Anonymous
11/13/2015 13:05
Subject: School wants to switch from IEP to 504 - help!
One thing you should watch out for is them cutting most of the services but leaving something minimal so they don't have to provide all the documentation PPs noted above.
After a full year of trying we finally got an IEP with the help of an advocate and at the one month review they slashed the whole thing so that we were only left with a 1/2 hour of push-in services every week. I blame myself for not bringing the advocate to the review.
After a full year of trying we finally got an IEP with the help of an advocate and at the one month review they slashed the whole thing so that we were only left with a 1/2 hour of push-in services every week. I blame myself for not bringing the advocate to the review.
Anonymous
11/13/2015 12:42
Subject: School wants to switch from IEP to 504 - help!
Anonymous wrote:Hi All - OP here. Thank you thank you for your help! To answer some questions, yes, we switched LEAs. I was trying to keep it simple and didn't realize that detail made a difference. We went from DC charter to DCPS. The designation on the IEP is ASD (not DD). Wrightslaw.com is my new homepage...but its a lot to weed through. I think I need to order the book. We are definitely prepared to hire an advocate if necessary, but would rather save the $$ for another date in the future (since I have no doubt this will be an ongoing issue).
It sounds like, because its a new LEA, they have the right to reevaluate the IEP and could even say he is ineligible for spec ed IF they do a re-eval. We were supposed to have the IEP meeting 30 days after he started at the school, but they instead scheduled it for mid-December. I think they are taking the time to do evals by their people. The evals on which his current IEP is based are not even a year old. I guess we'll hire an advocate. I have seen some names on the other threads. Thanks again all. Please keep chiming in if you can cite any specific IDEA stuff for me!!
They cannot do formal evaluations -- the kind that would be necessary to exit your kid from special education -- without your consent. Further, many of the evaluations can only be done once a year, per the publishers of the evaluations.
Good luck!
Anonymous
11/13/2015 12:14
Subject: School wants to switch from IEP to 504 - help!
Anonymous wrote:Hi All - OP here. Thank you thank you for your help! To answer some questions, yes, we switched LEAs. I was trying to keep it simple and didn't realize that detail made a difference. We went from DC charter to DCPS. The designation on the IEP is ASD (not DD). Wrightslaw.com is my new homepage...but its a lot to weed through. I think I need to order the book. We are definitely prepared to hire an advocate if necessary, but would rather save the $$ for another date in the future (since I have no doubt this will be an ongoing issue).
It sounds like, because its a new LEA, they have the right to reevaluate the IEP and could even say he is ineligible for spec ed IF they do a re-eval. We were supposed to have the IEP meeting 30 days after he started at the school, but they instead scheduled it for mid-December. I think they are taking the time to do evals by their people. The evals on which his current IEP is based are not even a year old. I guess we'll hire an advocate. I have seen some names on the other threads. Thanks again all. Please keep chiming in if you can cite any specific IDEA stuff for me!!
They have to get your consent for any new evaluations used to determine eligibility. Not for assessments used to determine goals, but if they're challenging eligibility, they can't proceed with evals without your consent on those, so they can't go behind your back on that front. And they still can't repeat some of the assessments, and the old assessments are still valid if within a year, so they can't just disregard. As others have suggested, I'd get an advocate now - may head this whole thing off.
interestingly, wrightslaw says moves between school systems in the same state doesn't prompt an automatic opportunity to evaluate. An re-evaluations are limited to no more than once a year (possibly unless everyone agrees otherwise, I forget). So I'm not actually at all sure they're entitled to reevaluate at this point (assuming eligibility decision was less than a year ago).
http://www.wrightslaw.com/info/iep.change.schools.htm
Anonymous
11/13/2015 11:20
Subject: School wants to switch from IEP to 504 - help!
Anonymous wrote:OP - I would get an advocate now rather than later. They absolutely could have decided to accept the evals and IEP from the previous school. Instead they want to remove the IEP altogether. A more typical approach as was mentioned above would be to chip away at service hours and build a case to remove it at the 3-year triennial.
The silver lining is that they have shown their hand now. Bringing an advocate will let them know you won't be pushed around. You should also learn a lot about the process from your advocate and maybe later you can do more of the advocacy solo.
