I cant find out things the school have TO DO for special ed. students.?

Question

I have a child with elipspy and narcolepsy. I dont feel the school is doing her right. Any one been in my shoes before? I could use the support. Thanks

Answer 1

Your child could qualify for services under OHI (other health impaired), but they have to meet certain critrea. Here is an example that I googled, it is for North Carolina. Some states may be a little different but not much.

Im not sure what things the district should be doing or even if your child has an IEP under OHI, but maybe it will get you started. If you child qualifies under OHI then an IEP should be in place that addresses a helth plan and or any other accomodations.

Wrightslaw.com may also be a helpful site to you.

Answer 2

www.wrightslaw.com not only has the entire IDEA law on their website, they have interpreted and placed their legal opinion as lawyers as to what it means. They have case law and other examples of how it's been interpreted. The purpose of the law states that schools MUST provide all services necessary for any child with a disability to learn in their least restrictive environment. That's what it comes down to, anyway. I have been in your shoes, I have two kids that were receiving special services, and the schools purposefully pushed us away from supports that they provided to other kids because they didn't have the time or personel to fulfill those needed services.

I'm going to edit to add in some info about 504. Since her education is being affected, then she does qualify for an IEP (for those advocating a 504) 504 only ensures ACCESS to school and programs, it does not allow for modified curricula or altered homeworks, etc. She obviously needs to have less time at school, as well as a modified amount of work. Homework should be cut down to a percentage (a friend who's son has aspergers has on the IEP that they figure out how long it takes a typical kid to do the homework, then how much work he could get done in the same amount of time)

To quote

Section 504 is a civil rights law. Section 504 protects individuals with disabilities from discrimination. Section 504 ensures that children with disabilities have equal access to an education.

Eligibility for special education and related services under IDEA (and eligibility for protection from discrimination under Section 504) is not disability-specific.

If the child has a disability that adversely affects educational performance, the child is eligible for special education services under IDEA. Children who eligible for special education services under IDEA are protected under Section 504 (but the converse is not true).

If the child has a disability that does not adversely affect educational performance, then the child will not be eligible for special education services under IDEA but will usually be entitled to protections under Section 504.

Answer 3

The schools must provide a free and appropriate education.  Of course, what that is varies from child to child.  Most of the issues you mention would seem to stem from the narcoplesy.  I am not familiar with treatments for children with it, but am guessing that for anything to change signifigantly in  school, it will have to begin with how it is being treated medically.  Aside from that, you should be focusing on accomodations in amounts of time given for completion.  You should also look at things like copies of textbooks for home, copies of all notes given in class and copies of all worksheets.  Even with these accomodations, however, your child must still follow the school rules and complete her work, tests, etc as any other child.  The being late is something you will need to address.  The school does not have to give accomodations for that.  Also, finishing work and tests are part of the process for grading.  While you can get accomodations for how long she has to complete work and to finsih work at home in the evenings, the work must be completed.  

If your daughter has not seen a sleep specialist, I would advise it.  YOu need some ideas on how to work with her disabilities and to get more information to share with the school.  In all honesty, depending on your situations financially and the regualtions for your state, you may want to consider homeschooling..this would allow you to work with her on her own schedule.  You would still have educational goals to meet, but homeschooling gives you more options about how to meet them.

Answer 4

What do you mean by thes school isn't doing her right?  Does she have learning disabilities that can be met by an IEP?  IF so, then you need to contact the special education director and see if you can set up a meeting to discuss getting an IEP implemented for your daughter.  If you do get an IEP make sure that everything you want for your daughter is spelled out clearly.

Answer 5

Does your child have an IEP or a 504 plan? If not, you need to request a domain meeting for determination of services due to your child's disabilities. If you give more information about how these disabilities effect your child, I can give you more information or resources.

Answer 6

Someone mentioned that your daughter may qualify for ESE services under Other Health Impaired (OHI), but the federal mandates are moving us away from putting kids in ESE under OHI, and the modifications/accommodations your child needs should be able to be covered under a 504 plan.

She may need allowances such as extra time on assignments, half day of school, shortened assignments, and these can all be covered on a 504 plan.

If your daughter gets an IEP it will allow her to attend ESE classes, but is that really what you want?  Unless she has severe learning disabilities or behavioral issues, she should probably be in regular classes with modifications and accommodations.

She can be excused from gym with a doctor's note if she gets tired and weak too easily, and maybe she can use this time to work in the library to make up her work, or help in a younger class or the library.

You might also consider looking into intermittent homebound services.  Ask to have a child study team meeting about your daughter, explain the situation, and request intermittent homebound services.  The doctor needs to complete certain forms, and then whenever she's absent a certain number of days a teacher will come to your house to help her get caught up.

As for the other kids picking on her, make sure the teacher is aware of what is going on and ask how she intends to handle it - she may not even know what's happening.  Also consider going in to talk to the kids yourself, explaining her conditions and how they can help her instead of laughing at her.  If problems continue, administration should be involved.

Hopefully, the doctors can work with the school and help her get the conditions under control with medication so she can eventually have more of an active life.

Good luck!

Answer 7

I would contact 1) state education agency 2) epilepsy foundations that can refer you to more resources

Answer 8

PLease go to www.schwablearning.org and sign up for free to post on their parent to parent mesage board.

There are lots of parents there who can help you.