IEP/504 in Elementary School

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Parent Q&A

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  • IEPs in the classroom

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    Sep 3, 2022

     My child’s IEP is followed in-terms of service hours from specialists. But her classroom experience is not.  In a large class, I can hardly expect the teacher to modify her class work. Are Special Ed teachers supposed to actively helps the classroom teacher modify class work?  

    Sep 3, 2022

    Does your child receive paraprofessional support in the classroom? If not, having a paraprofessional in the classroom with your child can be a game changer. It costs to school district money, so you may have to push hard for it, but you should be able to get this added to the IEP. 

    If they give you a hard time threat to report them to the state. https://www.disabilityrightsca.org/publications/the-road-to-resolution-…

    Sep 7, 2022

    It is the responsibility of all the adults on campus to be implementing your child's IEP as it is written.  That includes your child's case manager/ specialist and her mainstream teacher.  I'd recommend requesting an IEP meeting to discuss your child's in-class experience and the work they're being given. Then you can discuss your specific concerns with the work, and the modifications and accommodations she is supposed to receiving in class, and if there are any that need to be added. Like does she need alternative assignments or does she need to just have the same assignments with some modifications. Once it's written into the IEP then the team should be implementing it. 

    Sep 10, 2022

  • Obtaining an IEP for Elementary School Age Child

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    Aug 2, 2022

    Hey there - we just moved from Brooklyn and my younger daughter has had some executive functioning issues and i would like to get her an IEP assessment. Being that i just moved here- does anyone know where i begin? She will be starting 4th gr. at Oxford in a few weeks.... any help is amazing! Thank you!

    Aug 2, 2022

    Research the DREDF - CA  website for information, they also have phone contacts and workshops on navigating the IEP process. Good Luck..

    Aug 7, 2022

    Make your request in writing to the principal of the school, detailing your concerns and requesting evaluation for an IEP.   

    Make sure to attend the free training "IEP Basics and Beyond" which is offered on the first monday of every month (next one is August 8, which is tomorrow).   This is hosted by DREDF: Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund, which is located at the Ed Roberts campus on Adeline (it sits on top of the Ashby BART station).     To register, go to the website https://dredf.org      The training is full of so much information. be prepared to take lots of notes. 

    Aug 7, 2022

    Just in case it's relevant.  An IEP is where you don't have to do the same work as the other kids.  There was a non-verbal girl in my daughter's class in third grade, and she was not required to read or write (except single words) -- that was an IEP.  My daughter has a 504 plan.  A 504 plan is where you get accommodations such as seating in the front of the class or more time on tests.  If it's an executive functioning issue, a 504 might be what she would qualify for.  

    Aug 12, 2022

    An IEP is an Individualized Education Plan, starts with a educational needs assessment, and must include educational services related to the child's specific learning issues and needs. It typically includes educational services + accommodations.  It is not simply an exception to doing the same work as the other kids.  If applicable to the needs of a specific child, that aspect may be specifically written into the IEP for that individual child as one of the accommodations.   In the instance where a classmate's parent  observed a non-verbal child with an IEP... if the IEP was properly executed, it would have included services/lessons that were most likely done on a pull-out basis (the child leaves class and goes to a special education classroom for 30-60 minutes each day for lessons pertaining to their IEP).  This parent of a classmate may not notice or understand the specifics of another child's IEP, because it is confidential.   

    A 504 plan is named after Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, a federal civil rights law that offers protection for people with disabilities.  It is usually applied for students who do not need special education but who do need accommodations for their education in regular classrooms.   While some kids have a disability that requires educational services + accommodations,  kids with a 504 typically have accommodations only.   

    I am not an expert, but it is important to be careful with assumptions on terminology, and to look it up.  If you research the terms attend the IEP Basics and Beyond, or carefully read websites like DREDF and Understood.org, you can find more information. 

