Are we crazy to move from NYC to DC Metro for Pre-k w/ IEP?

[Anonymous]

No. Not crazy

[Anonymous]

If you come to DC, try hard to live somewhere that you can transport your kid to school....osse transportation is very unreliable and is currently the subject of a lawsuit

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:VA schools are much better than MD.

I'd go MoCo over VA for a kid with a disability though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks for all the responses, and wow, the reviews are really mixed.

We were looking at renting inbound somewhere for DCPS (Foggy Bottom/West End/Glover Park) for Prek 3&4 so we have the flexibility to either move back to NY or find a more permanent home after 2 years, once we've had a chance to actually live in the area for a while (our mistake when moving to Westchester county was not renting first).

I'm ok to do private pre-k too, if the public school option turns out to be terrible, but we figured we'd give Early Stages a try. Our experience with the NY counterpart has been ok (they provide services, but only 1hr/week, which is far less than what our child probably needs now, especially speech).

After speaking with Early Stages, it sounds like they would do an IEP transfer with preference for whatever our inbound school would be, provided that school can meet the IEP requirements. The difference is our current program in Westchester the services must be provided by our local school, but as they don't offer pre-k, it is done at a private center, preschool or home depending on the recommendations made after evaluations.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but MCPS sounds similar to what we are working with now (?) with perhaps more funding due to being a much larger district. I'm not sure whether that translates into more/better services or outcomes, just my impression. Here, most people want to opt for the public schools due to the property taxes, being viewed as similar in quality to private. Whether or not that is actually true, I can't say.

From a lifestyle perspective, we're looking to simplify (smaller home, walkable neighborhood, access to community resources and events). We have no family here and it's difficult to make friends, people just live kind of isolated in their homes and shuttle their kids around to expensive activities when not in school. I don't want to get into that rat race (as much as possible).

I think you're going to be very, very disappointed with public school IEP services in the DMV as compared to NYS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you want to move then move. If you are moving to DC for a magic cure then you are in for a stressful and expensive disappointment.

DC metro will be more of the same. Non-public/private pay special needs schools are in the same $50k+ price range and many have waiting lists. There are less options than in tri-state area and just as high a need.

Re: assumption MoCo is better for services. It’s not (anymore). 10+ years ago yes. It’s a hot mess right now due to top leadership scandals, financial mismanagement, and changing demographics that the county/district wasn’t prepared for. Can’t imagine it’s too different on the VA side.

Probably not a magic cure, but a better option would be to move cross border to NJ and live in the suburbs. NJ has strong programs and more private/non- public options.

what does this mean?

MoCo used to be the gold standard.

[Anonymous]

OP, are you *sure* you don't have access to services in NY? My understanding was that kids who are identified by Early Stages-type programs are transitioned to free programs within the public schools when they turn three, whether or not the district has universal preK. That's what happened with my kid in New Mexico, which is not precisely a state at the forefront of education funding and policy.

In any case, this is true in DCPS, so if you move, your child will get a preK seat even though you've missed the lottery. DC's public schools are a mixed bag, but there are very good teachers and very good schools here. When we moved, we figured out our preferred neighborhood and called the local schools to see which ones had autism programs. We moved in-bound for the one with the best reputation.

The process is basically that you move, you provide the school district with your current IEP or IFSP, and they're required to follow it while they arrange a new IEP meeting (within 30 days). So if your IEP says that your kid goes to preschool and gets services, that's what DCPS has to do. The free preschool is pretty great, honestly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You would have to do the lottery for prek 3 & 4 regardless of where you live. It is very competitive and no guarantee you will get a place.

Not true. We got a placement in a mixed special needs/Gen ed classroom for my 3 yo because of his autism diagnosis and IEP. We already had the diagnosis and then went through early stages and the follow on program after 3. He was allowed to start immediately after his 3rd birthday rather than having to wait for the new school year. We have seen a lot of progress in just a few months and are very happy so far.