New Principal dominates IEP meetings

[Anonymous]

Give me context on what motivates administrators? Is this power issue? Money/resources? Do they just not like us or kid?

IEP meeting went haywire when Principal took over and wouldn’t let staff speak.

The Principal kept citing things that were non-issues or contesting established accommodations for nitpicky things. Like the Principal wanted deny accommodations for a physical/medical disability related to a genetic condition because they “didn’t believe it. They don’t look like they have…and accommodations are disruptive to learning.”

Team of Doctors and geneticists say DD has issue…she’s getting top quality medical care. The accommodations are related to fatigue and access to medication at school nurse. (We’ve never had an issue before just send the kid to the school nurse…it’s all on file.)

What is the motivation for hostility?

Do I need an attorney?

I don’t want to send my kid to a school where basic medical needs aren’t going to be met.

[Anonymous]

Teacher of almost 20 years here. I al sick of incompetent admin on power trips, but that seems to be the direction we’ve gone. At my school, the admin have considerably less teaching experience than many of the teachers, but talk down and condescend as if the teachers are sim-witted children. Weirdly, most parents seem to assume that principals are somehow all-knowing and wise, with the best interests of all at heart. “Failing up” is a real thing in schools. I survive by keeping my mouth shut, but parents would be shocked if they saw how some admin speak to and treat staff.

[Anonymous]

Some of it is you are being lumped in with parents that are extremely demanding and difficult to work with. It stinks and isn’t fair but sometimes the assumption is you are high maintenance and hard to work with by default until they get to know you.

[Anonymous]

who cares what the motivation is, you need to be sure your child's needs are met. I would send an email to the entire team stating that despite principal's statement that he doesn't believe your child has a need based on his observation of her personal appearance, she has medical documentation and receives medical treatment and her IEP is based on same. And that you expect IEP to continue and do not agree to any changes to existing IEP.

And then, yes, get a lawyer who specializes in this area at least for a consultation. Hopefully you won't need him/her but the principal sounds like an idiot, so you might.

[Anonymous]

Sorry you have to deal with that. You might want to email the principal and ask why is it that he believes your child doesn’t have this medical condition and if he could again explain why he feels accommodations are disruptive to learning. You want to come across as friendly and naive because you want the principal to admit this in an email.

After you get back proof in an email you then need to end an email to the admin who oversees the principal and the special Ed director stating that the principal is denying your child access to medication because he doesn’t believe it despite documentation from a medical team. And believes “accommodations are disruptive to learning”. The principal is not a doctor and if that is the district’s position is your child truly doesn’t have this medical condition then they need to pay for an independent medical evaluation since the principal thinks he knows more about medicine than your child’s doctors. So please give you a list of providers the district is going to pay to see ti back up the districts claim. And add that this email is also to provide notice that if your child is denied access to needed medication that you are providing notice that you will be suing for any and all medical costs and pain and suffering. Last denying needed accommodations is a violation of your child’s rights and if this isn’t immediately rectified you are filing a civil rights complaint.

[Anonymous]

Special education teacher. I would strongly advise that you contact the school district - whoever oversees the principal - and repeat these concerns, including the time and date of the meeting and everyone who attended. I would also record any future meetings with this principal.

I’m sorry this happened. You need to report to protect your child and others in the school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Special education teacher. I would strongly advise that you contact the school district - whoever oversees the principal - and repeat these concerns, including the time and date of the meeting and everyone who attended. I would also record any future meetings with this principal.

I’m sorry this happened. You need to report to protect your child and others in the school.

I agree with this teacher - do not waste your time trying to negotiate with or understand this principal, send smthg written to a superior instead.
So, write an email describing her behavior and how it violates IEP statute, regs, principles/norms, and how she went out of her lane to question, on the basis of no professional expertise, the doctor's diagnosis and assessment of impact and treatment/accommodations necessary.

Send that email NOT to the Principal's supervisor (who knows very little about special education law) but instead to the associate superintendent of special education. Close your email stating clearly what resolution you want and by asking that the ASforSE "provide support and expertise" to principal so that the school "comes back into compliance with its legal obligations under IDEA, Sec. 504, and the ADA" so that you "do not have to use our due process options."

Once you've done this, you have alerted the person ultimately responsible for special education legal compliance to an issue that is going to cause a bigger problem if they don't fix it.

[Anonymous]

I disinvited the principal from es because they were doing the same thing. I called the county person who organized and ran the meeting. I said they were not invited. If they showed up, I would stop the meeting and restart the 10-day clock. Principal don’t show and we walked away with the first IEP that for the kid in 4 years of trying. They = principal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Special education teacher. I would strongly advise that you contact the school district - whoever oversees the principal - and repeat these concerns, including the time and date of the meeting and everyone who attended. I would also record any future meetings with this principal.

I’m sorry this happened. You need to report to protect your child and others in the school.

+1 from another special education teacher. Email your regional superintendent and procedural support liaison if there is one. You can and should request a different administrator or principal designee for future meetings.

I also agree with the other special education teachers who said this happens more than it should.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Some of it is you are being lumped in with parents that are extremely demanding and difficult to work with. It stinks and isn’t fair but sometimes the assumption is you are high maintenance and hard to work with by default until they get to know you.

The above is called gaslighting. Do t fall for it.

A principal is not qualified to diagnose a child under any circumstances. You need to involve your co.pliance office and lob complaints against the principal.

[Anonymous]

I would ask where they have a medical degree from.

I would remind them decisions are made by a team.

I would most definitely notify the district office and have a lawyer on stand by bc that’s illegal and ridiculous.

[Anonymous]

YeS you need an attorney and a backbone. You are the parent, your job to say look I don’t need your opinion, show me the IEP law that says they shouldn’t get it.

[Anonymous]

Sign nothing, fight like hell.

[Anonymous]

I record meetings. I live in an area where you do not need to disclose that you are recording.
At the end of the meeting, I go home and make my meeting notes. I capture the essence of the conversation and I send them to all IEP meeting participants.
This way I am in front of them in managing the narrative. I might have some headers including key points of discussion / agreements / disagreements / next steps

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would ask where they have a medical degree from.

I would remind them decisions are made by a team.

I would most definitely notify the district office and have a lawyer on stand by bc that’s illegal and ridiculous.

One tactic I use when a particular staffer is being domineering is to ask each person at the table to state whether the agree/disagree with the proposed decision and why.

Often the IEP chair will object and say that we can't poll individuals because it is a "team" decision - then I piint out that one can't make a "team decision" without understanding what each member of the team thinks, and that I can't be a "full and equal member of the IEP team if I can't know what each person thinks individually and why so I can address those concerns.

You'd be surprised that when put on the spot, some people who would have stayed silent and let the principal get away with a wrong decision, don't feel comfortable verbally agreeing with the decision nor rationale. Then, when the decision is contested, it is on the record that the principal wasn't fully supported by the team.