    - Mom of a kid with an IEP

    Oct 20, 2022

  • Positive Behavioral Intervention in 2nd grader's IEP

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    May 12, 2019

    Dear parents, Are there any potential concerns associated with including positive behavior or PBIS goal in the IEP? My daughter is in general education class (2nd grade) with some push in services. The RSP teacher asked us to sign an amended IEP that included the following accommodation, "All consequences must be part of a positive reinforcement system or district positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS) system" The RSP teacher mentioned that they are adding this to all IEPs in the school. I did not sign this yet as not much information was provided other than she telling that it will be helpful to have that accommodation in her IEP. Her classroom teacher mentioned during the last IEP that my kid was getting distracted a lot and not focusing in the classroom. But she is not disruptive or causing any harm to others. Now with this request, I am trying to understand the motivations of the teacher and/or school. Anyone with such experiences or experience with PBIS could please provide guidance? Also, is it okay to sign IEP without understanding what their intention is? Any suggestions or help is appreciated. Thanks, Concerned parent.

    May 12, 2019

    Absolutely ask the school to explain it further, but generally, this is common for schools that are adopting positive behavior systems, and something you want them to be doing. What they mean is that your child should not be given negative consequences for undesired behavior, but instead any consequences should be part of a behavior plan that rewards the behavior you do want to see (vs. punishing the behavior you don't want to see). My guess is that your school is just beginning to use this system, and also that students with IEPs are more likely to be punished in negative ways, so they are codifying that the consequences need to be tied to the new positive behavior system. But they should be able to explain what this means at your particular school (and for your particular child), and you should definitely feel comfortable with everything in the IEP before signing it.

    May 14, 2019

    NEVER sign an IEP if you don't understand it fully! 

    That being said, this sounds to me like they are trying to encourage positive reinforcement rather than teachers snapping at the kids only for behavior that's deemed negative or disruptive. I can say from personal experience that this is needed. This is about how the teachers handle disruptions, not whether your specific kid is disruptive. 

    May 15, 2019

  • How to request an Independent Educational Evaluation for a child in Elementary School

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    Nov 29, 2017

    Hi Parents- 

    My husband and I are feeling at a loss about our son's educational progress and would love to hear from other parents that might have been through the same thing. 

    Our son is a first grader at a public school in Los Altos, he is happy, friendly, well behaved and generally loves school. We have always known he may have some ADHD or other LDs since they run in both sides of our family. We began noticing some attention and processing issues about mid-way through kinder last year and made a formal request to the district to have him assessed. After a group SST meeting the team had encouraged us to wait until he was 6 to just make sure that this isn't a maturity issue. Although my gut told me it wasn't a maturity issue we did agree to wait until he turned 6 to reconvene. 

    Long story short, they were not very helpful and actually pushed off his testing to the beginning of first grade. Once they formally assessed him they did note that he presented with ADHD-Combined (we have a formal diagnosis as well) but since he falls in the "low/average range" for state scores (even though he is reading at an emerging kinder level for our district) they determined he did not meet the criteria for an IEP. We left the initial meeting feeling defeated, unheard and concerned that our son will continue to just flounder. We ended up hiring an educational advocate who helped us reconvene our SST team and share our disappointment that they didn't find he qualified. They offered us a 504 plan and we have been trying our best to get the most out of it but at our teacher conference this week his classroom teacher said that he isn't advancing as quickly as he could because he needs more support (not just modifications that come with a 504). The teacher, as well as our pediatrician have concerns about his auditory processing speed and also his lack of fine motor skills (poor pencil grasp, incomplete letter formation, etc). I really feel like because our son doesn't have behavior issues (he is very social, has friends and can keep himself from wiggling too much with the help of his hokkei stool and fidget toys) his needs aren't being addressed very quickly. 

    It is our understanding that as parents we have the right to request an Independent Educational Evaluation performed by people outside the school psych and resource specialist to better understand his issues and ultimately help him get more support so he can thrive and not struggle so much but I am not sure how to request this. We'd like to do at least some of it on our own to save some money on educational consultants but we honestly aren't even sure where to start. 

    Any advice, suggestions or experience in this are would be greatly appreciated. 

    Sincerely, 

    Concerned and overwhelmed mama

    Nov 29, 2017

    Hi, our experience is with a different school district, as we’re here in Berkeley, but just wanted to say it’s quite often a “fight” with the school district to get services. Sometimes a long and expensive fight. Since he qualifies for a 504 but not an IEP, I’m pretty sure your family (as opposed to the school district) foots the bill for any outside evaluation(s). Have you searched the BPN archives?  There are lots of discussions of these issues. Two organizations that could help, although both in the East Bay, are DREDF in Berkeley and Family Resource Network in Oakland. Best of luck..  

