Reply to Including Parents in IEP Meetings

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Reply to "Including Parents in IEP Meetings"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]

The school DOES do things the way you say.  90% of meetings are scheduled perfectly during planning periods, months in advance, with parents and other specialists in attendance.  The trouble with classroom coverage comes when the parent cancels at the last minute, is late, reschedules the day before, etc--then the school has to scramble to get us all in the room at the same time.

I have stayed at school until 6 pm multiple times to hold these meetings, arranging alternate child care for my own children so that I could be present at an important IEP that we could not schedule during the school day.  For a parent willing to work with the school, who physically could not get to school between 7-3 pm, we will move mountains to make something work.

For a parent who just responds with, "Can't do 10:00 tomorrow, important meeting came up, I'll be there at noon", then yes, I'm going to be ticked off that I had to leave my entire class (filled with other children who have IEPs just as valid as your child's).[/quote]

Life happens.  People die unexpectedly.  People get sick unexpectedly.  [b]People have last minute work meetings they have to attend or risk losing their job. [/b] If your school hasn't figured out a systematic way to cope with this, it's their own fault.  Are you really telling me in the whole school, there's not one person to cover a class in an emergency?  What happens if a teacher gets ill during the day?

And, I'm not exactly sympathetic to your anger about having to stay until 6pm for meetings and having to find alternate child care.  For many of us that is a frequent reality of life.

Again, your anger speaks volumes about how you feel about special ed parents and children -- we are demanding more than is "fair", in your opinion.  [/quote]

If your job is in jeopardy because of one missed last minute work meeting, then it isn't because you miss one meeting.  [b]Parents of children with special needs often have to make adjustments in their lives and jobs to make it all work.  It stinks, but it is reality[/b].  [/quote]

[b]Exactly, which is why schools need to be more understand of parents scheduling constraints. It is difficult enough juggling work schedules when: the school calls to pick up the child early for a "bad day" (multiple times) or when they can't get the child on the bus; therapy appointments; psychiatrist and psychologist and neuropsychologist and bloodwork appointments; multiple meetings about an FBA/BIP; multiple IEP meetings in a few months' time during a rough year. This all happened in our family in a few months' time. Often the parent's schedule should be given the most deference-after all, the school staff is doing their job and being paid to attend the meeting-the parent is juggling many other obligations[/b].[/quote]

+1000 - IEP meetings that last 2-3 hours is just one obstacle for working parents.  We also have to coordinate med checks and specialists (for services the county doesn't provide) which is a drain on a family's available leave.  Also, not all jobs come with leave.  I am a private contractor so I do not get paid for hours I don't work.  Other families in MCPS, parents work more than 1 part time job which also doesn't come with leave benefits.  Whatever the situation, most parents want to be involved in their child's education.  MCPS should be accommodating and consider families individual situations for scheduling IEP meetings.  Sorry if it means school staff should be as flexible as they expect parents to be.[/quote]

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