Barb: I have an 8 year boy with Down Syndrome. Immediately after his IEP meeting I was told the school wanted to put him in a different school, but same district, because they were changing the programming at his current school. This would take him out of his neighborhood school which he has been attending since kindergarten and also separate him from his brother who is a year behind him in school. We do not agree with this also because the new placement would be in a room with kids who have a lot of behaviors and my son already is in need of quiet one-on-one to learn. Can the school district do this without our consent?
We just went through this in our school district. I feel that my child’s Social/Emotional section of her IEP was ignored during redistricting. It specifically states that my child has difficulty with transitions. The principal, staff, and psychologist all said that it would not be in her best interest to redistrict. I was told by central office that if her accommodations could be met at the new school then she had to go to the new school and my psychologist can not tell the district how to make placements. Yes, the physical accommodation can be met, but that is not the only part to an IEP, Can the district or schools pick and choose which sections that they want to honor of the IEP. Hundereds of SpED students were forced to transition
The IEP team should be the one deciding if a change is appropriate to meet her needs. You may need to get the state education agency involved.
The district is taking the position that the 2 classrooms are similar enough that this is just a change of location and not a change of placement. In such cases parent consent is not needed. The state education agency or a hearing officer would have to rule whether the district is correct. You can still challenge the appropriateness of the class, because of your child’s need for a quiet calm environment.