[blindkid] Putting pressure on the school district

[Mike Freeman]

Right on, Carrie.

Excellent suggestions, especially from the book on King's techniques. I 
would also recommend the book "Winning Through Intimidation"; I forget 
the author.

And to all you parents out there: while it is human nature to want to 
get along, your job is to see to it that your child gets what she/he 
needs, not to be loved. And the job of *most* though not all educators 
is to do *just* enough to draw their salaries without guilty consciences 
or reprimands from supervisory personnel for incompetence or inaction. A 
very few truly love the work and love the kids they serve. But 
all-too-often, they burn out and become something else that pays better!

Mike Freeman, President
NFB of Washington

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Carrie Gilmer" <carrie.gilmer at gmail.com>
To: "'NFBnet Blind Kid Mailing List,(for parents of blind children)'" 
<blindkid at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Saturday, March 14, 2009 4:51 PM
Subject: Re: [blindkid] Putting pressure on the school district


Dear Holly,

You brought up something that one of these days we will get an article 
on,
but for now I zip it out there between laundry loads and preparing for
company and confirming registrations...I am feeling like an 
octopus...wish I
actually had eight arms. I am also low on patience for these people 
today,
so be forewarned.



"Can't we all get along???" I made what I feel are great mistakes early 
in
the trying to get along, being flexible, being patient, giving the 
benefit
of the doubt, naively trusting professionals, compromising too much,
returning trust over and over after it was broken...



There is a big difference between "getting along" and "going along". I
realized that I had done nothing unreasonable or outside the law or even
uncivil yet they always made me feel as if I was a nut and rude and in 
one
ear and out the other. Finally I realized I was going along with
inappropriateness at the cost of trying to get along. I realized it was
getting worse instead of better. My getting along had done nothing real 
to
improve my son's services in any substantial way. Yet my son's education 
was
for years not free and not appropriate. While I was trying to "get 
along" he
"went along" being harmed. That cost is too high!



You can't "get along" with injustice. Look, if these people had wanted 
to
comply with the law they would have done so. If they cared about Braille
literacy and his need for it this would have been done. If they believed 
you
were a full partner on the team...done, history. If they believed he 
needed
it you would have no argument, they would have done just very simply 
what is
their job and followed protocol and the law. You wouldn't "go along" 
with
injustice either. It is time to quit believing they will "do the right
thing" on their own, if they were it would be done. I know I said I hope
this is the last letter (I know I was hoping for miracles-but hey, I 
never
give up hoping), and maybe they will get it right, but if they were 
going to
do it on their own, that letter, making them aware, should have brought 
an
apology and an immediate meeting to get it right--if their intent was
clearly to make it right (meaning they acknowledge too what has gone 
wrong).



It doesn't mean they won't do it, I think from all you have described
though, they will not do it without extreme pressure. And then you will
likely have serious things to think of and monitor if the teacher 
herself
does not believe. A teacher cannot teach something well that they do not
believe in, IT is impossible. Your challenge is to not only get them to 
do
it, but to believe in doing it. You will have to create tension or they 
will
not budge. There is nothing wrong with tension. Tension can be civil.
Nothing moves without tension. They DO NOT CARE like YOU DO. YOU are 
HANK's
real advocate, they will never care like you, of course not, Hank is not
their child.



You are contesting now the fact that no proper IEP exists and you have
realized he should have had Braille. You are contesting or rather
protesting: It was THEIR legal obligation to eval for Braille if they 
were
not going to do it or provide for giving it to him the day he stepped on
their property with a visual disability qualification for service NOT 
the
day you told them about it! They are in non-compliance with the law on
several points and they must come into immediate compliance or you 
continue
to make the complaint to higher authority.



They don't HAVE to provide a draft before the meeting, it is 
recommended,
they CAN, SO CAN YOU, but they CAN NOT write the final or make decisions
BEFORE the meeting. This is different because they are having to back 
track.
They were out of compliance with the law when they made the last IEP, on
that point alone on Braille they need to come into compliance 
immediately
and a meeting needs to be called to consider placement and the how to 
and
where s and whens of providing Braille adequately whether or not this 
was
his annual time. They also could very well owe you compensatory hours 
back
to the day when he stepped on their property and they began service 
without
considering Braille.



