Why do principals seem to be against IEPs?

[Anonymous]

Can someone explain the incentives ? In the IEP meeting the one who seemed against an IEP for my child was the principal. She seemed personally irritated by it. In the body language of the teacher I could see she was afraid of saying anything that the principal could interpret as ammunition we parents could use for an IEP. She genuinely seemed scared of saying the truth and was tiptoeing and sharing nervous glances. It was a weird dance to witness.

We did get the IEP for dyslexia (the special Ed teacher was on our side + we were the annoying “rich” parents who came in with external private evaluation). I was expecting having to convince the team but I didn’t expect to feel that level of tension in the room. I could see something else was going on.

So, could teachers or people who know better on this forum explain to me the details ? What is the Budget impact for the school? What happens if they have too many IEPs? Why is it better for principals to limit them ? Do they have a specific % target ? Get penalized if too many?

Explanation I was given was : no it is not a budget issue as IEP come with Moco budget not school budget, but principal cares because the IEP tracking takes work so they want to avoid the burden on Special Ed teacher and classroom teacher if not necessary. That’s the explanation I got from the principal (which is a reasonable explanation but didn’t match the level of tension in the room)

[Anonymous]

This sounds like DC's principal. She's a scary witch and hates kids with IEPs. Heard from another parent she thinks everything is a parenting fail rather than a special need. She likes to encourage families with kids who might qualify for an IEP to leave her school. Other families described it as a counseling out that starts out as just saying it's not a good match and won't your child be happier elsewhere with more support but gets increasingly hostile if the parents want to stay in public. Most people we know left or are doing without the IEP. We are the latter.

[Anonymous]

They only want ieps that will give them money for more staff. Dyslexia is not a golden diagnosis. Pay for private services.

[Anonymous]

Principals' supervisors are looking at their IEP data. Maybe he was criticized for over identifying students. It does cost MCPS money. Sometimes they don't want to overidentify students of color, too. In the quest to not "overidentify," wealthy or informed parents often disproportionately get those plans. You have to fight at times for an IEP.

[Anonymous]

Many, but not all, kids with IEPs tend to have lower test scores which bring down the school's average. I could not believe how many families not so voluntarily left our school due to the principal once I started to check around.

[Anonymous]

Sometimes it's pressure from other families too. If it's a "perfect" school with high test scores other families sometimes do not want kids with special needs taking up their precious snowflake's teachers's time.

True story. I have actually heard this complaint from parent friends, saying their child's teacher is spending too much time with kids with disabilities in their classes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can someone explain the incentives ? In the IEP meeting the one who seemed against an IEP for my child was the principal. She seemed personally irritated by it. In the body language of the teacher I could see she was afraid of saying anything that the principal could interpret as ammunition we parents could use for an IEP. She genuinely seemed scared of saying the truth and was tiptoeing and sharing nervous glances. It was a weird dance to witness.

We did get the IEP for dyslexia (the special Ed teacher was on our side + we were the annoying “rich” parents who came in with external private evaluation). I was expecting having to convince the team but I didn’t expect to feel that level of tension in the room. I could see something else was going on.

So, could teachers or people who know better on this forum explain to me the details ? What is the Budget impact for the school? What happens if they have too many IEPs? Why is it better for principals to limit them ? Do they have a specific % target ? Get penalized if too many?

Explanation I was given was : no it is not a budget issue as IEP come with Moco budget not school budget, but principal cares because the IEP tracking takes work so they want to avoid the burden on Special Ed teacher and classroom teacher if not necessary. That’s the explanation I got from the principal (which is a reasonable explanation but didn’t match the level of tension in the room)

I don't think they are. Our principal loves IEPs.

[Anonymous]

If you are the “rich” parents in a poor school, maybe the teacher is sick of devoting resources and time to rich kids when the poorer kids need so much more?

[Anonymous]

I think it’s very school/principal/teacher specific. I’ve had 3 kids with IEPs. #1 and #2 were a struggle. My impression was the school had major special ed staffing issues. It was always a struggle. #3 began services through infants and toddlers and transitioned to an IEP in preschool so I didn’t have to fight for him to qualify in K. The school got a new principal soon after and she was much more supportive. Later there was also a new case manager who was simply amazing. #3 still has an IEP in middle school where the 6th grade case manager was stellar and went above and beyond but the document hasn’t been worth the paper it’s written on for 7th and 8th. So I really think it’s staff dependent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you are the “rich” parents in a poor school, maybe the teacher is sick of devoting resources and time to rich kids when the poorer kids need so much more?

OP here, thats a possibility. I would actually have more respect for the principal if that was the reason. That is also why i want to understand if us asking for an IEP deprives other kids. I do think that our kid needs it. It is just that we can afford to pay for outside intervention.

But i am not sure she is helping the poorer kids get the extra support they need either.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think it’s very school/principal/teacher specific. I’ve had 3 kids with IEPs. #1 and #2 were a struggle. My impression was the school had major special ed staffing issues. It was always a struggle. #3 began services through infants and toddlers and transitioned to an IEP in preschool so I didn’t have to fight for him to qualify in K. The school got a new principal soon after and she was much more supportive. Later there was also a new case manager who was simply amazing. #3 still has an IEP in middle school where the 6th grade case manager was stellar and went above and beyond but the document hasn’t been worth the paper it’s written on for 7th and 8th. So I really think it’s staff dependent.

Thanks, OP here. that could be another explanation. Not enough special Ed teachers. But thats where i am confused. Wouldnt more IEPs bring more budget at same time?

[Anonymous]

The extra money each district and school gets for kids with IEPs doesn't cover the full cost. So if your student's need will mean that the existing special ed teacher's caseload grows but there isn't enough money to hire another teacher, they would prefer to turn you down. Bonus if then you choose to go to private school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sometimes it's pressure from other families too. If it's a "perfect" school with high test scores other families sometimes do not want kids with special needs taking up their precious snowflake's teachers's time.

True story. I have actually heard this complaint from parent friends, saying their child's teacher is spending too much time with kids with disabilities in their classes.

OP here, no i dont think that would be the case in our neighborhood. Complaints that too many rich kids get an IEP versus poorer kids without advocates, yes, that could be a complaint.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The extra money each district and school gets for kids with IEPs doesn't cover the full cost. So if your student's need will mean that the existing special ed teacher's caseload grows but there isn't enough money to hire another teacher, they would prefer to turn you down. Bonus if then you choose to go to private school.

Thanks, that makes sense

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you are the “rich” parents in a poor school, maybe the teacher is sick of devoting resources and time to rich kids when the poorer kids need so much more?

And to be clear, i didnt get the sense that the teacher was against it at all. The principal was.