IEP. Unfortunately, they will only release the IEP to us via mail which will likely take longer than five days.
What are my options to dispute and file a grievance about how this was handled?
Technically, they can hold the ARD meeting without the parents in attendance. However we did state our intention to attend and requested that the time be changed, which they did not accommodate.
I’m facing a similar situation. Our son has had a dedicated parapro for 3.5 years. Our son is going blind so his para has a special set of qualifications and on the job training. However, without our consent, or a meeting, they began to require the para to serve another child at another school for 1 hour per day. They are trying to say as long as someone is available for my son, it doesn’t have to be his regular para. What’s the point of a dedicated para if that’s true? Can someone advise me about this?
I suggest requesting a meeting with the special ed director. They may or may not know about or agree with this. You can request an IEP meeting then, if you feel it is needed.
Schools can hold an ARD/IEP meeting without parents when they cannot get the parents to participate, which is not the case here. You can inform the special office in writing that you disagree with the meeting being held without you, & the decision, & you are requesting another meeting before any changes are implemented. I work with the TX parent training & information center, & can assist you. cnoe59@hotmail.com
Help!
I had a similar situation happen to me; meeting held WITHOUT consent! I communicated to the SPED teacher when I was available. She “acted” as if she understood, but when I get the paperwork to the annual ARD, it shows a meeting was held a few days BEFORE my meeting with her. She even lied about the attempts she reached me and stated that I gave consent to proceed on his ARD paperwork (all lies)!
What can I do about this?
You can write a letter to the principal & special ed director. I suggest focusing on the fact that you wanted to attend the meeting, but you were not aware of the exact date it was held. Ask for another ARD/IEP meeting & give the days & times that are good for you. Go to the meeting with your written concerns, questions, etc. You could include this in your letter. I work for the TX parent training, & information center. You can find our staff in your area by going to http://www.prntexas.org.
Thanks for the information. I will reach out to the SPED director of the district.
Is there legal recourse for the SPED teacher’s actions (meeting with out consent)?
You could make a written complaint to the principal, & special ed director, but it is not likely that you will ever know what actions they might take. Complaints about educators can be made to the certification department of the state education agency, but it is unlikely that they would take action for this type of incident, but it would be on record.
Chuck,
Why wouldn’t the agency take any type of action against the Special Educator? She flat out lied to Vonetta. It seems to me that some type of action should take place.
To me, the agency would see it as one person’s word against another, unless there was written documentation, or verification by a witness. Also the belief is strong that it is best for actions to be taken at the district rather than state level as much as they can.