Read the other strand about advocates in Montgomery County regarding advocate recommendations
Anonymous
11/13/2015 11:19
Subject: School wants to switch from IEP to 504 - help!
Anonymous wrote:Last year in PK-3, DS was having major behavior problems in school. He was evaluated by the school, then diagnosed with ASD by Children's, and we finalized an IEP for him for SLP, OT, PT, and behavior support. We moved over the summer and he started PK-4 in a new DCPS. He started receiving all services this school year for the first time, barely three months ago. The school has scheduled an IEP meeting for mid December and tells us that DS is doing so well that they want to drop all services except OT and move him to a 504 Plan. Of course, we are shocked and are now freaking out.
To be fair, the new school is a much better fit for DS, and we do think he is doing better. We love his teachers and they have a wonderful classroom and playground. DS is thriving. And we definitely had our doubts about some of the specialists who evaluated him before (e.g. The SLP). But we do not want to terminate IEP - just a few months in. Can't we give it at least a year? So Q #1 - can the school terminate the IEP before it hits its end date of one year? Q#2- can the school terminate without our consent? Q#3 - should we seek the legal expertise of an advocate? If so do you have recs for somebody? Thanks.
It is not legal to dismiss a child from Special Education without updated assessments.
Anonymous
11/13/2015 10:53
Subject: School wants to switch from IEP to 504 - help!
If you get to the meeting and you disagree with their evaluation, you can request that DCPS pay for an IEE, and independent educational evaluation.
Anonymous
11/13/2015 10:51
Subject: School wants to switch from IEP to 504 - help!
OP - I would get an advocate now rather than later. They absolutely could have decided to accept the evals and IEP from the previous school. Instead they want to remove the IEP altogether. A more typical approach as was mentioned above would be to chip away at service hours and build a case to remove it at the 3-year triennial.
The silver lining is that they have shown their hand now. Bringing an advocate will let them know you won't be pushed around. You should also learn a lot about the process from your advocate and maybe later you can do more of the advocacy solo.
The silver lining is that they have shown their hand now. Bringing an advocate will let them know you won't be pushed around. You should also learn a lot about the process from your advocate and maybe later you can do more of the advocacy solo.
Anonymous
11/13/2015 10:29
Subject: School wants to switch from IEP to 504 - help!
Just FYI, many of the evaluators and service providers for DCPS also work for charters who are their own LEA. This is probably why your school is so slow in reevaluating bc they could simply take the charter's evaluations if they wanted to.
Anonymous
11/13/2015 10:19
Subject: School wants to switch from IEP to 504 - help!
Hi All - OP here. Thank you thank you for your help! To answer some questions, yes, we switched LEAs. I was trying to keep it simple and didn't realize that detail made a difference. We went from DC charter to DCPS. The designation on the IEP is ASD (not DD). Wrightslaw.com is my new homepage...but its a lot to weed through. I think I need to order the book. We are definitely prepared to hire an advocate if necessary, but would rather save the $$ for another date in the future (since I have no doubt this will be an ongoing issue).
It sounds like, because its a new LEA, they have the right to reevaluate the IEP and could even say he is ineligible for spec ed IF they do a re-eval. We were supposed to have the IEP meeting 30 days after he started at the school, but they instead scheduled it for mid-December. I think they are taking the time to do evals by their people. The evals on which his current IEP is based are not even a year old. I guess we'll hire an advocate. I have seen some names on the other threads. Thanks again all. Please keep chiming in if you can cite any specific IDEA stuff for me!!
It sounds like, because its a new LEA, they have the right to reevaluate the IEP and could even say he is ineligible for spec ed IF they do a re-eval. We were supposed to have the IEP meeting 30 days after he started at the school, but they instead scheduled it for mid-December. I think they are taking the time to do evals by their people. The evals on which his current IEP is based are not even a year old. I guess we'll hire an advocate. I have seen some names on the other threads. Thanks again all. Please keep chiming in if you can cite any specific IDEA stuff for me!!
Anonymous
11/13/2015 10:08
Subject: School wants to switch from IEP to 504 - help!
Could be. But I have a hunch that it was a DC charter school just given how many services were outlined in the IEP. They tend to be more 'generous' and flexible than DCPS in the ECE years.
