PK4 IEP slot

[Anonymous]

Our son has an IEP, but was waitlisted at for all of the PK4 schools in our area. When we were going through the IEP process with early stages they mentioned that schools hold some slots for kids with IEPs and that there was a separate process to request those seats if you don’t get a lottery seat. Has anyone done this process before and if so can you share how it worked (and any tips/advice you may have for it)? He is currently in a non-DCPS school but we were really hoping to switch over to DCPS so services can be provided directly at school.

[Anonymous]

Yes, dcps is required to find you a spot that can implement the IEP. Contact the special ed central office

[Anonymous]

Your Early Stages coordinator (the person you have been in touch with around the IEP) should be able to update you on where they can offer your child an "early stages" placement. Follow-up with them. If the IEP determined that a gen-ed classroom is a good fit, you can also stay on the waitlists for the schools you chose, and accept a spot at one of those should one become available later.

[Anonymous]

Do your own research and ask to observe any suggested placements. Also, look at the special education staffing via the FY26 budget worksheets to see how well resources they are. For example, some schools only have part time OT and SLPs and some have full time dedicated positions. This can indicate how stingy they will actually be with services.

Also, for you and others, don’t go to Burroughs with an IEP. There are several special education families having very awful experiences there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, dcps is required to find you a spot that can implement the IEP. Contact the special ed central office

No, contact early stages.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Your Early Stages coordinator (the person you have been in touch with around the IEP) should be able to update you on where they can offer your child an "early stages" placement. Follow-up with them. If the IEP determined that a gen-ed classroom is a good fit, you can also stay on the waitlists for the schools you chose, and accept a spot at one of those should one become available later.

They should start with your local IB school - any placement other than your IB they are required to provide transportation.

[Anonymous]

Can anyone who has been through this process shed light on how long it took? Our early stages case manager is not super responsive and is very reticent to give a timeline.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do your own research and ask to observe any suggested placements. Also, look at the special education staffing via the FY26 budget worksheets to see how well resources they are. For example, some schools only have part time OT and SLPs and some have full time dedicated positions. This can indicate how stingy they will actually be with services.

Also, for you and others, don’t go to Burroughs with an IEP. There are several special education families having very awful experiences there.

This is untrue. My school has a full time OT and another we share. We also have 2 full time SLPs but they aren’t included on the budget as they are based on need and are ‘central office’ staff- regardless if they are there everyday.

[Anonymous]

Did you decline a spot last year? My son was offered a placement as soon as he turned 3 so they could implement the IEP. I find it odd that early stages wasn’t communicating with you about this long before PK4.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do your own research and ask to observe any suggested placements. Also, look at the special education staffing via the FY26 budget worksheets to see how well resources they are. For example, some schools only have part time OT and SLPs and some have full time dedicated positions. This can indicate how stingy they will actually be with services.

Also, for you and others, don’t go to Burroughs with an IEP. There are several special education families having very awful experiences there.

This is untrue. My school has a full time OT and another we share. We also have 2 full time SLPs but they aren’t included on the budget as they are based on need and are ‘central office’ staff- regardless if they are there everyday.

What school is this? Would be helpful to know an example of a school that may seem better resourced than they appear on their budget — perhaps this school is better at advocating to central office than others.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do your own research and ask to observe any suggested placements. Also, look at the special education staffing via the FY26 budget worksheets to see how well resources they are. For example, some schools only have part time OT and SLPs and some have full time dedicated positions. This can indicate how stingy they will actually be with services.

Also, for you and others, don’t go to Burroughs with an IEP. There are several special education families having very awful experiences there.

This is untrue. My school has a full time OT and another we share. We also have 2 full time SLPs but they aren’t included on the budget as they are based on need and are ‘central office’ staff- regardless if they are there everyday.

What school is this? Would be helpful to know an example of a school that may seem better resourced than they appear on their budget — perhaps this school is better at advocating to central office than others.

No, I am saying speech pathologists and occupational therapists are NOT on any school’s budget. You must ask the school. So my school has MORE resources than what is shown on our budget.

You may look at the number of specialized supports such as special education teachers and mental health professionals but this doesn’t mean they actually were able to hire all supports. Which again you’d have to ask the school directly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do your own research and ask to observe any suggested placements. Also, look at the special education staffing via the FY26 budget worksheets to see how well resources they are. For example, some schools only have part time OT and SLPs and some have full time dedicated positions. This can indicate how stingy they will actually be with services.

Also, for you and others, don’t go to Burroughs with an IEP. There are several special education families having very awful experiences there.

This is untrue. My school has a full time OT and another we share. We also have 2 full time SLPs but they aren’t included on the budget as they are based on need and are ‘central office’ staff- regardless if they are there everyday.

What school is this? Would be helpful to know an example of a school that may seem better resourced than they appear on their budget — perhaps this school is better at advocating to central office than others.

No, I am saying speech pathologists and occupational therapists are NOT on any school’s budget. You must ask the school. So my school has MORE resources than what is shown on our budget.

You may look at the number of specialized supports such as special education teachers and mental health professionals but this doesn’t mean they actually were able to hire all supports. Which again you’d have to ask the school directly.

Apologies let me add, it’s not just about advocacy. It’s about the number of sped students. Some schools are stingier with hours than others. So even if the school says they have 2 they may still be stingier with hours to keep hours manageable for staff. This is not the case with my school but it may be in the future with some complaints from some staff.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Did you decline a spot last year? My son was offered a placement as soon as he turned 3 so they could implement the IEP. I find it odd that early stages wasn’t communicating with you about this long before PK4.

If OP wasn't doing Strong Start/Early Intervention, and didn't engage with DCPS about PK3, they might not have been on Early Stages's radar.

OP, re: timing, it depends on both what type of classroom your child needs and where there is space. If your child needs a self-contained classroom, that might take longer to place, vs. if they will be in a gen-ed PK4 class. And as PP said, they will start with your in-bound ES, and then go from there. You can see the SPED feeders for dif types of classrooms here: https://dcpsspecialed.wixsite.com/home/self-contained-feeder-patterns

[Anonymous]

Note families don't have choices on where a full-time IEP is implemented. Placement is arranged by schools with space for your child in the program AND proximity to your home. This is not so much a lottery situation as it is a special education placement for kids who need full time learning support.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do your own research and ask to observe any suggested placements. Also, look at the special education staffing via the FY26 budget worksheets to see how well resources they are. For example, some schools only have part time OT and SLPs and some have full time dedicated positions. This can indicate how stingy they will actually be with services.

Also, for you and others, don’t go to Burroughs with an IEP. There are several special education families having very awful experiences there.

This is untrue. My school has a full time OT and another we share. We also have 2 full time SLPs but they aren’t included on the budget as they are based on need and are ‘central office’ staff- regardless if they are there everyday.

What school is this? Would be helpful to know an example of a school that may seem better resourced than they appear on their budget — perhaps this school is better at advocating to central office than others.

No, I am saying speech pathologists and occupational therapists are NOT on any school’s budget. You must ask the school. So my school has MORE resources than what is shown on our budget.

You may look at the number of specialized supports such as special education teachers and mental health professionals but this doesn’t mean they actually were able to hire all supports. Which again you’d have to ask the school directly.

Apologies let me add, it’s not just about advocacy. It’s about the number of sped students. Some schools are stingier with hours than others. So even if the school says they have 2 they may still be stingier with hours to keep hours manageable for staff. This is not the case with my school but it may be in the future with some complaints from some staff.

OTs and SLPs aren’t in school budgets, but SWD teachers & SPED coordinators are.