BASIS under federal investigation

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Reality check:

Most of the schools in DC can't fully accommodate the needs of kids WITHOUT disabilities, let alone those WITH disabilities.

I think there are far bigger fish to fry in the DC school system than beating up on some charter.

True, but the kids with disabilities are mandated protection under IDEA, federal law, from certain types of incompetence. Thus all the investigations and Feds swarming over BASIS.

Don't forget DCPS and the way they handled SNs was under the oversight of a federal judge for a number of years b/c of their failure to follow IDEA.

[Anonymous]

The new kid on the block gets all the scrutiny. Always the same story around DC, whenever a high-profile, promising new school opens, they get dogpiled, history repeating itself over and over again in this city, they certainly aren't the first charter to get this kind of attention. But, like the others that ran this same gauntlet, I have no worries that they will come out of it unscathed.

If anyone cares about equal protections under the law, then there's a whole bunch of other schools in the district that should be getting the same scrutiny, as opposed to just singling out the latest newcomer.

And if anyone is worried about equal protections under the law then why aren't ALL kids mandated the same protection?

Anyone have a coherent answer to that question? Or are we just so enamored with our flaky, lopsided system that we are too apathetic to bother ever changing anything?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A federal investigation isn't a matter of belief, if the Feds say they are investigating, they are. Whether or not the charges have merit will be determined by the Feds. I would wait and see what happens.

BTW, several friends have been thrilled with DCPS services for their children who have needed testing and IEPs. Trying to get a test and results from our DC charter was entirely a pain, prolonged, difficult and a ton of work on our end. Friends in Arlington have to fight tooth and nail for their DC's IEP services and have heard mixed reports about MoCo PS's service. Just can't tell.

This is entirely anecdotal and speculative.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And (pp here) I take the very good point made above that, legally, BASIS is a public school district in itself. I still think functionally, however, that is not true. BASIS is just a school. Not that that will help in a court of law.

No, it's very true, and BASIS knows this. BASIS knows it's both a school system AND a school. Just like DCPS, just like Two Rivers, just like Latin, BASIS has to comply with the rules and regulations set forth by OSSE--the state superintendent of education for the District of Columbia. AND as a charter school, they have to comply with the rule of the DC Charter School board. BASIS has known all along that they are accountable as a school system.

TR and Latin haven't been fabulous at dealing with IEPs, either.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Reality check:

Most of the schools in DC can't fully accommodate the needs of kids WITHOUT disabilities, let alone those WITH disabilities.

I think there are far bigger fish to fry in the DC school system than beating up on some charter.

True, but the kids with disabilities are mandated protection under IDEA, federal law, from certain types of incompetence. Thus all the investigations and Feds swarming over BASIS.

Don't forget DCPS and the way they handled SNs was under the oversight of a federal judge for a number of years b/c of their failure to follow IDEA.

DCPS still has a lot of problems. But I guess the strategy is to deflect attention to someone else rather than fix the problem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What about the other charters?
We transferred from another "well-regarded" charter.
My child had an IEP but nothing was implemented and two whole years were completely wasted.
How come no one investigated that?
At BASIS, he learned more in a few weeks than the past two years.
There were bumps and difficulties, and we had to change his English teacher, but overall it was a much better experience.

The truth is half the schools in the city should be investigated. Many charter, Two Rivers among them, skirt, evade and do everything they can to undermine the IEP process.

If you have problems with TR "undermining the IEP process" report them to the PCSB. Looks like PCSB takes complaints seriously.

How do you know? Do you really have any idea of the PCSB's underlying politics or personality dynamics? Since this board is anonymous, I don't take anything here seriously.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree that all schools should not be forced to accommodate if they have special accelerated programs that cannot function with accommodations. IDEA gives you the right to an equal education in general, not at a specific school or program.

That said, if the Feds are investigating I bet they have some serious evidence. Like a document or witness discussing getting rid of IEP students.

But what you need to understand is that each charter school is its own "school system." And by law, each public school system MUST provide a free and appropriate education to its students whether or not they have an IEP. BASIS is a both a school AND a school system. Two Rivers is its own school system with a middle and lower school within. Latin is its own school system with one school within it. Capital City is its own school system with an upper, middle and lower school within it. And DCPS is a school system. It has many, many schools within it. Fairfax County Public Schools is a system that has about 200 schools in it. All of these public school systems have to provide for their students. If they can't, then they are responsible for contracting out to a school that can.

So no, it's not okay that BASIS as a school system accept public money and but not have to comply with the rules that every single school system has to comply with. If you don't want to teach students with special education needs, then become a private school and take no public funding. Or take the public funding and hire staff to provide the education. Or take the public funding and contract out to another school where the child can be educated.

