New here- IEP help

[plutosmoon]

Hi there, I'm new and I could use some IEP help. My daughter in 4, turning 5 in September and has ASD, speech disorder and sensory processing delays. For 2016-17 she attended a full day pre-k program in our district, all the kids in the class had some sort of IEP and it was the first time the district offered full day pre-k for 4 year olds. She had attended a half day program for three year olds in the prior year through the school district. My daughter was the only student in the class who would not be transitioning to K for 2017-18 due to her birthday just after the cutoff for K, we figured 3 years of pre-k and were given every indication there would be a full day option for her for 2017-18. She had significant improvements in this setting.

Come May, the district decides to only offer half day pre-k for 2017-18, so I called an IEP meeting, since I didn't think it would be good for her to reduce from full day to half day, and she does not specifically have extended day listed in her IEP, only extended year. We have an IEP meeting in late June, where the teachers brought up they had been fighting to get her into K since she had done so well in pre-k with the 4/5 year old peers, the suggestion was 2 years of K. We received approval from the superintendent and Director of special education shortly after this meeting and her IEP was amended to include wording about additional social emotional support in K. K transition is specifically mentioned in the IEP amendment I signed and returned. I've talked to my daughter about this change and she is excited. We submitted her registration in July.

Today we received notification that since she misses the cutoff she cannot attend K in the fall due to school board policy. I'm still fuzzy on how the superintendent approves this and it then isn't allowed. Needless to say I am quite frustrated, since the option offered was to attend the morning and afternoon sessions of the pre-k, they repeat the same curriculum in morning and afternoon, I do not think this is a great option, as she is going to ask why they are doing the same thing twice in a day after doing things very differently last year and over the summer. I've asked for meetings to see what can be done, but I want to come prepared.

My question is since the IEP amendment specifically talks about K, do we have the right to say they follow the amendment and send her to K? I keep finding info about stay put rights, but I don't think that applies, since she actually isn't in K, but could it apply to full day pre k? I am pretty sure IEPs are legally binding, so don't they have to follow this unless I agree to change?  I live in a very rural area, so options are few and far between, but there is a private pre-k at my work, can I ask they send her there since it is a full day program and they aren't really offering that? Can they simply tell me they made a policy error so the amendment isn't valid, too bad so sad here's your option? They've been so easy to work with up to now, and have really given her everything we have asked for, so I don't even know how to approach this or what the best option is. Sorry this is so long, I appreciate any insight! 

[auntie]

Jul 18, 2017 19:53:40 GMT -5 plutosmoon said:

Hi there, I'm new and I could use some IEP help. My daughter in 4, turning 5 in September and has ASD, speech disorder and sensory processing delays. For 2016-17 she attended a full day pre-k program in our district, all the kids in the class had some sort of IEP and it was the first time the district offered full day pre-k for 4 year olds. She had attended a half day program for three year olds in the prior year through the school district. My daughter was the only student in the class who would not be transitioning to K for 2017-18 due to her birthday just after the cutoff for K, we figured 3 years of pre-k and were given every indication there would be a full day option for her for 2017-18. She had significant improvements in this setting.

It's great that she made progress under her IEP last year. I think this is one of those situations where you need to be mindful of the end game and the goals for your DD five years out. Do you anticipate her educated in a self contained setting through elementary school or do you anticipate mainstream with supports and services by the primary grades? 

Come May, the district decides to only offer half day pre-k for 2017-18, so I called an IEP meeting, since I didn't think it would be good for her to reduce from full day to half day, and she does not specifically have extended day listed in her IEP, only extended year. We have an IEP meeting in late June, where the teachers brought up they had been fighting to get her into K since she had done so well in pre-k with the 4/5 year old peers, the suggestion was 2 years of K. We received approval from the superintendent and Director of special education shortly after this meeting and her IEP was amended to include wording about additional social emotional support in K. K transition is specifically mentioned in the IEP amendment I signed and returned. I've talked to my daughter about this change and she is excited. We submitted her registration in July.

Today we received notification that since she misses the cutoff she cannot attend K in the fall due to school board policy. I'm still fuzzy on how the superintendent approves this and it then isn't allowed.

It could be that your state has mandated cut-offs for public school entry that are beyond your district's control. I can see where that would be disappointing, but I don't know that you are going to win this one. The district can invoke the "least restrictive environment" wording of IDEA to argue for a half day preschool setting with same-aged peers unless they are a rare district that offers a universal full-day pre-K for all kids her age. 

Needless to say I am quite frustrated, since the option offered was to attend the morning and afternoon sessions of the pre-k, they repeat the same curriculum in morning and afternoon, I do not think this is a great option, as she is going to ask why they are doing the same thing twice in a day after doing things very differently last year and over the summer. I've asked for meetings to see what can be done, but I want to come prepared.

The offer of full day via a morning and afternoon session surprises me. This is more often a kindie hybrid- mornings getting special education services and afternoons in a mainstream kindie to practice skills taught in the morning with the goal of mastery of those skills in a natural setting. The thing is, they don't even have to offer pre-K in servicing her IEP at a Pre-K age unless they offer universal pre-K. It's all about the services in her IEP. They could legally offer the services in a private program for which you pay tuition  where you find a school willing to accept her that will allow the SLP and OT to come to her. (TBH, this is less likely in a rural area) Or they could offer the services at a local elementary and you would deliver her there for her speech and OT minutes. 