    Dec 6, 2017

    Hi Mama! I have strong feelings about the fact that every time a child with special needs enters the public school system, the parents have to reinvent the wheel. I was you 8 years ago. My son is now 13 and I am pretty good at getting him what he needs after years of practice and help by DREDF and DRC and just working hard to learn the laws, etc. Now I am ready to help you because I think it stinks that there is not enough support for children and families of kids with special needs entering public school. The parents who know how need to help the parents who are new. First, here is an excellent and informative article from Wright's Law (which should be your new best friend.)  http://www.wrightslaw.com/info/eval.iee.steedman.htm   And second, if you need any more help or someone to bounce things off of, email me and I can give you my #. I would be happy to listen and help where I can.

    Bonnie

    Dec 6, 2017

    Hi Concerned and Overwhelmed -

    I'm so sorry to hear about your experience. It can be confusing, overwhelming, and demoralizing to deal with schools and districts when your child needs to be assessed, or needs/has an IEP. I do lots of advocacy work, and am happy to talk to you about how to ask for an IEE, and how to navigate all of this.

    In the meantime, let the SST team know you would like an IEE done at the school's expense. An email will suffice. 

    The district then has to either agree to pay for an IEE with a district-approved assessor, or give you what's called Prior Written Notice. 

    If they refuse to pay for an IEE, you can proceed to Due Process with an attorney, but hopefully it won't come to that.

    You can also ask the district to accept the formal diagnosis you have from before, although it sounds like there might be some other deficits you want identified.

    Hope this helps somewhat. Please feel free to call me.

    Tatiana

    Co-Director, Classroom Matters

    917.969.6923

    Dec 6, 2017

    I went through the same thing with  I daughter in Lafayette. The more well-to-do schools unbelievably, are not quite equipped to deal with special needs and therefore push it away. I'm surprised your advocate didn't do or have more help. There is specific testing that can show deficiencies in specific auditory problems . Deborah Swain, PhD is excellent at diagnosing and treating auditory issues. Feel free to contact me as she helped my daughter. 

    Dec 6, 2017

    We are going through this ourselves.  Just write a letter requesting an IEE to the district special education contact.  They legally are required to respond, either by accepting it, or by denying it and then you got into due process with the courts.  It's messy, but this is how school district's operate.  They count on parents not contesting and not being willing to go to court.  You wouldn't need to hire a lawyer until the mediation process, but it might be worth checking with one if they deny your IEE request.

    Dec 6, 2017

    DO NOT, DO NOT accept a 504 for a child with this type of disability.  There are no legal teeth in a 504.  After the school district assesses your child, and you don't agree with the assessment, you can request the free, IEE, paid for by the Calif Dept of Ed.  This is a very high-quality eval.  In your area, the Parent Training Institute is called "Parents Helping Parents."  408-727-5775  They can help you fill out the request for the IEE.  

    Dec 13, 2017

    My blood just begins to boil reading how the District has been putting you off! This is soooo demoralizing for parents and children! Our son suffered from our BUSD putting us off, then finally doing a horrible assessment, using all the easiest tests, and though our son tested very low, STILL saying he didn't qualify!!  Nolo press has an excellent book ; it's called 'all about IEP's" or something along those lines and it explains every step in how to get to an IEP and how to get good services.  Meanwhile, I agree with another responder. Write a short note to the District's Admin office, keep a copy for yourself and have them date/time stamp it; on the note you write "We are having struggles with our child in the regular learning environment, and are therefore requesting an IEE at the District's expense." Find a GREAT Neuropsych person (we used Terry Doyle, PhD in Berkeley, she is outstanding) and request that person. District has to respond within a 'reasonable' amount of time. Our District didn't (strung us along for months), then we filed a Complaint with CDE with DREDF's help; took us a few hours, best hours we ever spent. Then we got a great outside evaluation, ordered by CDE. Make sure the outside Neuropsych person writes in the contract that he/she will come to the next IEP's meetings to present and discuss the report and how to proceed. Lastly, I hired a Slingerland reading/writing tutor myself (Jane Ashley, she was a GOD send), which the CDE ordered the District to reimburse us for. Help your son! Follow your gut! Districts are criminal in their negligence, IMHO. 

    Dec 17, 2017