Anonymous
11/13/2015 09:59
Subject: School wants to switch from IEP to 504 - help!
Anonymous wrote:^^ Maybe. But she changed schools and may have changed LEAs if she moved from another district or a DC charter school to DCPS.
When you change districts or LEAs the IEP must be followed until the new school does a reevaluation.
It would be helpful if OP provided a little more detail on the move so we know what she is up against.
Yeah, but it sounds like they changed schools within DCPS so they don't even need another evaluation.
Anonymous
11/13/2015 09:52
Subject: School wants to switch from IEP to 504 - help!
^^ Maybe. But she changed schools and may have changed LEAs if she moved from another district or a DC charter school to DCPS.
When you change districts or LEAs the IEP must be followed until the new school does a reevaluation.
It would be helpful if OP provided a little more detail on the move so we know what she is up against.
When you change districts or LEAs the IEP must be followed until the new school does a reevaluation.
It would be helpful if OP provided a little more detail on the move so we know what she is up against.
Anonymous
11/13/2015 09:47
Subject: School wants to switch from IEP to 504 - help!
Anonymous wrote:Oh, and yes, do bring up that it is not an expired IEP or one even up for reevaluation and you want to keep it in place as is until it IS time for a yearly review. Honestly, you go in there LIT. "IEPs are good for a year. My son has had his for three months. Tell me why on earth you are trying to take the IEP he needs from him 9 months before it is even up for yearly review." If you can hire an advocate, that's great. If you can't (they're expensive), YOU are the advocate. Read as much as you can. Do not go in willing to back down.
IEPs are good for three yrs after which the child has to be reevaluated and requalify. By law, the IEP has to be reviewed at least once a year which usually means that new IEP goals are put in, supports and services revised if needed, etc. If the IEP is not revised annually and/or the requalification meeting does not take place in three years the old IEP has to be followed.
OP, you don't have to do anything. Tell the school that you want to keep the IEP and will not consent to change to a 504. Parental consent is the easiest way for a school to get rid of an IEP: Just say "NO."
If your child is doing well and has met all the goals in the IEP, then put in new goals.
School will only get more demanding socially as your child gets older and it will be very difficult to get an IEP if your child has good grades past K. My child with ASD/ADHD gets excellent grades without supports in third grade but he really needs the social communication supports provided in his IEP.
Keep the IEP!
Anonymous
11/13/2015 09:44
Subject: School wants to switch from IEP to 504 - help!
The big thing OP is DO NOT SIGN ANYTHING. they cannot terminate without your consent and it's imperative you do not give it.
Anonymous
11/13/2015 09:24
Subject: Re:School wants to switch from IEP to 504 - help!
Also, great, he's succeeding....has it occurred to the school that that's precisely what a GOOD IEP should look like - a kid succeeding? And that a kid succeeding is not a sign that we can pull the IEP, but that the IEP is working?
As others have said, they have to have serious documentation, including a full reevaluation, to exit him from special ed. It sounds like maybe he can't even be reevaluated yet (has it been a year since the last set)? This is particularly true when he's got the whole menu of related services - they need evaluations in each of those areas demonstrating he no longer needs that support.
Also, unless you've moved LEA's the school isn't well within their rights to reassess his eligibility- I mean, sure, a school system can say they want to do that whenever, but if you just moved from DCPS to DCPS, the eligibility decision from last year remains. And even if you moved LEAs they have to have support for finding him ineligible now - and that means new and updated evaluations, which again, it sounds like they can't even validly do right now.
As others have said, they have to have serious documentation, including a full reevaluation, to exit him from special ed. It sounds like maybe he can't even be reevaluated yet (has it been a year since the last set)? This is particularly true when he's got the whole menu of related services - they need evaluations in each of those areas demonstrating he no longer needs that support.
Also, unless you've moved LEA's the school isn't well within their rights to reassess his eligibility- I mean, sure, a school system can say they want to do that whenever, but if you just moved from DCPS to DCPS, the eligibility decision from last year remains. And even if you moved LEAs they have to have support for finding him ineligible now - and that means new and updated evaluations, which again, it sounds like they can't even validly do right now.