Lee's Summit R-7 School District: When Our Issues Started

Lee's Summit R-7 School District: When Our Issues Started

Lee's Summit R-7 School District: Sent This Letter To The Superintendent In 2008 He Dropped Out Soon After

Lee's Summit R-7 School District: Sent This Letter To The Superintendent In 2008 He Dropped Out Soon After

I just sent this to my superintendent, special education director, special education coordinator, autism specialist, principal, vice principal, and three school board members.  Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

 

My husband and I had some concerns after we left our evaluation meeting yesterday.  We feel that Jake needs an immediate change of placement.  We feel that Jake is not benefiting from being in Joyce Jackson's Resource Room and having Joyce Jackson be his case manager.

 

Joy Rose stated that we wouldn't be discussing change of placement until after evaluations, but I don't believe that is in Jake's best interest.  We are gradually losing him and I don't think a 60-65 day wait is in his best interest.

 

We spoke with Jake last night about his refusal to do what she told him.  She stated that she told him three times to do something and he refused.  She stated that she had to stand over him and make him do it. 

 

We asked Jake why he refused to do what he was told.  He told us that she only asked him one time and that he told her the rule was that he was to type if it were longer than 5-8 sentences.  What she was asking him to type was three sentences.  He is a rule follower and he believed that the rule was 5-8 sentences.

 

Jake has never complained about a teacher.  Even when we were having issues with teachers he would tell us that they weren't that bad.  He doesn't see people's intentions, good or bad, and expects that everyone lives by the same codes that he does.

 

Jake has been very anxious lately.  He has been irritable and extremely overwhelmed.  His psychiatrist was going to take him off of the medication that helps with his anxiety until he spoke with Jake.  He realized that school was too overwhelming for Jake to take that step.

 

Jake has liver enzyme tests done every four months to make sure that the medication is not affecting his liver.  The last two tests showed that his liver enzymes were three times the normal.  His psychiatrist is doing a consult with a liver specialist from John Hopkins.  I'm sure that he won't be able to take the medication after this.

 

The fact that my child has to take medication in order to attend school has always been a worry.  The fact that my child's liver could be damaged from that medication is outrageous.

 

While we were speaking to Jake he told us that he didn't like Ms. Jackson.  I understand that with typical kids that is normal and that they need to learn to deal with all kinds of different individuals.  Jake is not typical and it is the first time in 15 years that he has ever said that about another person.  That is a major issue.

 

I discussed this issue with Jerry Keimig in 2005 and told him that my son wanted to die because school was just too much for him. 

I met with Mr. Keimig for 15 minutes. I told him that I had read that most autistic children only respond to positive teaching. He told me that I couldn’t believe everything that I read. I told him that I wanted my son in a class with a more positive teacher or in a modified curriculum. He told me that he may not be able to help my son in the future. I told him that my son was depressed and that being in this class was making it worse. He told me that it was a good life lesson for my son

 

Jake no longer has a BIP because the district felt that it was not necessary.  I told them that I would agree to that as long as his educators were highly trained in his disability and understood the difference between behaviors that are caused by his disability and behaviors that are typical.  I believe that they do not understand this.

 

Over and over again we are told that Jake is resistant to this or refusing to do that.  No one ever understands that it is due to his disability and that they need to understand why he is exhibiting this behavior.  Perhaps if his teachers were trained and functional BIP were in place this would not happen.

 

Jake has been told by teachers that his mom is making his life harder.  That he doesn't have a writing disability and that his mom is making rules.  He believes these people.  That not only makes my job harder, but it makes the district's job harder as well because he is then resistant to the help that he so desperately needs.

 

Ms. Jackson is probably a fine teacher for children that are ED.  Jake is not.  Jake has autism and that requires a different type of dedication, patience, tolerance, and personality. 

 

Jake was given an Alpha Smart last year and it was kept in his 7th hour class and Ms. Jackson had to figure out how to use it each time that it was taken out of the closet that it was kept in.  Therefore, Jake believed that it did not work.  I stated this at the IEP meeting.  Finally, Ms Jackson let Jake use a class computer, which I had suggested in middle school, and told Jake that "I have figured out a loophole around your mom's rules."  That is unacceptable to me.  Joyce Jackson admitted in the IEP meeting that she had said this.  Jake came home and told me that I was making things harder for him because that is the impression that he received from this teacher.  My advocacy for Jake should never be discussed with Jake without my permission and should never be used as an excuse to find loopholes.  

 

I asked Jake why he was resistive to using the laptop this year.  He said that it takes so long for it to boot up. This is a child with organizational issues and a child that can not follow more than two step directions.  While he is getting his computer set up he is not being able to hear what the teacher is saying or what is going on in the classroom.  He asked why he couldn't just use the computer in the classroom like he did before.  So, Jake is not resistive to using AT, as is the district's position, Jake is resistive to using something that he feels is making things even harder.

