Help me write a letter to the IEP team please!

[2boyzmama]

I'm going to ask, in writing, for the IEP team's basis of determination for my son's current placement (background...he was supposed to go out of district to a hearing impaired classroom, but at the last minute the "team" changed their mind and refused. He's instead in district with an interpreter. I've been fighting it ever since) How should I word the letter? Should I put lots of details, or should be short and to the point? Should it say something like

"As a result of meetings held on the following dates XX, XX, XX, and XX with the following individuals in attendance XXX, XXX, XXX, etc; and after considering submitted evaluations and recommendations from the following professionals (XX professional, dated XX; XX professional, dated XX; etc) I, Samantha Block, mother of Connor Block hereby request a written determination of the IEP team's recommendations and justifications for Connor's educational placement."

I could even go into more detail and list all of his "diagnoses", and say something like "The IEP team, taking into consideration the following diagnoses XX, XX, XX, XX; and the following laws, regulations, and recommendations[list IDEA language, Ohio State Department of Education language, etc], has come to the conclusion that Connor's current in-district placement meets FAPE and LRE. As Connor's mother, I request written justification for those determinations."

Or should it be more simple and just say

"I, Samantha Block, mother of Connor Block, request a written determination of the IEP team's recommendations and justifications for Connor's educational placement."

I don't want to be too aggressive or adversarial, because as much as we are butting heads, it has all stayed very cordial and civil to this point. But I do want the team to know that I have not given up, and that I'm still plugging away at ensuring that Connor gets what he deserves.

So should I be very detailed or very vague??

[moss]

http://www.autismbc.ca/pdfs/Sample%2...%20problem.rtf

here's a sample letter format

i think it would be beneficial to be specific about what response you need from them.

do you have the book from emotions to advocacy? there are very specific strategies in that book that would be helpful to you.

i also recommend contacting an advocacy group. it can be very powerful to have someone on your side who has btdt, and knows the ropes, and knows how to get results

good luck mama!

[basje]

Clarification needed...

Okay, I've got some advice for you but a few things are unclear. It seems that Connor has already been identified as disabled due to his hear impairment . The last IEP the plan is something that you don't feel is "appropriate" and you would like for him to be in a hearing impaired classroom (BTW good choice! he'll get much more than working with the interpreter) and you want the IEP plan changed.

Let's go over a few things first. The law entitles Conner to a “free and appropriate public education,” this means you have to phrase your requests in a way the system can recognize. The magic word is “appropriate.” In any statements to the district phrase it as, placement in a hearing impaired classroom is the most appropriate accommodation for his disability. You will likely be saying this over and over and over again. Make sure this also goes in your letter.

The IEP is a legally binding document, a contract of sorts between the district and you. It's the school responsibility to make sure that the child’s IEP is being carried out as it was written. It is required to be reviewed by the IEP team (the team includes you, the parent) at least once a year, all members must agree and sign off on th plan. Parents must be given a copy of the IEP. At any you or the district want to you can ask for another IEP review to make modifications or review the plan.

So my question is, when you pull out the last IEP what accommodation is listed? Did you sign anything at the IEP meeting? Is your son getting the accommodation in the last IEP currently?

If the IEP says that he should be in a hearing impaired classroom you should 1) write a letter voicing your concern that he is not getting the accommodation entitled to him in his IEP and that it be resolved immediately. Make sure to send copies of the letter to the special education caseworker, administrator who sat in on the IEP, teacher and the district. Everyone who was present at the IEP will be listed on the document. 2) If they don't fix it immediately file a complaint with the state education agency and may request a due process hearing, at which time mediation must be available. At this point I think you should consult with an advocate who is familiar with advocating in your district for children with hearing impairment.

If you see that you signed off on having Conner mainstreamed with an interpreter but you don't feel that this is appropriate then 1) Write a letter requesting and IEP in the next two weeks, send copies to the same people as above. The letter can be short: To Whom it may, I am requesting an IEP to re-evaluate the accommodations from Conner's last IEP, as it is my opinion they are no long appropriate. If possible I would like to meet with you and the rest of the IEP team, in the next two weeks. 2) Go to the IEP meeting you called and bring the last IEP, any other IEP's he's had, academic records, testing ect. You may also bring Conner and an interpreter! Many parents don't realize that their children can also come to IEP meetings and contribute to their plan. Even if they are a little too young to help decide accommodation, seeing the process will help teach them the skills he'll need to advocate for himself when he's older. 3) Explain what you think is most appropriate for your son. 4) Don't sign on any plan you don't agree with! If you can't agree then ask for mediation. 5) If you end up in mediation I suggest having an advocate work with you to help you advocate for Connor's interests 6) If you cannot agree with the mediator on appropriate accommodation then ask for a hearing. At this point, if you think it would be helpful, you can hire an educational lawyer or contact the ACLU to see if they might be interested in your case.

There is no reason to be aggressive! In working with school districts in the past, it's never helpful. Even in the uncomfortable moment of refusing to sign an IEP a polite, "I'm very sorry but I don't agree that's most appropriate for Connor at this time therefore I can't sign this" is the best way to address the conflict.

If you want to post a draft of your letter before you send it I'd be happy to recommend revisions.

