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What Gives Parents the Right to Request a Team Meeting?
What Gives Parents the Right to Request a Team Meeting?

It is an article of faith in the special education community that parents have the legal right to request a Team meeting at any time, for any reason, and the school must comply. A search of the Internet reveals multiple trusted websites and state parent guides making this claim. The problem is that a careful examination of IDEA’s statutes and regulations doesn’t turn up anything that explicitly grants parents this right.

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Is the School Following Your Child’s IEP?
Is the School Following Your Child’s IEP?

The Individual Education Program (IEP) is the cornerstone of special education. It is a legal contract between the school district and parents that defines what specialized instruction, accommodations, and modifications are necessary for a child to receive the Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) required by law.

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Athletics and IDEA
Athletics and IDEA

Recently, our local newspaper carried a front page story about a high school student on an IEP who was being told by the state’s high school athletic association that he couldn’t play in his school’s football games. According to the article, their rules said he had used up his eligibility to play because he was taking an additional year to graduate.

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Conflicts of Interest in Special Education: Part 2 – Outside Professionals
Conflicts of Interest in Special Education: Part 2 – Outside Professionals

Parents are frequently unaware of possible conflicts of interest in special education. As we wrote in our previous blog article on conflicts of interest for school personnel, you must always try to be aware of the subtle, but real possibility that a school employee may act in the best interest of the school district first and put your child’s needs second.

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Conflicts of Interest in Special Education: Part 1 – Schools
Conflicts of Interest in Special Education: Part 1 – Schools

There is an aspect of special education that often goes unnoticed by parents. It can be subtle, but it is real. It is the possibility of a conflict between the needs of your child and the interests of the people working with your child.

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Interpreting the Language of Special Education
Interpreting the Language of Special Education

Over the years we had many opportunities to read a variety of special education documents. There are all kinds: letters from the school district, progress reports, eligibility evaluations, three-year reevaluations, and of course, Individual Education Programs or IEPs, to name just a few. Parents can quickly become overwhelmed by all this paper, much of which contains confusing jargon and abbreviations that aren’t explained. We know, we encountered it all.

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Gatekeeping: Texas Style
Gatekeeping: Texas Style

In a continuation of our series on special education gatekeeping (Withholding Needed Services and Response to Intervention), we have an amazing story to tell about how the state of Texas kept a quarter of a million children with disabilities from receiving an appropriate education.

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Writing a Strong Vision Statement
Writing a Strong Vision Statement

The vision statement is one of the most important and overlooked parts of the IEP. This statement isn’t a required part of the IEP in the federal law IDEA, but it is required by many states. It’s important because it serves as a guide for developing special education services and goals that will help a student throughout the remaining school years, and ultimately, life after graduation.

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Advocating Over the Long Haul: Handling Stress and Staying in the Game
Advocating Over the Long Haul: Handling Stress and Staying in the Game

We are honored to present a guest blog by attorney Robert K. Crabtree. The following is a transcript of his remarks to the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates (COPAA) annual special education advocacy conference. The occasion was his acceptance of the Diane Lipton Award for Outstanding Advocacy. The title of his presentation was: “Advocating over the Long Haul: Handling Stress and Staying in the Game.”

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The Tragedy of an Inappropriate Education
The Tragedy of an Inappropriate Education

Education is the foundation of a productive and fulfilling life. Education teaches us to read, think, process, and analyze information. When taught these skills, individuals can grow and develop into contributing members of society. We can all agree that this is the goal of an appropriate education.

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Avoid “Feel Good” Goals
Avoid “Feel Good” Goals

In examining hundreds of IEP goals, we have noticed that too many just describe hoped-for outcomes and not measurable results. These goals tend to be vague statements of what the IEP Team would like the student to be rather than define a path toward a specific accomplishment. We call these “feel good” goals…

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Have a Business Relationship With Your Team, Not an Emotional One
Have a Business Relationship With Your Team, Not an Emotional One

You should always strive to treat IEP meetings as if they were business negotiations, not a friendly get together or a hostile confrontation.

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