OUSD School Assignment Waitlist vs. Appeals Process + IEP
We just received our son's school assignment for kindergarten and we are now trying to navigate the process. He is high functioning ASD and has an IEP, but we deferred placement until Kindergarten as he is getting services at his current private preschool through our insurance. The school assignment we received for Kindergarten through the normal enrollment process was our neighborhood school, While we are considering it, we think that it might not be the best place for him socially as most of his friends will be going to the school 1 zone over which was our #1 preferred school. Additionally the neighborhood school is not associated with the afterschool program at his current daycare which our preferred school is (we feel this would provide some continuity for him).
I have also heard that the IEP placement for Kindergarten is totally separate from school assignment, so yet another thing to try to figure out. Does anyone have experience with trying to get into a non-neighborhood school with a child that has an IEP? If by some stroke of luck that we made it off of the waitlist and into the preferred school, would we then be rejected because they cannot offer services?
I have heard that I need to start the appeals process early, however I don't even know where to go to find the form. Any thoughts or advice if you have been through this process?
Thanks!
Parent Replies
Is your child's current IEP through OUSD? If so, they should have assigned him separately through PEC (unless that has also changed this year, but I haven't heard that it has). I would call and ask about this, and if he hasn't yet been assessed through OUSD, this is the time to do it. There is definitely a chance that your neighborhood school may not offer the services he needs, and an equally good chance that the nearby school won't either (or that, if it does, you may not get a spot there)--but you need to know exactly which services and what setting he needs for that process to start. PEC will place you based on where the services are available; it will not necessarily be your first choice or your closest school, though they do seem to take this into consideration where possible. There is no appeals process for general OUSD assignments this year--it's all online waitlists now (happily!) But your child's assignment process will be handled separately independently of this since there are limited spots in the ASD inclusion programs. Good luck and hang in there!
Mamabird,
I would call/drop-in and speak to the AP or Principal directly regarding your concerns, at the school you want your child to attend. Ideally you would speak to someone in admin, the school counselor, and the possible service provider at once. They will be able to help you navigate the proper way to deal with your situation, and also give you any advice about who to talk to, and what sort of turnover/response to expect.
Good luck!
Thanks so much! My son’s IEP is through OUSD but we declined the TK offer and deferred placement until Kindergarten. I will follow up with PEC (and I’m so new to this that I had to look up the acronym!).
Thanks again!
I’d encourage you to attend CAC for Special Ed meetings. Childcare and dinner is generally available. It would give you an opportunity to get to know Special Ed administrators and ask them questions. They post monthly meeting details on Facebook. https://m.facebook.com/CACforSPEDinOUSD/ Also, you may want to join this Facebook group and ask a broader audience specifically about IEP/Special Ed in OUSD: https://m.facebook.com/groups/1669203130030275