[Linda on the move]

Originally Posted by 2boyzmama

"As a result of meetings held on the following dates XX, XX, XX, and XX with the following individuals in attendance XXX, XXX, XXX, etc; and after considering submitted evaluations and recommendations from the following professionals (XX professional, dated XX; XX professional, dated XX; etc) I, Samantha Block, mother of Connor Block hereby request a written determination of the IEP team's recommendations and justifications for Connor's educational placement."

I think this is good but that you need to break it down.

I'd start with a RE: at the top of the letter saying something like:

Request for a written determination of the IEP team's recommendations and justifications for Connor's educational placement

Then in the body of the letter I'd start with an introductory sentence and break things into bulleted lists. Something like,

I'm writing to request a written determination of the IEP team recommendations, as well as their justifications, for my son Connor's educational placement. The decision to leave Connor in a hearing classroom suprised me because of the submitted evaluations and recommendations from the following professionals:

• (XX professional, dated XX;
• XX professional, dated XX; etc)

I would pick out quotes from those letters to emphasize *why* they think he would be best off in the other classroom. The bottom line is that the IEP committee's decision leaves Connor without peers to communicate with. I wouldn't cloud the letter with too much other stuff, and I would state that very clearly by quoting people with lots of degrees.


You want them to tell you *why*, so focus the whole letter on *why's.*

[2boyzmama]

Moss, thanks for the sample format.

Basje...yeah, this process has been ongoing. I've already done everything in this paragraph.

If you see that you signed off on having Conner mainstreamed with an interpreter but you don't feel that this is appropriate then 1) Write a letter requesting and IEP in the next two weeks, send copies to the same people as above. The letter can be short: To Whom it may, I am requesting an IEP to re-evaluate the accommodations from Conner's last IEP, as it is my opinion they are no long appropriate. If possible I would like to meet with you and the rest of the IEP team, in the next two weeks. 2) Go to the IEP meeting you called and bring the last IEP, any other IEP's he's had, academic records, testing ect. You may also bring Conner and an interpreter! Many parents don't realize that their children can also come to IEP meetings and contribute to their plan. Even if they are a little too young to help decide accommodation, seeing the process will help teach them the skills he'll need to advocate for himself when he's older. 3) Explain what you think is most appropriate for your son. 4) Don't sign on any plan you don't agree with! If you can't agree then ask for mediation. 5) If you end up in mediation I suggest having an advocate work with you to help you advocate for Connor's interests 6) If you cannot agree with the mediator on appropriate accommodation then ask for a hearing. At this point, if you think it would be helpful, you can hire an educational lawyer or contact the ACLU to see if they might be interested in your case

The issue is, the team was leading me to believe that he would be placed out of district in a hearing impaired class (actually, it's not specifically a hearing impaired class, it's just a larger district that has other hearing impaired kids, and they are all in the same class so the district only has to supply one interpreter. So he'd be in that class, which is still "mainstreamed", it just happens to have 4 other hearing impaired kids in it). Less than two weeks before his transition IEP, they changed their mind and decided to keep him in district and hire him his own interpreter. I *HAD* to sign the IEP, because it was a transition IEP, if I didn't sign it, he would have been left with NO SERVICES (and trust me, I made frantic phone calls to lawyers to determine if I could decline that transition IEP and was told multiple times that I could not). I did submit a letter at the time stating my desire to continue the discussion of his placement. I have been working with a lawyer from Ohio Legal Rights services ever since, and have been gathering letters from Connor's various doctors and therapists in support of my request to have him in a classroom with other hearing impaired kids (so he has direct peer to peer communication opportunities). I have had three IEP meetings, in each meeting I have presented the team with new letters from Connor's medical team and have continued the discussion of his placement. The team is WELL AWARE that I'm not a happy mama bear.

The truth is that he's doing very well in his current placement, which I fear is hurting my chances of ever getting him moved. But the fact still is that he is labeled as hearing impaired (and speech and language impaired) and IDEA grants him the right to direct peer to peer communication. So I still believe that it is within my rights to continue to push for him to be placed in that other district (which is just down the road from us, he wouldn't be going far. Although I did go visit a School for the Deaf which is over an hour away, and *loved* their program, and even discovered that there are two kids from our district going to that school already! So if I wanted him to go there, transportation is already arranged. But I don't want him to go that far away)

Linda, thanks for the idea on the layout. Definitely formatting will be helpful otherwise it'll turn into one big run-on sentence!

[basje]

Gross, it looks like they are really putting you through it. Good for you for consulting Ohio Legal Rights, it sounds like a wise choice. Keep us updated on what happens after your letter. His sucess (as wonderful as it is) will likely weaken your case but keep trying anyway.

Which school St. Rita or Ohio School for the Deaf?

[2boyzmama]

Originally Posted by basje

Gross, it looks like they are really putting you through it. Good for you for consulting Ohio Legal Rights, it sounds like a wise choice. Keep us updated on what happens after your letter. His sucess (as wonderful as it is) will likely weaken your case but keep trying anyway.

Which school St. Rita or Ohio School for the Deaf?

St Rita's. Are you from around here?

The district he's in is Huber. Dayton Public has hearing impaired kiddos at Horace Mann. That's where I want him.

[khaoskat]

Have you asked for an Independent Exam by a third party to determine what that person believes his needs are and what would be considered free and appropriate public education?