In the NYC schools, can you hold over a special education student for missing more then 120 days of school?

Question

I am a first year teacher and my administration is saying that just because they are special education they have to be promoted to the next grade. I don't believe it's right to pass a student on to second grade when they weren't here for first. This child is a very low student who in my opinion would benifit from repeating the grade. Thanks for your help!

Answer 1

Regardless of what state you are in, the federal law called the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) must be followed.  IDEA indicates the IEP must meet the unique needs of the child.  If holding the child back is appropriate to meet the unique needs of the child, not only can it be done, it MUST be done.  IDEA trumps any school district's written policies or procedures.  

Pete Wright is one of the most famous special education attorneys.  Here is a link to his information on retention:  http://www.wrightslaw.com/info/retain.in...

Research shows retention is generally not a good idea.  Perhaps a one-to-one aide to facilitate remediation is appropriate for next year...?  I have seen children make 2 1/2 grade levels of progress in one school year with a good one-to-one.  I would also explore writing an attendance goal into the IEP.  Explore the reasons for the retention.  This may be best in a one-on-one conversation with the parent.  I have seen many, many parents stop taking their kiddos to school because their children have been bullied or other safety-related reasons.  If this is the case, a Safety Plan can be written into the IEP so the child is never left unattended/unobserved.

Answer 2

only if the IEP allows for excessive absences.....it shoudl be written in if he is subject to teh attendance policy......thre needs to be a valid reason...

Answer 3

That would only happen if there were something written into the IEP to override the state's attendance policy.  This typically only happens for health or mental health issues and in those cases they usually recieve some homebound services to keep up with their work for the days they miss.

Answer 4

it may depend on what the IEP says.  It is possible to promote or graduate on successful completion of the IEP goals and objectives.  Sounds like this kid needs a goal on attendance.