Stop right there.

That statement is an utter and complete nonsense. They are most certainly NOT a "school system". They are PART of a school system - which includes DCPS and DC Public Charters. They are just one among dozens and dozens of schools in the system that any prospective student in DC can pick from, each having it's own strengths, weaknesses and specializations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And (pp here) I take the very good point made above that, legally, BASIS is a public school district in itself. I still think functionally, however, that is not true. BASIS is just a school. Not that that will help in a court of law.

No, it's very true, and BASIS knows this. BASIS knows it's both a school system AND a school. Just like DCPS, just like Two Rivers, just like Latin, BASIS has to comply with the rules and regulations set forth by OSSE--the state superintendent of education for the District of Columbia. AND as a charter school, they have to comply with the rule of the DC Charter School board. BASIS has known all along that they are accountable as a school system.

TR and Latin haven't been fabulous at dealing with IEPs, either.

And you know this because??? And please define what it mean to not have been "fabulous." Do you mean that they are missing legally mandated deadlines? Not including appropriate signatures? Having meetings without due notification to parents? Using IEPs that are out of compliance? These were some of the charges again BASIS.

Or are you just throwing out something provocative based on gossip to see if it sticks to the wall? Remember, just because a parent doesn't like the way things are happening at a school does not mean the school was being improper with an IEP.

[Anonymous]

Signatures? Notifications? Deadlines? Sounds to me like the majority of the "problem" at BASIS is with the paper chase. Sounds easily fixable.

Sheesh, from all the hype and hysteria around here, one would have thought they were duct taping SN kids to the wall and flogging them with wet cabbage leaves or something.

Guess I'll go find some other more salacious thread. This one's boring, you've spoiled all the fun.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And (pp here) I take the very good point made above that, legally, BASIS is a public school district in itself. I still think functionally, however, that is not true. BASIS is just a school. Not that that will help in a court of law.

No, it's very true, and BASIS knows this. BASIS knows it's both a school system AND a school. Just like DCPS, just like Two Rivers, just like Latin, BASIS has to comply with the rules and regulations set forth by OSSE--the state superintendent of education for the District of Columbia. AND as a charter school, they have to comply with the rule of the DC Charter School board. BASIS has known all along that they are accountable as a school system.

TR and Latin haven't been fabulous at dealing with IEPs, either.

And you know this because??? And please define what it mean to not have been "fabulous." Do you mean that they are missing legally mandated deadlines? Not including appropriate signatures? Having meetings without due notification to parents? Using IEPs that are out of compliance? These were some of the charges again BASIS.

Or are you just throwing out something provocative based on gossip to see if it sticks to the wall? Remember, just because a parent doesn't like the way things are happening at a school does not mean the school was being improper with an IEP.

I know because my DS had an IEP that was completely mishandled by two Rivers and because my SIL has a DD with an IEP that was fumbled by Washington Latin.

It's not gossip. If you knew many families from TR or WL, you'd hear the same stories over and over again.

You can misread, misinterpret or deny reality as vehemently as you like, but if you knew what goes on with actual families in DC, you'd know that widespread dissatisfaction exists for both schools. Hell, you can even read it on DCUM every week.

But, hey, stick your head in the sand and trivialize other parents's legitimate grievances if it makes you feel better. You'd do it anyway.

[Anonymous]

And yes TR didn't give us sufficient advanced written notice of meetings, missed deadlines, caused delays, and just generally went with the same old "It's not us, it's you" B.S. Then, we leave and guess what? The family down the street told us the same story, as did the family at DS1's new school and DS2's new school. All of us on separate occasions were repeatedly told that the other families were happy. Then, we all started leaving in droves. Suddenly, TR's CAS scores take a dive. You don't think that's an accident, do you? It's directly caused by many of us voting with our feet.

But then you can just write it all off as anecdotal if you like.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And (pp here) I take the very good point made above that, legally, BASIS is a public school district in itself. I still think functionally, however, that is not true. BASIS is just a school. Not that that will help in a court of law.

No, it's very true, and BASIS knows this. BASIS knows it's both a school system AND a school. Just like DCPS, just like Two Rivers, just like Latin, BASIS has to comply with the rules and regulations set forth by OSSE--the state superintendent of education for the District of Columbia. AND as a charter school, they have to comply with the rule of the DC Charter School board. BASIS has known all along that they are accountable as a school system.

TR and Latin haven't been fabulous at dealing with IEPs, either.

And you know this because??? And please define what it mean to not have been "fabulous." Do you mean that they are missing legally mandated deadlines? Not including appropriate signatures? Having meetings without due notification to parents? Using IEPs that are out of compliance? These were some of the charges again BASIS.

