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Special Education and Due ProcessMar 23 '08 Write an essay on this topic.
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The Bottom Line Do your homework. Document everything. Don't be intimidated. Get copies of everything and get everything in writing. Most importantly, don't expect the school to help when you go to due-process.
First a little background. We recently changed school districts and even before we moved the new school wanted to take our son out of his LD school and put him in the public high school. Our son his 17 yrs old and has severe disabilities including daily seizures, MR and autism. They want to take away all that is familiar to him and put him in a small classroom (not safe for his seizures) with people that are not familiar to him and an environment that is not familiar to him. We had three meetings about his placement and when I officially declined the new placement they, withing the hour, started the ball rolling to take us to court for a due process hearing. We don't actually get a decision until March 28th, 2008, but I wanted others who might not be familiar with this to know a little about what they can do. If you're reading this you probably have a child with a disability or know someone who does. Almost everyone has heard of an IEP. That's where it starts. As a parent, you don't have to agree to everything on the IEP. You know your child best and sometimes need to fight to get what he/she needs. First, you need to document EVERYTHING. Whenever you go to meetings take precise notes. If they have to wait for you to write everything down, then make them wait. It's best to record meetings, then there is no question to what was said. You just need to let them know ahead of time that you will be recording the meeting. This is very important in case it ends up in due process. Don't rely on the schools notes. The ones we got didn't even make sense. They had half sentences and incomplete thoughts in them. But do get a copy of theirs also. Either the parent or the school district can file for due process. Usually the person challenging the IEP has the burden of proof. Either way, you want to present your case as if you have it. Very important: The school will not tell you everything you are required to do during the process and can get you on technicalities. (So we learned the hard way). Whenever they submit something (ie:summary judgment) you need to respond to it. As soon as you find out who the hearing officer will be, you want to do some research on them. Look up case laws that they have done before to try to get an idea on what they look for. (ours liked to see that parents tried to work with the school system in the past). An invaluable resource is www.wrightslaw.com. Try to find similar cases to your own on there also, you'll need that to help with your case. I've read of some cases where the hearing officer didn't like that there was so much evidence to read through. I tried not to duplicate anything the school district submitted. (Easier to do when they submit their's first and you have a copy of it to go on). Get expert witnesses. People who know your child well, therapists, Dr.'s, any evaluations you've had done. The school has all kinds of resources so it's a lot easier for them to get their list of people together. Be familiar with the IDEA regulations and the regulations from your state. You can usually find those online or through your state library. I found that the people at the state library were extremely helpful and pointed me to other information that I could use. It may help to watch the video Surviving Due Process to get an idea of what it will be like. They will probably have that at the library. Depending on your child, you may or may not want to bring him to the hearing. It usually lasts at least 2 full days or more. The Hearing Officer doesn't usually like it when you bring them because they think it's for sympathy. You can video tape your child so they know who your child is. That he's not just a SPEDIS number, but a real person. Just don't make it too long. You may have to argue to get the tape in because the school won't want to have it shown. Just remember that whatever you submit, whether it's allowed or not, the hearing officer will have seen it. Most of the time if the parents represent themselves, they will lose. Not always, but chances are slim unless they really know what they're doing. If you can, you need to get a lawyer or an advocate. An advocate doesn't go to the hearing with you, but they are extremely knowledgeable about special education and can be an invaluable resource. If you can get one of each, even better as long as they work together. Because lawyers are so expensive you may only be able to afford an advocate, but keep in mind that they have a lot of knowledgeable friends and connections. Other resources that may be helpful are: Department of Education Disabilities Rights Center Parent Information Resource Center Governors Council on Disability Rights Civil Rights Center Any organization that specializes in your child's disability You can find their contact info online. Each state may have different organizations or different names. These are one's I used in NH. If someone can't help you, ask for a name or number of someone who can. A lot of times they can point you in the right direction. You may want to enlist the help of everyone you can. It's a stressful and time consuming process. The paperwork alone is so time consuming. Even if you have a copier, you may want to sent it to Staples or Kinko's to have all your evidence copied. You need to have 4 evidence 3 ring binders. (For you, the HO, the school, and the witnesses). Everything needs to be marked as Parent Exhibit # and each page must be numbered to make it easier for everyone to find. I hope that this was helpful, but I also hope that nobody who reads this needs any of this advice. What it comes down to for the school district is money. They can't say that, but that's all it is. You know your child best and sometimes the school does a wonderful job. Unfortunately, that's not always the case. Some children do well in a public school, others don't. If you're looking for the "Cadillac" program, you will lose if a Chevy will get you there. Unfortunately your child isn't entitled to the "best" program but only the "appropriate" program.  |
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