The language of idea speaks to "appropriate"; you will not prevail if you try to argue full day is "better" or "best" for her. So long as her benchmarks and goals are individualized and there is sufficient time in the instructional day to get in her service minutes, you won't likely win this battle. 

IMO, sending a child with autism to kindie early is probably a terrible idea unless there is no other way to get her services. ASD is a developmental delay that impacts social and emotional maturity; even absent an intellectual disability kids with ASD have a delay that puts them at about 1/2 to 2/3 their chronological age in these areas. At four, in a class with other kids who are atypical and impaired enough to have been identified as needing special education services, this isn't going to be as obvious a gap as it will in a few years. Especially if you see her as potentially being served in general education at some point. 

My question is since the IEP amendment specifically talks about K, do we have the right to say they follow the amendment and send her to K?

Depends on the laws in your state.

I keep finding info about stay put rights, but I don't think that applies, since she actually isn't in K, but could it apply to full day pre k?

Full day isn't a support or service, so probably not. Stay put generally is invoked to keep a service or a setting- like if a district wants to reduce minutes in speech services or take a para away from a student.

I am pretty sure IEPs are legally binding, so don't they have to follow this unless I agree to change?

IEPs are binding, but they can be re-opened and amended by the CSE with proper notifications at anytime. And of course it would not be legally binding if they were illegal in the first place. Your state DOE could help you clear this up. 

I live in a very rural area, so options are few and far between, but there is a private pre-k at my work, can I ask they send her there since it is a full day program and they aren't really offering that?

Here's the thing- unless they are offering full day pre-K to all the kids in your district, you don't have a leg to stand on. They have to offer her services like speech or OT, but they do not have to offer them in the context of a free full-day preschool setting. Some districts will send professionals to deliver speech and OT in a private preschool; often there are a couple schools in the communities that do this that will allow sped services in their program. The SLP or OT will visit the school and work with a handful of kids once or twice a week. I wonder if you could arrange transportation so your DD could spend the morning in the sped pre-K and then have her bused to the program where you work to get some time with more typically developing kids. The transportation could be included in the IEP, but you'd be on the hook for afternoon tuition most likely. 

Can they simply tell me they made a policy error so the amendment isn't valid, too bad so sad here's your option?

Yep. And if you decide this is your hill to bleed on, you could end up doing irreparable damage to what should be a collaborative relationship going forward. You have as many as 18 years of working with this district ahead of you. 

They've been so easy to work with up to now, and have really given her everything we have asked for, so I don't even know how to approach this or what the best option is. Sorry this is so long, I appreciate any insight! 

It's a lot of consider. What is actually in the IEP? 

[plutosmoon]

Thanks auntie, you helped a lot and kind of talked me down, I realized I'm not nearly as educated as I should be about these things. They have always done such a great job meeting her needs, I really haven't needed to be and I realize that is not a good place to be. They really have always gone above and beyond what is "required" so when they dropped down to a more standard level, it really made me think they weren't following the rules, and I was ready to fight a losing battle which isn't good for me or my kid in the long run.

I met with the Director and he basically confirmed the superintendent didn't get permission from the school board and early K goes against district policy (there is no state wide cutoff, each town determines a cutoff). Apparently, they have never made an exception to the cutoff and the school board doesn't meet until the fall, so we are out of luck. It should never have been offered as an option. I was ready for a fight, but damn if they aren't the nicest, easiest people to work with otherwise. Even today, they were incredibly kind and determined to come up with a good solution. And as you say I do have to work with them until she graduates high school, her service minutes are being met, and she is meeting benchmarks/goals. She will be almost entirely mainstreamed and almost all her services will be delivered via push in, rather than pull out. She is only pulled for OT/PT at this point, everything else is integrated within the classroom. Her IEP minutes for everything other than OT/PT are supposed to be delivered in a peer setting (so she can practice), but they could easily get her minutes in with just a half day session. She used to be pulled for an ABA based program and SLP, but she does better receiving supports within the classroom, so these are on consult/push in in her current IEP.

Pre-K is not required in my state or district, it is just something they offer, mostly for ease of delivery of services, so you are right, I had no legs. We are going to try the two half days, she will stay at the school in between and hang with the K class during that time. This will give her both same age, older and younger peers to interact with. Ultimately, it's not my preferred option, but I have to remember neither was K. The prek classes are a mix of typically developing kids and kids with IEPs, so two sets of classrooms and more kids to interact with will give her the social development she is lacking. Her academic skills are not a concern. We will reconvene at the end of September to see how this is working. If it isn't working, we can explore other options. They actually were open to the idea of a possible private afternoon placement, but I don't know if busing her between the two locations is a great option either.

I think they feel badly about what happened, and they offering more than they would have had K never been offered to us. He was visibly upset when I said, I don't know how I will break this to my daughter. When we originally got news of no full day for next year, we were assigned to half day prek, which is what triggered this whole chain of events. The good news is everyone agrees half day only is not a good option, I just hope I'm not making a huge mistake with the two same sessions. She's extremely smart and vocal, so I know she is going to point out (loudly) they are doing the same thing, but she does watch the same tv show over and over, so maybe it won't bother her.

I wrote another novel, Ugh this stuff is hard and most days I feel like I have no idea what I am doing.