A special needs child kept asking that my son be put in his class. This went on for years and I didn't know for years. The other mother let it slip in conversation that for 4 years they had requested the match up. I did not like that the other child/family had sway over my child's class placement.

It's a tough spot for parents & school. I know my son was a friendly face for the child and frankly as an average student, the grouping would not have been entirely a mistake - however, it left me uncomfortable that maybe he wasn't meeting his full potential. When I found out I insisted on a change. Makes me think random assignments might be the better way to go.

Good to know that what appears to have been placement of all IEP kids in a particular classroom is worth questioning. As I mentioned, it did not work well for my IEP non-disabled daughter, even though I see the administrative efficiency and understand it has worked well for others. The school actually changed her teacher right before school started. I found out others with an IEP were also moved to the same teacher. I'm sure there were other factors in play as well but near the end of school a couple of us parents questioned whether it worked for our girls. I am not saying that disabled or GT kids shouldn't receive resources, and I certainly what my daughter to be inclusive. It just didn't work for us last year.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is the madison center?

A separate building of about 40 kids adjacent to Madison High in Vienna.

Other than that, a huge mystery. We had no honest answers for why our DC was placed in there. We THINK it is due to severe behavioral issues and severe handicaps.

Other than that, an administrator there will tell you that "wonderful things are happening there." This is highly debatable.

Correction **We THINK the Center is for those wth severe behavioral issues.

Anonymous wrote:What is the madison center?

A separate building of about 40 kids adjacent to Madison High in Vienna.

Other than that, a huge mystery. We had no honest answers for why our DC was placed in there. We THINK it is due to severe behavioral issues and severe handicaps.

Other than that, an administrator there will tell you that "wonderful things are happening there." This is highly debatable.

What is the madison center?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Schools can actually get in a lot of trouble for grouping children with IEPs together in a class. It is a very bad sign of a backwards school system if this happens. It is not ok and it should not happen.

If you are bothered by your child being in the same class as children with disabilities, move to a private school. Federal laws say that my kid is equal to yours and deserves the same education.

Well our school has been doing it forever and nothing has happened yet. Might want to check your source.

They could be in violation of Least Restrictive Environment. It depends on the mix and how they go about it. It makes no sense to group children with unrelated special needs into the same class. Plus, just because nothing has happened yet, does not mean what they are doing is in compliance with the Law. I have had a child with an IEP for over ten years and every year there was at least one thing that was violating IDEA and FAPE. Filling a lawsuit takes quite a few resources -time money and energy- at a time where parents need to spend that time, talent and treasure on the needs of their children. Most parents try to get as much as they can and supplement the rest (or just live with it). Schools count on that.

Wow, Madison High School in Vienna should be looked at, if this is the case. The Madison Center, what a sad place.

LRE does not mean all students should be included in the general education classroom. The Madison Center is the LRE for some students. The OP was not asking about programs like the Madison Center nor about students who qualify, based on their individual needs, for a program the Madison Center provides. The OP was asking about students who are mainstreamed in a general education classroom.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Schools can actually get in a lot of trouble for grouping children with IEPs together in a class. It is a very bad sign of a backwards school system if this happens. It is not ok and it should not happen.

If you are bothered by your child being in the same class as children with disabilities, move to a private school. Federal laws say that my kid is equal to yours and deserves the same education.

Well our school has been doing it forever and nothing has happened yet. Might want to check your source.

They could be in violation of Least Restrictive Environment. It depends on the mix and how they go about it. It makes no sense to group children with unrelated special needs into the same class. Plus, just because nothing has happened yet, does not mean what they are doing is in compliance with the Law. I have had a child with an IEP for over ten years and every year there was at least one thing that was violating IDEA and FAPE. Filling a lawsuit takes quite a few resources -time money and energy- at a time where parents need to spend that time, talent and treasure on the needs of their children. Most parents try to get as much as they can and supplement the rest (or just live with it). Schools count on that.

Wow, Madison High School in Vienna should be looked at, if this is the case. The Madison Center, what a sad place.

At our school both my children have been in classes that have a full time teacher and a full time special ed teacher. Both my kids have IEPs and I've been very open about it and have served as my school rep on the county wide Special Ed PTA, so many parents who wouldn't otherwise talk about it talk to me - so I know many kids with IEPs. My observation has been that they group many of the kids who have IEPs that require less rigorous classroom accommodations - things like redirects, reminders, special seating, movement breaks, opportunities to have written items read aloud, opportunities to have teachers act as scribes - as opposed to full on pull out, academic or physical services in the class with the second special ed teacher. These less rigorous accommodations can, and are, managed by classroom teachers often, but if you have several kids with these types of issues, it often helps to have a second full time teacher to assist.

Often these students have IEPs with things like "15 minutes of classroom support per day related to writing anxiety" or what have you, and that can easily be accommodated for many SpEd kids with a special ed teacher who is already in the room to assist. Even with all these things that the special ed "second teacher" is working on, he or she usually also has other time to assist other neurotypical children in the class. Yes, first priority needs to be meeting the IEP requirements, but if there are no IEP requirements to meet at that second, there's no reason you can't also be taking a minute to help clarify a math issue for John or help Jane with editing her writing.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have gotten to know many of the parents of kids with IEPs-sometimes even when we are waiting in line at back to school night to chat with the special ed teacher. My child's grade is crawling with kids with IEPs. I thought my kid would be one of the only ones in the grade level. They have to spread them out because otherwise you'd fill a class with just kids who have IEPs even though these particular kids don't need a self-contained classroom. Oh and the class would be 75% male if you grouped them all together.

Do all the IEP kids get a para? I'm a PP and I was just referring to the kids who get a shared para in the class (not kids who get pull-outs.) At our school there are definitely only a handful of kids per grade who get the one shared para.

But apparently, AAP kids do.

Anonymous wrote:I'm in Loudoun. My son's school definitely doesn't group all the SN kids into the same class. I know two kids with IEP. They are in different classes.

I'm guessing depends on the size of the school. I'm in Loudoun too and we only have one class with an aide. Does your school have two classes per grade with a full time aide per class? Not all IEP's provide the student with an aide. Depends in the IEP.