Today’s blog post is meant to be cathartic for me personally. Since I spend my days entrenched in Special Education, I have become particularly sensitive to the following pet peeves. Wikipedia defines a pet peeve as, “a minor annoyance that an individual identifies as particularly annoying to him or her, to a greater degree than others may find it.” While some of the list below consists of minor annoyances, others make me down right angry.
1. Schools don’t diagnose they determine eligibility;
A day doesn’t go by without a phone call from a parent who tells me their child was diagnosed with Autism by the School District. School District’s DO NOT diagnose rather they have determined your child is eligible for an Individualized Education Program (IEP) under the eligibility category of Autism. The only person that can diagnose your child with Autism is a medical specialist. If you have been told by the School District that your child is eligible for an IEP under the category of Autism, I highly recommend you get an assessment performed by a trained medical professional.
Predetermination means that the school makes unilateral decisions prior to an IEP meeting and then refuses to listen to parental input during the meeting. IDEA states, “(1) the parents of a child with a disability must be afforded an opportunity to participate in (IEP) meetings with respect to (i) the identification, evaluation, and educational placement of the child; and (ii) the provision of FAPE (Free Appropriate Public Education) to the child.”
3. Special Education is not a place;
Special Education is not a place but rather, it is specially designed instruction, at no cost to the parents, to meet the unique needs of a child with a disability. Special Education can happen in any environment and very often does happen in a regular classroom. As a matter of fact Special Education must be performed in the least restrictive environment which means that children with disabilities should be educated with children who are not disabled to the maximum extent possible.
4. IEP stands for Individualized Education Program not Individual Education Plan;
An IEP is defined as an Individualized Education Program not an Individual Education Plan. Why isn’t it a Plan? As the old saying goes, “plans are made to be broken!” A program on the other hand must be followed!!
5. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) was not made possible by the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA);
Although there is an interrelationship between these two laws, IDEA was not made possible by ADA nor is it administered or enforced by the same agency. The Office of Civil Rights enforces ADA as an antidiscrimination law. “The Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS), also a component of the U.S. Department of Education, administers the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), a statute which funds special education programs. Each state educational agency is responsible for administering IDEA within the state and distributing the funds for special education programs. IDEA is a grant statute and attaches many specific conditions to the receipt of Federal IDEA funds. Section 504 and the ADA are antidiscrimination laws and do not provide any type of funding,” from the Frequently Asked Questions About Section 504 and the Education of Children with Disabilities on the United States Department of Education website.
6. Medicating your child is a personal choice;
The school cannot mandate medicating your child as a condition of attendance but that doesn’t always stop them from broaching the subject in a roundabout way. Whether your child should be medicated is a personal choice that should be discussed between your family and your doctor. There are many pros and cons that should be weighed in making that decision and should not be based on pressure from the School.
7. Teachers who are told that they can’t give an F to a child on an IEP;
The Supreme Court has written that one way to determine whether a child is progressing and receiving a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) is by reviewing their grades to see if they are passing classes and advancing to higher grades. Nowhere, that I can find, does it state that a child on an IEP can’t be given an F but yet I have been told by numerous Teachers that their School Administration will not allow them to flunk a child on an IEP. The only reason I can think of for doing this, is to show progress when in reality there has been none; thus preventing a parent from requesting more services from their school district.
8. Teachers who don’t read or follow the IEP;
IEPs are legal documents that are crafted by a team of individuals after assessments are performed, goals are written and services and placement are agreed upon. Sometimes agreements cannot be reached and it is necessary for either the school or parents to file for due process or some other form of dispute resolution. This process is not easy, by any means. All of that is useless if the IEP is not implemented correctly.
9. Schools that try to limit the length of the IEP meeting;
An IEP meeting should take as long as is necessary to write a program that provides the child FAPE. This also includes the right of the parents to have their concerns heard and questions answered. If this takes longer than the allotted time then the IEP meeting should be adjourned and continued at a later date. It is not appropriate to rush through sections such as present levels of performance and goals just to finish the IEP meeting within a set timeframe.
10. Disrespect and condescension
Disrespect and condescension from anyone in the room is unacceptable. I have said this time and time again: School District employees should never assume they know what will work for the child just because they spent a few hours administering a standardized test or spent a few days doing informal observations. The parents have raised this child since birth and have valuable insight. Parents, the school district professionals are trained and knowledgeable and most likely understand many different learning strategies and methodologies. If there is a disagreement, this is why the procedural safeguards under IDEA have been established. Exercising your rights under IDEA should never be seen as disrespectful and should be handled in a dignified manner by both school and parents.
These are just my pet peeves. Share your IEP and Special Education Pet Peeves below.