How to change late bird assignment: Albany OV?
Our 1st grader received Late Bird assignment in Ocean View in Albany and we are unable to bring him to school at that time due to work schedules.
School is saying that they cannot change it as they are overwhelmed with such requests. We are unable and unwilling to pay for extra day care for morning hours as we already spend over budget to cover for the school district's shortcoming on special education and last year's decision to cut hours for kindergarten.
Has anyone had their schedule changed through a simple request, and if yes how did you do it?
Since school is officially open can I drop off my kid at his normal class by 8:30 am, regardless the time assignment?
Aug 14, 2022
Parent Replies
I do not have experience changing a Late Bird assignment, but I can answer your question about dropping your child off when they are not scheduled to be there: no, you can’t. Your child is only allowed to be left at school during their own official school day. If you are unable to afford childcare during the other hours of your work day, there may be subsidies available. In the past, these funds were often underutilized. You could contact the ACC to ask about this. On the other hand, if you can afford it but don’t want to, unfortunately you don’t really have a lot of options to force the district to care for your child. The district is not obligated or funded to provide daycare when school is not in session, and there are no minimum hours for kindergarten, which is why the district was able to temporarily go back to AM / PM Kindergarten to facilitate the school construction projects. I guess one possibility would be to apply for an out-of-district transfer to a nearby district with longer kindergarten hours.
If your child has an IEP or 504 plan, can you amend it to state that your child needs to have an early bird assignment? If this doesn't work, and your school in unable or unwilling to make any changes to your current assignment, I would appeal to the district office. Perhaps there are openings at other schools that could accommodate your schedule requirements.
I'm not sure I understand your last question, but it seems like you are asking if you can drop your child off at school before your scheduled start time, as long as the school is open? If that is the case, I would say no, your elementary school is not a free childcare center.
Sounds like you are struggling with what to do about childcare, which is a valid concern for working parents. I get it! But that's not the school's problem to solve. If you are unable or unwilling to pay for extra day care, you will need to cut work hours or rely on family. I recognize that's a very presumptuous privileged suggestion but there are many many people in your shoes who make it work. Doesn't make it easy or fair but I think you'll need to shift your perspective on what school is and isn't (or can offer or not offer).