[blindkid] Putting pressure on the school district

[holly miller]

I have to apologize, things are changing before I can even come here and
respond to all the wonderful responses I'm getting!!!
I am reading it all & absorbing, I promise!

This seems to be a Jersey thing maybe??  Our TVI is not a district employee,
she works for the state COB and the district contracts the COB to provide
all vision related evaluations & services.

I did get a response to my letter yesterday and unfortunately, yesterdays
letter seems to be far from the last letter needed :::sigh:::
Yesterday brought a brief email response from the sp.ed director saying they
did sign a new (higher level of service) contract with the COB and braille
will be provided.   His district caseworker would contact me shortly with
the how much & whens.

Ok, step in the right direction.  I know better than to get too excited but
at least it's in writing that Braille will be provided.

Today district caseworker calls, starts out by telling me his anual IEP
review has been rescheduled for 3/26.  Then she informs me the TVI will meet
with Hank & the teachers on 3/19 to "go over things" and figure out when to
fit braille instruction into his schedule.  I ask what level of braille will
be taught and how much instruction time is planned?  Pre-braille program,
45 min once a week (he's 8 yrs old, 2nd grade, no cognitive delays)

She goes on to inform me that the TVI has ordered a Franklin Talking
Dictionary, a Victor audio book player and the TVI will review the 3rd grade
text books to see what will need to be enlarged for next year.  I asked her
what Braille supplies/equipment has been ordered.  She doesn't see any
listed.

And we're off to the races.

I stayed calm & collected but I told her that this is not acceptable. I had
told her (verbally) on two other occasions in the last 3 weeks that I knew
this is what the TVI would be offering and she needed to be aware I was not
going to find it acceptable nor would I sign off on an IEP that did not
provide appropriate Braille instruction.  Yet for some reason, she was
surprised I was not pleased with today's news.

Long story short, she kept saying the TVI is the expert, the district can
only go by TVI's recomendation, there is a COB protocol that must be
followed, I (the mother) can't possible say this won't work without even
trying it, he won't be receiving pre-braille services forever, it's just a
short term starting place and he'll move on to the next level of service at
a specified time (of course when asked what that specified length of time
was, it wasn't actually specified)

All unnaceptable and I told her so. It boils down to appropriate services
are supposed to be decided by the IEP team as a whole, not arbitrarily made
by the TVI.  I am a member of the IEP team yet this decision was made and
implemented without me.

 Not to mention that I have no idea what/if any braille related goals have
been developed because none of this is written into his IEP because um...we
didn't *have an IEP meeting to amend his IEP to include braille*  His
current working IEP (written 4/08) does not even have the word Braille in it
anywhere.  Part my fault for allowing that to happen, but this time last
year I still didn't fully understand the need for Braille and was trusting
the professionals to tell *me* if Hank needed it or not.  Now I know
better...

Case worker is at a loss, she has to speak with the sp-ed director and she
imagines we'll have to have a meeting just to discuss this issue (ya
think??? )  aside from the regular IEP review.

So.  I am in the process of writing another letter to memorialize today's
phone conversation.   I have gotten excellent advice to not just doccument
these conversations/meetings in my own file but to send special services a
letter written along the lines of meeting minutes (factual recounting of
events, not emotional/opinion based and not bringing up new issues) and
state I want a copy placed in his permanent file.  Theory being they have to
either accept it (so they can't say 6 months down the road "That was never
said!") or they have to respond to the letter with their version of events
(which I can counter in writing if necessary).  Either way, it's doccumented
in the official file and can be used if it goes to arbitration/due process.
Next is a 2nd letter listing my official "parent concerns" to be included in
the IEP doccument (another thing I didn't know I could/should do until now).


   I'm not sure of the ettiquite of this list,  I'm more than happy to post
the letters as I send them if it will be helpful for other parents fighting
the fight.  If it is too much detail though I don't want to bog things
down.

Holly
pass the excedrin






On Thu, Mar 12, 2009 at 8:36 AM, Carrie Gilmer <carrie.gilmer at gmail.com>wrote:

> Very good documenting Holly, non threatening but holding them accountable,
> and a good start lets hope they react appropriately and it is the last such
> letter and you do not need to take it to the next level.
>
> I am sending vibes through the phone lines-smile.
>
>
> Carrie Gilmer, President
> National Organization of Parents of Blind Children
>