 

His present level states that the district feels he is resistive.  Once again, this should be addressed in a BIP.  They put the following in his IEP in May, "Jake has been resistive to carrying the Quick Pad to classes."  I asked that it be changed because the statement was not accurate.  In August we had a meeting and the following is taken from my notes, "As for the issue about the assistive technology, they added a sentence that stated, "Mrs. Tucker believes that this was because he believed it did not work."

 

I told the team that I disagreed with that statement.  The device didn't work in Jake's mind and that's why he didn't want to use it.  He was not resistive to carrying the Quick Pad to classes.  He was resistive to working with a machine that didn't work.  The team refused to take that out.  I was told that I am the expert on Jake at home and the district is the expert on Jake at school.

 

I would like to state that I find that offensive and incorrect.  If the district were an expert on Jake, at school, all of his teachers would be HIGHLY trained in his disability.  I wouldn't have to go to meetings and explain Jake's actions, issues, etc if the team at school was an expert on my son.  If the team were an expert on my son, they wouldn't have put him into a class that A) he was not qualified for and B) was totally inappropriate for a student with autism.  If the team were an expert on my son they would not have recommended an art class for a child with dysgraphia or a music class that he surely would have been overwhelmed in.  This is not the first time that the team has suggested a class that was totally inappropriate for Jake.  It was disastrous before and I'm quite sure that it would have been again if Jake had qualified for the 1st hour class."

 

It also states the following, which once again proves that the district can't differentiate between typical behaviors and behaviors due to his disability.  "Small group testing was changed to "Access to small group testing with rephrasing of directions."  We had a very long discussion on what that meant.  Joy Rose stated, "Historically Jake has refused to take tests in a small group and it resulted in meltdowns and shutdowns."  I would like to know where that information came from because it is totally inaccurate and should not be in Jake's file. 

 

Jake always took tests in small groups at Prairie View.  It was no big deal and it lead to higher test scores.  When he entered Pleasant Lea they did not give him tests in small groups.  His IEP stated that they were supposed to.  Then they finally agreed to do it, but they asked if him if he wanted to.  Most times he said no.  That is not a refusal.  That is a child being given a choice and choosing. 

 

Had the district implemented his IEP throughout his ten years in this district, this would not be an issue right now.  I have no problem with Jake taking tests in the classroom as long as he understands what the test is asking of him and he is able to take it.  Making a child sit in the hallway is not my idea of small group testing and that is what has been offered on more than one occasion." 

 

On that same discussion, I would like my notes added to the district's conference notes.  The Lee's Summit School District refuses to allow parents to tape record meetings and it is not acceptable that the only conference notes in my child's file would be from the district's viewpoint.  That is not allowing me to be a full participant on my son's IEP team.  I been not been allowed to be a full participant in the past and I would like to see that change. 

 

Also, I have been in contact with OSEP and my contact told me that it was inappropriate for the district to make the statement that the district is the expert on Jake at school and I am the expert at home.  They also told me that Jake should have a dual diagnosis.  One would be educational autism and the other would be ld because of his written language deficit and his dysgraphia.  The team at the meeting yesterday told me that Missouri doesn't do that and I advised that I was contacting OSEP today to ask her why she would advise me to do that when it is not something my state does.  She also advised me that she would like for me to seek mediation and I told I didn't feel that we were there yet and would like to handle this among ourselves.  She is waiting for my report from my meeting yesterday.

 

I have repeatedly asked for help for my son.  He is 15 years old.  By the time that his evaluations are done he will have 2 1/2 years left of school.  He has 2 1/2 years to make up for the last 10 and to make progress.  That is not much time and revisiting the same issues year after year continues to rob him of his future. 

 

Thank you.

IEP FAQs: Can I write on the IEP?

IEP FAQs: Can I write on the IEP?

My daughter attended her first IEP meeting today, it was a disaster. Does she have the right to write on the IEP under parental concerns? She wanted to write a statement about her daughter being dyslexic and they wouldn’t let her?

There is no legal or commonsense reason why a parent or any other IEP team member cannot write on a child’s IEP.

Some uninformed educators go crazy when a parent does this, saying that “the IEP is a legal document.” People write on legal documents all the time – to amend, change terms, to provide additional information.

If this has happened to you, take advantage of it!

This provides a good opportunity to tell your child’s story in more depth and begin to build a paper trail. If the school continues to be oppositional, letters and notes from meetings, made at the time, are invaluable in resolving the problem.

