A Time to Watch

Like most parents, you are beginning to settle into a back to school routine.  You have met the teacher, set your alarm clock, planned school lunches, made car pool arrangements, and have taken a deep breath and you are looking forward to fall break.  If you are the parent of a child with a disability, you know that now is not the time to rest.  Now is the time to watch!

 

If your child did not receive Extended School Year services (ESY), watch for regression.  How long is it taking for your child to recover previously acquired skills?  Is she able to recover by the end of the first grading period?

 

If your child is struggling in his core academic subjects, when did you last review his present levels of academic and functional performance (PLAFFPs)?

 

If your child is telling you that she is not receiving the extra time for tests, oral instructions, shortened assignments, or access to additional help, has her teacher received a copy of her IEP or her accommodations page?

 

If your child is experiencing anxiety over peer interactions, is he being bullied?  Or does he need social skill instruction?

 

Now is the time to watch!  Special education by definition is individualized to each child.  And, individualized education must adapt to your child's ongoing needs.  The first grading period is important for your child and your child's teacher.  Review his last IEP, take the opportunity to talk with your child's teacher about his disability, and watch for signs that the IEP may not be working.  As a parent, you have the right to request an ARD meeting to review your child's IEP and request changes to it based on your child's current needs.  Use this first grading period to watch your child's school performance carefully so you can intervene early if needed!

 

You are your child’s voice and best teacher!

The Ramage Law Group has authoritative solutions for special needs children!

Don't Ask, Don't Tell

This week, The Houston Chronicle published an article that details one of the many concerns in the Texas public school system.  In the article, Denied: How Texas keeps tens of thousands of children out of special education story by Brian M. Rosenthal.  School districts have been refusing to evaluate and identify special needs students based on an inappropriate cap of 8.5% established by TEA.  Regardless of the excuses and TEA denying that students have wrongfully been swept under the rug, which is exactly what school districts defend themselves by saying, many districts interpret the TEA monitoring system as a cap on the number of eligible students who can receive services.  Some districts fear that exceeding the 8.5% cap will place the district under scrutiny and result in the district being placed on a Corrective Action Plan if their subpopulation for Special Education exceeds 8.5%.  Does it matter why districts refuse to identify and evaluate students?  No.  The fact is they have denied many students over the years the opportunity to be identified thus causing students with disabilities to fail as they do not receive services. 
 
Most parents do not know they need to formally request a special education evaluation; however, even the ones that do formally request evaluations are still being denied.  Bringing in outside testing, doctor’s evaluations, and showing years of ineffective accommodations and lack of progress still do not persuade the districts to evaluate students.  Parents expect that school personnel do what is in their child’s best interest.  Many parents look at the school as the experts when they do not know where else to turn.  It is both shocking and disgusting to find out that schools are simply taking a “don’t’ ask, don’t tell” approach to responding to the needs of disabled students.   


Some districts convince parents that they are unable to offer services.  These schools recommend private or homeschooling.  Other districts may suggest the parent obtain a private evaluation at the parent’s expense.  Some districts tell parents that there is no need to evaluate because the student won’t qualify anyway.  Some school professionals may say there is no educational need for an evaluation.  It seems these school professionals have the gift of clairvoyance.    However, question of whether there is an educational need for services only gets addressed after the evaluation.  How can anyone know whether there is an educational need for special education services if no evaluation is done?
   
Some teachers may focus only on academic performance, i.e., grades, but ignore the student’s non-academic needs related to his disability, such as the need for behavioral goals or social skills training.  Disabilities come in different forms, many of which lead to behavioral challenges, not just academic ones.  School districts have even tried to “appease” parents by wrongfully substituting a 504 plan for special education services under an IEP.  Don’t be fooled - 504 plans do not provide the same protection and level of services as an IEP.  504 plans do not require parent collaboration as in an IEP.   


Unfortunately, there appears to be an epidemic of school officials refusing to evaluate students so they will not have to identify them or educate them.  In other words, Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell!  IDEA guarantees all students a right to a free and appropriate public education.  The Ramage Law Group will fight for the right of all students with disabilities to be identified and served.  


The blame game between districts and TEA is causing students to suffer the consequences of bureaucrats who arbitrarily make decisions based on meaningless data and monetary considerations rather than doing what the law requires – meet the individual and unique needs of each and every disabled student.   Instead of evaluating the student, districts are simply sweeping the concern under the rug or putting up so many road blocks that it becomes impossible for parents and even teachers to advocate for the student.   Shedding light on the situation is a step in the right direction for Texas students.  Let us hope that the blaming will stop and Texas will put children first.  Until then,  

You are your child’s voice and best teacher!

The Ramage Law Group has authoritative solutions for special needs children!

Changes

The times they are a changin’. . . Or so the song goes!  If you are the parent of a teenager, you know it well.  Everything is changing around you - your child's physical appearance, voice, attitude, personality.  Change is neither good nor bad.  It is what it is.  It is how we respond to change that can make or break us. 

If you are the parent of a child with a disability who may not graduate with his peers because he needs additional time in school to meet his IEP goals, gain employment skills, or access community resources, the changing times are scary.  Does your child have a transition plan?  Schools must begin to address transition issues, such as post-secondary education, employment skills and independent when your child is 14 or over.  But you don't have to wait until then.  Take time to plan for the change in your child's life.   

What does your child want to do after he or she is no longer in high school?  What can you and the schools do to guide him or her?  A transition assessment will help you and your child's school identify appropriate post-secondary goals related to training, education, employment, and if appropriate, independent living skills.  The school must then provide services to help your child reach those goals.  

