Thank you PP. I read about the mediation option for due process and in our state once an agreement is reached you are not allowed to speak about the issue ever again. Given how inept/ egregious these concerns are about the restraint, I am not really comfortable limiting my ability to provide testimony or even speak publicly in the future.

I will go back and look for a way to file a general complaint.

A state complaint is when you write a complaint letter to the State Education Department. Unlike due process, you don't need a lawyer and there is no hearing. A state official investigates and makes a determination. I don't think it has the same binding authority as due process, but districts usually obey it.

Another option you could consider is mediation. This is before formal due process. You meet with a neutral 3rd party and try to work out a settlement. I recommend you bring a lawyer, but I don't think it's required.

OP here- I think I’ve gotten myself all confused between complaints and due process. That is what I get for spending too long on the state dept of education websites.

To get the educational record updated I have appealed the decision of the LEA (school prinicipal) to decline to amend it. We are meeting Monday about this. If he still refuses, I believe that I have to go to due process where I have a choice between a hearing and mediation. There may be an interim step in there where I go to the head of our district’s special education department.

But the state complaint process seems like it should be separate. Since my son was unsafely restrained and his IEP was completely ignored during his meltdown, what type of complaint is that?

I just want to say that filing a state complaint is a lot easier than I thought it would be. I thought it would be difficult and burdensome and a hassle. It really wasn't. If I'd known how easy it was, I'd have done it a lot sooner. I've filed 2 complaints for 2 different kids and a civil rights complaint. I am what the school system has made me. Go OP!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My CPI training was a while ago, but I was not trained to pin anyone’s legs down. Maybe I only got some of the training but my assistive hold was two people -one on each side - holding arms and using it to carry to safe space. Not to pin down.

Same here. Technically, in a good hold while sitting on a bench maybe, the kid probably isn’t able to kick.

No, sitting while restraining a child is also unsafe.

Anonymous wrote:I'm a CPI trainer. There are no holds that are done with a person on the floor. If a person falls to the ground, unless it's a place where lying on the ground poses an immediate safety concern (e.g. in the middle of the street with oncoming traffic, or on the floor of a burning building), you disengage and back off. If they stay on the ground then they aren't hurting you, and the reason for the hold is gone. If they stand up and reengage in aggression you make the decision as to whether a hold is needed or the situation can be managed in another way.

Was either of the people with hands on your child CPI certified?

The school is not answering my direct questions about this. They keep saying the plant engineer is on the crisis response team. Our advocate has not been able to independently verify the CPI status of the team.

OP here- yes we have been taking an advocate with us and we have gotten a lot done on the IEP front. But for some reason the principal is balking at updating the document with a more complete/ accurate description of what happened.

And since the document will be part of my child’s educational record we aren’t comfortable with that. The description is currently so bad that if you read it you would think my child charged and attacked the grownups when they entered the room. When actually he repeatedly retreated and tried to get them to leave him alone.

So I have notified the principal of my formal request to amend this educational record since the incomplete information renders it inaccurate and misleading. He wants to have a meeting as a next step and we will. Depending on how that discussion goes we will have to see if we go to a due process hearing next.

I expect that’ I will have to file the state complaint. I know they are all hoping that if they do a good enough job supporting my child that I will let this go. But the same assistant principals are still on my son’s crisis response team and I want a paper trail of their actions.

Another concerned parent here. Do you have an educational advocate or attorney you can take with you to the next meeting? My child is at A Special Ed school and I’ve seen them using CPI and it does not look like this.

Anonymous wrote:My CPI training was a while ago, but I was not trained to pin anyone’s legs down. Maybe I only got some of the training but my assistive hold was two people -one on each side - holding arms and using it to carry to safe space. Not to pin down.

Same here. Technically, in a good hold while sitting on a bench maybe, the kid probably isn’t able to kick.

You may have to get a lawyer to help you with the inaccurate report of the incident. I am wondering if it's a violation of FERPA.

"As a parent, you have the right to review your child's education records and to request changes under limited circumstances."https://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/brochures/parents.html

I would absolutely not let that record stand as is!