Write a polite letter to the head of the IEP team describing in factual terms (no emotions, nothing about how you “feel”) that you attempted to inform the IEP team your child has dyslexia. Explain that when you attempted to add this information to your child’s IEP, [name of school personnel] refused to allow you to provide that information.

Explain that the school will not be able to teach your child to read, write, or spell unless they know she is dyslexic and she requires specialized instruction, delivered by a teacher who is trained to use an educational method that is proven to work with children who have dyslexia.

This is probably only the first of many letters you will need to write over the years. Before you begin, read the “Letter to the Stranger” for the big picture. This tells the story of a parent who wrote an angry letter and the impact it had. After the parent revised the letter to tell her child’s story, the new letter had a completely different impact.

http://www.wrightslaw.com/advoc/articles/Letter_to_Stranger.html

This article has practical advice about how to do this:

http://www.wrightslaw.com/advoc/articles/letters.draft.htm

Also read this success story by a mom who was in a similar situation, how she handled it, and finally got the services her children needed:

http://www.wrightslaw.com/info/advo.susan.success.htm

and one more:

http://www.wrightslaw.com/info/advo.probs.protect.htm

- See more at: http://www.wrightslaw.com/blog/?p=64#sthash.fepFz5sJ.dpuf

OCR Finds That Not Implementing IEP Is OK

Here is what the OCR found in my son's case in 2007. They state twice that the District failed to provide some of the special education and related services identified in my son's IEP. 

Based on the above, OCR determined the evidence did not establish that the District's failure to provide some of the special education and related services identified in your son's IEPs during the 2005-2006 school year materially limited your son's educational opportunities. 

OCR has determined there is an insufficient factual basis to support a conclusion that the District's failure to fully implement your son's IEP materially limited his educational opportunities in violation of Section 504.

AutisticChick: What I saw

AutisticChick: What I saw

I left the gym, I had to, because the music made me uncomfortable. I stood by the door. 

I waited. I turned toward the door to the gym, and I saw a classmate burst through the door, an aide inches behind him. The aide grabbed a strap on his vest and stopped him cold. The student struggled. Aides thronged at the little windows.

I know what they saw. 

They didn't see someone asking to be taken for a walk. They didn't see him begging to have some space. 

They saw an escape attempt. A noncompliant escape attempt. A student trying to outsmart the teachers, to get his way. 

They saw someone who didn't understand the point of P.E.

They saw a runner.

He pulled away, and the aide pushed him back  through the gym door, shouting "In we go! In we go! In we go," his hands pulling and pushing as the student dug his heels in. Everyone else "encouraged" from the sidelines. I saw too much happening.

I saw an apraxic struggle. I saw a nonverbal student being pushed through a door in a frenzy of movement, everyone shouting at the same time, bent over with hands thrusting at his back, pushing against the doorframe and struggling to stay upright. I saw too much, too much.

I saw a blur of movement and sounds coming at me from every direction, I saw the ceiling the doorframe the floor somebody's hands everyone shouting. I saw the final thrust through the door, met with bright lights and cheering, everyone applauding the nice save! 

I saw dizzy and disoriented. 

I saw what he saw.

I saw a classmate who couldn't respond to prompts because they were coming too fast, and who couldn't comply because everything was being thrown at him at once.

He slumped against the gym wall and slammed his head back. The act was met with a sharp reprimand from a bystanding aide. And I know what they saw.

They saw defiance. Headbanging behavior. A tantrum.

I saw a student trying to block out external input. I saw. Everyone else gawked and chattered as the other kids did the warm-ups. I stood by helplessly.

I saw a humiliated man sitting against a wall in a corner, helpless and outnumbered, with no way to communicate.

 I saw what he saw, the flash of students flying all around me and I saw people surrounding me, cheering, cheering for the aide as though it was some big victory to drag a student back into a classroom. I saw the world whirling around my head and it hitting the wall just to drown out the noise. 

I saw that nobody was asking themselves how he might feel. I didn't just see the defeat, though, the lack of dignity or respect; I saw humiliation. Oh, yes, I saw. Pain.

I watched in horror. I felt for him. I felt with him. An aide, concerned that I had left, asked me if I was ok. Then she smiled at me knowingly. Chuckled, "He's having a little fit."

No. That's not what I saw.

I saw an overwhelmed student trying to escape a hostile environment. An attempt to find a safe place, or a bathroom, or some water. 

I saw a hasty and disjointed "rescue" that fried his emotions and ability to think. I saw visual, auditory, vestibular and tactile input slam him like a truck. I saw vestibular upheaval, and I saw desperation and fear and frustration because nobody understood, not one of them. 

They saw a fit. 

They didn't see what I saw.

*****

I know, I mouthed across the aisle. It's ok. I know. He smiled back at me.

I know. 