Don't wait until the spring of your child's senior year to start planning for the change.  Transition planning should take place long before then.  Help your child identify his or her goals.  Engage in thoughtful planning about what the day should look like when your child does not go to school.  And insist that the school provide the services to get your child there.

 You are your child’s voice and best teacher!

The Ramage Law Group has authoritative solutions for special needs children!

Video Surveillance

Coming soon to a classroom near you!  The Commissioner’s Rules on video surveillance of certain special education settings have been released.  What does this mean for you?  According to the Rules, public school districts, including charter schools, must provide video and audio surveillance in self-contained classrooms or other special education settings upon request by a parent, trustee or staff member.  The rules were adopted to promote student safety in response to legislation passed during the last legislative session thanks to the hard work of many parents and parent advocates.  The rule is effective with the beginning of the 2016-2017 school year.  This means schools must provide one or more video cameras to provide surveillance that reaches all areas of the classroom, with the exception of bathroom, toileting or changing areas.  The video cameras must be in operation at all times during the instructional day when students are in the classroom.  The schools must also provide the necessary equipment to place, operate and maintain the video camera and store video footage for at least 6 months.  School districts must establish policies and procedures for parents to request and review the video surveillance if there is a suspected incident of abuse or neglect of their child by a school employee or another student.    This is a step in the right direction to protect the safety and security of our students in special education settings!

 

This legislation and the Commissioner’s Rules are an example of how parents and advocates can effect change. 

You are your child’s voice and best teacher!

The Ramage Law Group has authoritative solutions for special needs children!

 

See a copy of the Commissioner's Rules

Summertime Tips

It’s finally summertime!  The children are excited about the break and the parents are excited about the deadlines being placed on hold until the next school year.  Finally, it’s the time of year that everyone can take a deep breath.  During the next few months, it’s important to use this time wisely to continue to foster growth in your child.  Often times the summer can be used as a less vigorous learning period than the school year, but it is most definitely still a great opportunity to grow and learn.  Work with your child at home.  Continuing routines can be especially important in children with transition difficulty.  It is also perfectly fine to establish a new summertime routine to implement.  Visit places around your community such as the library, parks, community centers and even grocery stores.  A grocery store is an opportunity to read food labels, perform simple math problems, and participate in life skills.  Be proactive to look up events on the calendar in your area and foster the growth and learning opportunity. There are many ways to spend the days of summer engaging your child while spending little to no money at all doing so.   Other ways to engage your child include playing word games, reading to your child, listening to your child read, and listen to story tellers.  Set an example by giving your child many opportunities to see you reading, writing, and calculating math problems in your everyday life. 

Use the summertime to work with trained professionals and, if appropriate, tutors.  This is also a great time for you to review concepts and keep the material your child has been working on fresh in his or her minds.  You know your child’s IEP goals so do your best to continue to review the goals throughout the summertime. 

Simple games like “I Spy” can help you review a variety of concepts.  Don’t forget to give the gross motor skills a chance to grow.  The summertime heat can be brutal but keeping outdoor play activities and social engagements to early mornings or late evenings can help your child stay cool while participating in outdoor play.  And don’t underestimate the importance of outdoor play.  This is a great time for children to stretch their legs, socialize, exercise, and burn off excess energy.  Sometimes taking away the academic struggles can level the playing field for children and help them build confidence.  Use these months to reinforce existing knowledge, build new knowledge, and make memories with your child. 

You are your child’s voice and best teacher!

The Ramage Law Group has authoritative solutions for special needs children!

Parents Can be the Key

As a parent, you are your child’s first teacher.  You are their voice too!  And when it comes to advocating for your child there is nothing you won’t do.  When you attend your child’s ARD meeting, you represent your child’s future and interests.  This meeting is a negotiation.  The biggest pitfall I see happening is parents not fully understanding their child’s disability and relying on other people to ensure their child is receiving a Free Appropriate Public Education.  You must understand your child’s disability in order to advocate for your child.  This does not mean you have to become a doctor or lawyer in the process of learning about the disability.  It does mean you are your child’s voice, so learn the facts about how to best help your child.  Do not expect the school and the staff to know everything there is about your child’s disability.  You may be the only ARD committee member coming to the table with the knowledge of the disability.  You will have spent countless hours with your child over the school personnel.  That makes you an expert on your child and you should advocate as such.  Next, you will never know if you will be able to get something for your child if you do not ask.  So always start by asking for what you want for your child.  Make sure you have goals in mind for not just the present, but where you want to see your child in the future as well.  As early as Kindergarten, you should be planning what the transition for your child to exit High School will look like, then work backwards to make sure you have secured every bridge along the way. 

As in any negotiation, you may not always get everything you want.  Prioritize and remember to keep calm.  As a voice for your child, you have to remain calm, cool, and collected to get the best results.  You are still dealing with other humans, and we all have opinions and emotions.  Send follow up emails that high light the minutes of the meeting while thanking the school personnel for their time and diligence in helping your child.  This serves two ends – a thank you and a paper trail.  Keep your message short, factual and non-emotional.  Always keep copies of your documentation.   Advocating for your child is an important job and you are the expert on knowing your child! 

You are your child’s voice and best teacher!

The Ramage Law Group has authoritative solutions for special needs children!

World Down Syndrome Day

Happy World Down Syndrome Day!

Today, March 21, 2016 is World Down Syndrome Day.  At The Ramage Law Group, we recognize and advocate to create a single voice for the rights, inclusion, and well-being of students with Down Syndrome. 

 You are your child’s voice and best teacher!

 The Ramage Law Group has authoritative solutions for special needs children!