All students with disabilities are guaranteed a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) by the federal education law, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Case law has added other assurances, such as the guarantee that students should be educated in the least restrictive environment with nondisabled peers as much as possible and that their IEPs should be reasonably calculated to enable the student to make progress appropriate in light of their unique circumstances.
And do you know who enforces these guarantees???
No One.
For real. No one.
Technically, the states are charged with upholding IDEA. State Departments of Education are responsible for supervising school districts and ensuring that all children with disabilities receive a free appropriate public education. So how do they do this? Well, in my state, the PDE performs audits over a six-year cycle. And in theory, it is a thorough process. But there are 500 school districts in Pennsylvania as well as 160 brick and mortar charter schools and 14 cyber charter schools serving over 1.7 million students. And if about 19% of those students receive special education services, that's 323,000 IEPs. So when your school is audited every six years, does the state audit each active IEP in your district? Umm, no. Definitely not. They audit a relatively small sample and that's it. The last time my district was audited the state pulled ten IEPs to review. The likelihood that your learner's IEP will ever be audited is pretty slim.
There are no other 'quality assurance' systems in place. No committees exist to review every student's IEP to make sure they at least check all the boxes. No one is coming in after each IEP meeting to ensure that the team has agreed on an appropriate IEP that meets all the learner's needs.
No One is going to make sure that your child has an appropriate IEP, that they are receiving services in the least restrictive environment, or that they are making progress appropriate in light of their unique circumstances.
Except You.
If your child's IEP does not address all of their academic and functional needs, it will not change unless you intervene.
If your child's IEP calls for a restrictive environment with which you disagree, it will not change unless you intervene.
If your child is not making progress or even regressing, it will not change unless you intervene.
If literally anything is wrong, it will not change unless you intervene.
Now don't get me wrong. I'm sure there are instances where teachers or administrators have recognized an issue, called an IEP meeting with the parents, and collaboratively resolved whatever the problem was. I haven't personally seen it, but I need to believe that it happens.
What I do see happen is usually some version of the following... Parent feels something is not right. Parent talks to school. Parent feels good about conversation. Time passes. Parent realizes nothing has changed. Parent complains to school and is more direct than before. Parent feels their message was understood and believes this time things will get better. Time passes. Parent realizes again that still nothing has changed. Frustrated and having lost a lot of time, parent begins to search for answers/ resources/ help. By now they feel anger and distrust toward their school team and guilt and shame thinking they have failed their child.
Please note- I truly believe no one goes into education to harm children or, by extension, their parents. But it happens. And I don't have data for this, but I think so much of it comes from 1). poor communication, 2). a lack of following correct procedure, and 3). a lack of follow through.
So, what are the top ways to "police" your learner's IEP and counteract those three things above?
Counteract Poor Communication with Everything in Writing All the Time. Communicate what you think your learner needs in writing. Recap IEP meetings and phone calls in writing. Note what agreements the team came to, where there is disagreement, and why in writing. Share all written communication with the team every time. Examples-
"Hey, thanks for the phone call, Mrs. Principal. Just following up to document our conversation. You informed me that... And we agreed to..."
"Hello Team, prior to the IEP meeting I sent my Parent Concerns letter requesting an increase in speech therapy. This was discussed during the IEP meeting and the school team disagrees because..."
"It was nice to see you at pick up today, Mr. Teacher. Thank you for letting me know about..."
Why are we doing this???
Written communication to the school team gives them an opportunity to clarify any misunderstandings, which do happen! Many times, teams believe they are on the same page when they aren't. Consistent written communication is a great way to counteract that.
The other reason to put everything in writing all the time is to create a record. This record will help you keep your timeline straight and can serve as 'proof' during any future disagreements.
Counteract a Lack of Following Correct Procedure Using The Prior Written Notice. In Pennsylvania we commonly refer to the PWN as the NOREP (Notice of Recommended Educational Placement.) This document is where schools commonly fail to follow correct procedure. A NOREP should be issued by the school every time they propose to or refuse to make changes to your child's IEP. See picture below for all the reasons the school should issue a PWN. And if they are refusing to make changes, they must provide a cogent explanation why. What I'm saying to you here is- when the school says "no" to something you believe your child needs, they should be documenting that in a PWN/NOREP. And if they do not, then you request (in writing!!) that they do so.
Counteract a Lack of Follow Through by Monitoring the Progress Monitoring. Your school should share IEP Progress Reports at least as often as they issue report cards to all students. These progress reports should give you actual data on the progress your learner is making on their IEP goals. You must pay attention to this. I repeat...
YOU have to do this! If you don't understand the data or the goal, keep asking questions until you do. I have seen kids master goals in a month and no one said a word to the parent until the annual review. I have seen goals carry over from year to year with no progress and no apparent conversation about revising the IEP. When stuff like that happens, it is a huge problem! If you aren't getting IEP progress reports at report card time, email the team and ask for it. If the report doesn't make sense to you, email the team and ask for clarification. If the report makes it seem like one or more of the goals have been mastered, email the team and ask for an IEP meeting to revise the goals. If it seems like no progress or less than expected progress has been made on one or more of the goals, email the team and ask for a meeting to discuss. Sure, the responsibility to stay on top of appropriate progress lies with the school, but YOU are the one IEP team member who is consistent year over year over year for your learner. YOU are the historian who understands the background of your child. YOU are the expert. So when something doesn't seem right, you absolutely should be asking questions. You are the IEP Police.
Okay, so....
What if talking at the IEP table and all the 'policing' you do as listed above seems to get you nowhere? Well, again, it's up to you to intervene. No one else is going to be monitoring the situation. IDEA is a complaint-based statute. If you do not exercise your dispute resolution options, I can promise you nothing will change. Options that exist include a facilitated IEP meeting (not available in all states), mediation, or a due process hearing. Additional options to consider include filing a complaint either to your state department of education or to the Office of Civil Rights. Dispute resolution options are not fun but are sometimes necessary. With active parent participation and parent 'policing' as listed above, it can help stop issues before they begin or resolve issues before they snowball. No one else can do it, except you.
With Love, Light, & Gratitude,
Janell
P.S. Need a hand getting started or feeling overwhelmed and want someone to walk you through it? I can help! Check out my packages and schedule your free initial consultation with me.
Comments