The bus engine rumbled, and we began to pull out of the lot. They were still talking about him, imputing motives based on their own experience. I knew that he could hear them. That they didn't really care. That it wasn't my place to correct them. To try and educate them. Not the student's place.

 I saw the look on his face, and I knew that nobody understood. 

He sat alone, leaning against the vinyl of his seat, his expression fraught with distress, his eyebrows knit. I knew that they were fine, and they could sit there and casually theorize about it, but that he was still coming down. I saw the look in his eyes. I didn't know what to say. 

I saw his hand, resting on the seat. Hesitating, I leaned into the aisle and placed mine next to it. I didn't know how else to say I support you.

His thumb wrapped itself around two of my fingers, and for a moment it was like that. Then he lifted his hand and took mine in it.

I squeezed. I know.

We stayed that way for about a minute. The bus rumbled down the street, curving around the corners, my hand in his. 

They said I helped calm him down. Sometimes people underestimate what it means to acknowledge someone's humanity. To see it. I don't know what they thought my gesture was, but we knew what it was. A show of solidarity. A quiet one, not a trumpeting fanfare, but a whisper. I know.

This is what I saw. Very different from what the teachers saw.

I don’t know exactly what he saw. I believe that it was terrifying.

But I hope . . . I hope . . . that after the terror . . . I hope that he saw a friend.

U.S. Departments of Education and Justice Release School Discipline Guidance Package to Enhance School Climate and Improve School Discipline Policies/Practices | U.S. Department of Education

U.S. Departments of Education and Justice Release School Discipline Guidance Package to Enhance School Climate and Improve School Discipline Policies/Practices | U.S. Department of Education

The U.S. Department of Education (ED), in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), today released a school discipline guidance package that will assist states, districts and schools in developing practices and strategies to enhance school climate, and ensure those policies and practices comply with federal law. Even though incidents of school violence have decreased overall, too many schools are still struggling to create positive, safe environments. Schools can improve safety by making sure that climates are welcoming and that responses to misbehavior are fair, non-discriminatory and effective. Each year, significant numbers of students miss class due to suspensions and expulsions—even for minor infractions of school rules—and students of color and with disabilities are disproportionately impacted. The guidance package provides resources for creating safe and positive school climates, which are essential for boosting student academic success and closing achievement gaps.

"Effective teaching and learning cannot take place unless students feel safe at school,"U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said. "Positive discipline policies can help create safer learning environments without relying heavily on suspensions and expulsions. Schools also must understand their civil rights obligations and avoid unfair disciplinary practices. We need to keep students in class where they can learn. These resources are a step in the right direction.”

The resource package consists of four components:

• The Dear Colleague guidance letter on civil rights and discipline, prepared in conjunction with DOJ, describes how schools can meet their legal obligations under federal law to administer student discipline without discriminating against students on the basis of race, color or national origin;
• The Guiding Principles document draws from emerging research and best practices to describe three key principles and related action steps that can help guide state and local efforts to improve school climate and school discipline;
• The Directory of Federal School Climate and Discipline Resources indexes the extensive federal technical assistance and other resources related to school discipline and climate available to schools and districts; and
• The Compendium of School Discipline Laws and Regulations, an online catalogue of the laws and regulations related to school discipline in each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, compares laws across states and jurisdictions.

"A routine school disciplinary infraction should land a student in the principal’s office, not in a police precinct,"Attorney General Eric Holder said. "This guidance will promote fair and effective disciplinary practices that will make schools safe, supportive and inclusive for all students. By ensuring federal civil rights protections, offering alternatives to exclusionary discipline and providing useful information to school resource officers, we can keep America’s young people safe and on the right path."

The guidance package is a resource resulting from a collaborative project—the Supportive School Discipline Initiative (SSDI)—between ED and DOJ. The SSDI, launched in 2011, addresses the school-to-prison pipeline and the disciplinary policies and practices that can push students out of school and into the justice system. The initiative aims to support instead school discipline practices that foster safe, inclusive and positive learning environments while keeping students in school. The Department of Justice enforces Title IV of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race or national origin in public schools, and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color or national origin by schools, law enforcement agencies, and other recipients of federal financial assistance.

The guidance package also results from President Obama's Now is the Time proposal to reduce gun violence. It called on ED to collect and disseminate best practices on school discipline policies and to help school districts develop and equitably implement their policies. To both continue ED/DOJ efforts in connection with SSDI and fulfill the administration's commitment to "Now is the Time," the guidance package was developed with additional input from civil rights advocates, major education organizations and philanthropic partners.

To view the resource documents, visit www.ed.gov/school-discipline.

▶ Warning of crisis for adults with autism - YouTube

▶ Warning of crisis for adults with autism - YouTube