PG Special Ed - Dumpster Fire

[Anonymous]

I am ready to call the news and ask for an investigation. PG wants to do as little as possible and the original IEP was garbage. Has anyone’s child been served well without a fight? I have never seen anything like this.

[Anonymous]

Get an advocate. Schools fear advocates. They actually fear anyone who attends the meetings and has actually read SPED laws and regulations. The laws are actually simple and straightforward. In lieu of advocate read up on MD SPED regulations, call a meeting, cite the regulations by number. That’s how to get them to implement an IEP and write a legit IEP. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Get an advocate. Schools fear advocates. They actually fear anyone who attends the meetings and has actually read SPED laws and regulations. The laws are actually simple and straightforward. In lieu of advocate read up on MD SPED regulations, call a meeting, cite the regulations by number. That’s how to get them to implement an IEP and write a legit IEP. Good luck.

This is probably true. We’re lawyers and I wonder how much leeway we get because we make them nervous - even though we aren’t special ed lawyers or combative or confrontational. But we’re also very engaged in our kid’s IEP meetings. We show up in person, we come prepared, we ask a lot of questions, we make them explain things and don’t move forward until we understand. OP, if you don’t like the goals on the IEP, you don’t have to sign off on it. You can call and IEP meeting and ask them to change the existing goals. We worked with an advocate at one point where she taught us behind the scenes about how to read our child’s IEP and for changes to make. Going in and sounding informed I think made us seem more authoritative.

[Anonymous]

OP. Thank you. I’ve accepted that the situation is what it is. Have decided to go with a private school until we can move.

[Anonymous]

My sister eventually gave up on the fight for my niece and went private. If I didn't witness it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed it. It's an entire joke.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am ready to call the news and ask for an investigation. PG wants to do as little as possible and the original IEP was garbage. Has anyone’s child been served well without a fight? I have never seen anything like this.

It doesn't matter the school district, you have to be prepared for a fight as a special needs parent. But, yes, hire an advocate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: We worked with an advocate at one point where she taught us behind the scenes about how to read our child’s IEP and for changes to make. Going in and sounding informed I think made us seem more authoritative.

PP can you elaborate? What kind of changes to the IEP were you able to get made?

[Anonymous]

We went through something similar with MCPS, finally worked with an advocate and got a decent IEP written and then the school system didn't have the resources to implement it. We ended up transferring DS into a private focused on dyslexia for 5th.

[Anonymous]

We went through a due process hearing and proved our child did not meet any of their IEP goal…it was tough watching our child fail…but we won and our kiddo is bused from our home to Kennedy Krieger.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We went through a due process hearing and proved our child did not meet any of their IEP goal…it was tough watching our child fail…but we won and our kiddo is bused from our home to Kennedy Krieger.

Good for you!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP. Thank you. I’ve accepted that the situation is what it is. Have decided to go with a private school until we can move.

Which private school are you considering? I do not find that the private schools in pg county are any more equipped than the counties public schools

[Anonymous]

As long as the county is using that crazy person as their special ed counsel, nothing will get better. He does not operate in good faith.