Reply #130: No the longest IEP review I have ever been a part of [View All]

[proud2BlibKansan]

is about 2 hours.

I also believe that ALL special ed children belong in a regular ed setting at least part of the time, even the most severely disabled. The world they will be a part of as adults is not made up of only disabled people. And one of my strongest beliefs as a teacher is that we have an obligation to prep children for the highest level of independence they are capable of as adults. Isolating them and depriving them of interaction with non-disabled peers is not ever in their best interests.

I teach in a self-contained classroom. Most of my kids are mainstreamed for one hour a day. I do have parents who insist on more mainstreaming and I have parents who insist on less. But it is my job as case manager to gently guide parents toward understanding all the factors involved when determining the level of mainstreaming. I am dealing with one this year who is in denial about the severity of her child's disabilities. We had an IEP review right before Christmas. I had tested the child and was able to show the parent that he is working more than 3 years below grade level. I also had work samples and copies of textbooks used in the regular classroom she wanted him mainstreamed into. And I had work samples from children in that classroom. It was painfully obvious when comparing her son's work to the expectations of the regular classroom and the work his peers in that class were doing that it would be an exercise in futility to expect him to achieve at an acceptable level outside of his self-contained classroom.

An IEP team is also that, a team. The parent is only one member of the team. When a parent insists on modifications or mainstreaming or additional services I know are not in the best interest of their child I tell them that we must come to a consensus as a team. I have had a few parents go over my head and call and complain to the principal or to special ed administration. Then we usually have another conference and the parent is gently persuaded to act in the best interests of their child. There have been a few situations where we went ahead and mainstreamed a child because the parent insisted on it. In each of those cases, the parent realized within a few months that the child was struggling in his mainstreamed setting and agreed to cut back on the mainstreaming. When I have a parent who refuses to budge, I try to make them focus on their child's needs instead of on the parent's wants. So yes, I know it can be done. It's hard work and involves a lot of diplomacy on my part, but it can be done.

I have also found that if I do my homework and come into an IEP review with data supporting my recommendations, 99% of parents are cooperative and supportive.