Or are you just throwing out something provocative based on gossip to see if it sticks to the wall? Remember, just because a parent doesn't like the way things are happening at a school does not mean the school was being improper with an IEP.

This. Please tell me what other schools have had the Feds investigate? Please tell me what other charters were "dogpiled." I am not sure how this is history repeating itself. TR was subject to a lawsuit by the crazy Cluster parents. Appletree had location problems. But those were all private-- never the Feds coming in. Besides closing schools with financial issues, when has the PCSB investigated a school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree that all schools should not be forced to accommodate if they have special accelerated programs that cannot function with accommodations. IDEA gives you the right to an equal education in general, not at a specific school or program.

That said, if the Feds are investigating I bet they have some serious evidence. Like a document or witness discussing getting rid of IEP students.

But what you need to understand is that each charter school is its own "school system." And by law, each public school system MUST provide a free and appropriate education to its students whether or not they have an IEP. BASIS is a both a school AND a school system. Two Rivers is its own school system with a middle and lower school within. Latin is its own school system with one school within it. Capital City is its own school system with an upper, middle and lower school within it. And DCPS is a school system. It has many, many schools within it. Fairfax County Public Schools is a system that has about 200 schools in it. All of these public school systems have to provide for their students. If they can't, then they are responsible for contracting out to a school that can.

So no, it's not okay that BASIS as a school system accept public money and but not have to comply with the rules that every single school system has to comply with. If you don't want to teach students with special education needs, then become a private school and take no public funding. Or take the public funding and hire staff to provide the education. Or take the public funding and contract out to another school where the child can be educated.

Stop right there.

That statement is an utter and complete nonsense. They are most certainly NOT a "school system". They are PART of a school system - which includes DCPS and DC Public Charters. They are just one among dozens and dozens of schools in the system that any prospective student in DC can pick from, each having it's own strengths, weaknesses and specializations.

No, you need to stop right there. If you notice, I put "school system" in quotes because that's in essence how they operate. Actually the technical term is Local Education Authority. Each charter school is its own Local Education Authority (LEA). DCPS is one LEA. And each charter, regardless of how many schools are within that charter, is considered one LEA. That means that each LEA has to provide a free and appropriate education for its students for any student with an IEP. It doesn't matter if the child is in a tiny charter, a charter with 6 campuses or DCPS with over 50 campuses. If that LEA cannot provide the free and appropriate education at its campus or at one of its campuses, then it must make arrangements with another public or private school.

As for choosing which school, actually that depends on where one lives and a lottery. I can move right across the street from Latin, but that does not guarantee I can go there. And I can live in Dupont Circle, but that does not mean I get to attend Lafayette ES simply because I want to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:And yes TR didn't give us sufficient advanced written notice of meetings, missed deadlines, caused delays, and just generally went with the same old "It's not us, it's you" B.S. Then, we leave and guess what? The family down the street told us the same story, as did the family at DS1's new school and DS2's new school. All of us on separate occasions were repeatedly told that the other families were happy. Then, we all started leaving in droves. Suddenly, TR's CAS scores take a dive. You don't think that's an accident, do you? It's directly caused by many of us voting with our feet.

But then you can just write it all off as anecdotal if you like.

Will do!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And (pp here) I take the very good point made above that, legally, BASIS is a public school district in itself. I still think functionally, however, that is not true. BASIS is just a school. Not that that will help in a court of law.

No, it's very true, and BASIS knows this. BASIS knows it's both a school system AND a school. Just like DCPS, just like Two Rivers, just like Latin, BASIS has to comply with the rules and regulations set forth by OSSE--the state superintendent of education for the District of Columbia. AND as a charter school, they have to comply with the rule of the DC Charter School board. BASIS has known all along that they are accountable as a school system.

TR and Latin haven't been fabulous at dealing with IEPs, either.

And you know this because??? And please define what it mean to not have been "fabulous." Do you mean that they are missing legally mandated deadlines? Not including appropriate signatures? Having meetings without due notification to parents? Using IEPs that are out of compliance? These were some of the charges again BASIS.

Or are you just throwing out something provocative based on gossip to see if it sticks to the wall? Remember, just because a parent doesn't like the way things are happening at a school does not mean the school was being improper with an IEP.

.
Yu Ying did

This. Please tell me what other schools have had the Feds investigate? Please tell me what other charters were "dogpiled." I am not sure how this is history repeating itself. TR was subject to a lawsuit by the crazy Cluster parents. Appletree had location problems. But those were all private-- never the Feds coming in. Besides closing schools with financial issues, when has the PCSB investigated a school?