Is anyone familiar with IEP laws and regulations?

Question

I live in Ohio (I'm not sure if the laws vary between states.) I have a 15 year old (10th. grade) stepson who has an IEP. The school has become very lazy about keeping his father informed about his grades. The only time the school communicates with us is through progress reports and report cards. The grades keep getting worse by the semester, and I'm afraid he's going to fail. Isn't it the school's responsibility to conform to his learning needs? Isn't that the whole point of the IEP? Is his failing the 10th. grade illegal? How can I address this matter and to whom? Thanks to anyone who has any information.

Answer 1

Ah, a tricky question.  The post about there being federal mandates concerning special education law is correct; however, there are a lot of variables state by state.  Federal law mandates the parents be notified about IEP progress when other students receive report cards.  Each state or even district decides how that looks.  Progress is always marked on the goals, but you may or may not receive extra information.  

Each state varies by how they do report cards as well.  In many places, special education students are held to the same grade-level standards as regular education students as far as report cards go.  That may mean that your son is getting poor grades if he doesn't do all the assignments or tests exactly as the other 10th graders do.  In some places, the special education teacher may give grades for content material (science, social studies, algebra, etc.) if, and only if, s/he is "highly qualified" to do so as required by No Child Left Behind.  In that case, your son is held to special standards determined by his disability.  You need to find out which standards his is being held to and who is assigning the grades.  

High school is a special case, because of the diploma.  Some people get mad if a special ed student doesn't get a diploma, and some people get mad if a special ed student gets the same diploma as regular education students.  In many states there are different diplomas for different ability levels.

Answer 2

For a child with an IEP plan, the school only has to give progress reports to parents at least as many times as regular kids get theirs. If they want to give more they can, they don't have to.

So what you need to do is write and request an IEP meeting to discuss the issues. Before the meeting

1) Make a list of all problems

2.) make a list of what school should be doing (on the IEP plan)  that they are not doing

3) make a list of what YOU think will help your child.

Take all this to meeting and give a copy of all these to head of meeting to be added to childs permanent educational files.

In this meeting, all these things need to be disscussed. Whatever is in the IEP plan now to help the child is either

1)not working or 2) the school is not following the IEP plan and doing what it says

In this meeting, changes need to be made to the IEP plan. Get rid of what is NOT working and add what WILL work.

I don't know if it's illegal for a child with an IEP plan to fail a grade, but it should NOT be happening. This is what an IEP plan is for.

There is more legal steps that should be followed, so if you need help email me  [e-mail]

Answer 3

Special Education laws are federal, not state mandated.  Each state may have different terminology, but the laws are the same nation wide.  No, it is not illegal for him to fail a grade.  The school is bound by the IEP, but I have never seen one which states the student will not fail.  It all depends upon the needs addressed at the annual meeting between teachers, administrators, and parents.  You can request more frequent communication with teachers than progress reports and report cards.  Have the student take a weekly planner to school and arrange for each teacher send home either daily or weekly notices in the planner.  Notes can be simply assignments missed, grades for the week, and assignments due.  The student would likely be responsible for making sure the teachers are given the planner and you could sign and return it the next day.  The person to address is either the school counselor or the director of special education in your county school district.  You do not have to wait until the annual meeting to ask for additional assistance.

Answer 4

If he already has an IEP then a parent needs to speak up and ask for whatever it is that he needs to be successful. You can't really expect the school to just offer because this will rarely happen. A special ed student needs the extra support which is why they have the IEP in the first place.

Answer 5

Special Ed laws are federal. They do not vary among states.

And failing is not ilegal if he's recieving the accomodations for his disability and the school is able to legally and sufficiently prove that he's failing for reasons other than his doccumented disability.

If the school can prove at the hearing with a sufficient and detailed explaination that they've done everything possible to accomodate that disability but the student is still failing--again for reasons other than disability, then the academic failure is not related to the student's disability, and/or the IEP's failure to help the student.

In that case it becomes the student's failure to just not do the work. It is an area not being affected by the student's doccumented disability.

Answer 6

Who is the boy's case manager? Sometimes the special ed teacher. Director of SpEd.

Look on the IEP there should be phone numbers and names. Also the school is suppose to give you a copy of parent's rights. There should be a list of numbers on that.

Now go back to the IEP and try to see what it is that the school isn't doing. Back it up with work samples you have.

Make a list of what YOU think needs to be done.Then call a meeting. (Ought to be the boy's dad, not step parent....you may need to push him to fight for his son!!!!!)

Here's a site with loads of info: