Laura: I have joint legal custody with my ex. Recently we haven’t agreed on the placement of our 2nd grade daughter. She was in SDC until this year when she was mainstreamed. She doesn’t have an aide yet in the classroom. We just met for a conference and she’s above benchmark on 12 of her 13 academic goals. Teacher and RSP said they want us to consider a blended program at another school! Ex agreed with them and undermined all we had previously agreed to. I’m nervous they want to move her to another school for SDC they are recommending and that ex will agree. She lives with me physically 85% of the time. I primarily do hw with her. I am nervous that my rights, and hers, will now be ignored. What do I do?
You need to learn your state education laws/rules regarding joint custody. Check the state education agency’s website. Your state Parent Training & Information Center can assist you. http://www.parentcenterhub.org/find-your-center/ You could also google something like joint custody & making sp ed decisions in (X state).
This is left to states to address. Your state parent training & information center can assist you with your state rules on this. http://www.parentcenterhub.org/find-your-center/
You may want to consider modifying the custody arrangement. Note that even if you end up with sole custody, she can still spend 15% of her time with her father — but the school decision making would be simplified.
yes, this would be ideal. I left a message with my family law attorney. Not sure how likely it is for a judge to take my ex’s educational rights.
If you feel daunted by the idea of researching this, you could go straight to the state ed office that watches over special ed in your district. Tell them your concern and let them pore over the regs and policy to see if it’s according to Hoyle.
I agree. Elementary school teachers often fudge grades.
Performance on annual district benchmark assessments, and state assessments, can be helpful things to look at.