Federal law states that the LEA must comply with parent request for any
educational records that are collected maintained or used by the LEA

 WITHOUT UNNECESSARY delay and BEFORE ANY IEP MEETING REGARDING AN IEP. 
AND
IN NO CASE MORE THAN 45 DAYS after the request has been made.



I've been reading a great book on the effective leadership style of Dr.
Martin Luther King Jr. by Donald Phillips. I enter these steps from one
chapter, I wish I had had this when my son was in first grade. It is a 
great
book and I highly recommend it. If I could afford it and they would not
think me a dictator I would buy every one of my leaders the book and 
require
the reading of it (smile). I will put in one of his quotes in quotation
marks after a step, otherwise,

 Any (comments) are my own.



1.    Seek dialogue to discuss conscerns. (This you have done, but
unfortunetly in tryin gto "get along" we keep seeking dialouge to 
discuss
concerns.sometimes of months an dyears. Meanwhile our child is growing 
up
and the windows for the learning opportunities get smaller.

2.    Create a crisis. (these things don't happen, they don't FEEL it 
unless
we make a crisis for them-this is not us being bad!) "We set out to
precipitate a crisis situation that must open the door to negotiation. I 
am
not afraid of the words 'crisis' and 'tension'. Innante in all of life, 
and
all growth is tension. Only in death is there an absence of tension. To 
cure
injustices, YOU MUST EXPOSE THEM BEFORE THE LIGHT OF HUMAN CONSCIENCE 
AND
THE BAR OF PUBLIC OPINION." MLK, Jr. (you seek to raise the moral 
conscience
of those on the team-you may not succeed with all, maybe not even the 
TVI,
but seek to do it with those who have the most power.)

3.    Set out demands and conditions.

4.    Stay firm and keep up the pressure.

5.    Meet and regroup with your team. (This means you actually GOT a 
team,
get a team so you are not alone)

6.    Be prepared to intensify pressure if demands are not met.

7.    Insist on a plan of implementation and create a committee to 
assure
follow-through (the IEP should have a clear list of implementation plan 
and
who is responsible and what is the chain of command for complaints if
further non compliance)

8.    Show good faith, use discretion, and allow the opposition a 
graceful
way out (this is key-you may have to work with some of them for man 
years
yet-give them help them save face as best as you can as you raise their
moral conscience and awareness of Braille)

9.    Praise the other side (when ever you can for what ever is RIGHT 
and
when it is done, praise them for their efforts)

10.Stick to the agreement (make sure they do and make sure you do your 
part
as a parent: learn Braille yourself and get them readgin g at 
home-meaning
once you get it don't leave it all up to the school)



Okay the dryer has buzzed four times.....

 BTW very good plan not to go with the hot pink swirly binder for the
meetings, nice restraint (smile)I think you are going to do well for 
Hank
Holly, he is lucky to have you for a mom, and you are well on your way.



Carrie Gilmer, President

National Organization of Parents of Blind Children

A Division of the National Federation of the Blind

NFB National Center: 410-659-9314

Home Phone: 763-784-8590

carrie.gilmer at gmail.com

www.nfb.org/nopbc

-----Original Message-----
From: blindkid-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindkid-bounces at nfbnet.org] 
On
Behalf Of holly miller
Sent: Saturday, March 14, 2009 5:08 PM
To: NFBnet Blind Kid Mailing List,(for parents of blind children)
Subject: Re: [blindkid] Putting pressure on the school district



Carrie,



Just wanted to explain this point a little further.  They haven't yet

presented me with an IEP/draft that includes (or denies) Braille in any

amount so I can't contest something that doesn't exist.  I knew the

caseworker was writing the draft, I was essentially giving her a heads 
up

that if it didn't have enough Braille in it, I would be contesting it

thinking if she knew that up front, she might try a little harder to get 
it

right.  Still stuck in the "can't we all get along???" mode I guess. 
But

yes, once they actually provide me with something to contest, I will be 
sure

to contest in writing well within the proper timeframe.



That's actually another point of non-compliance.  Our IEP meeting was

originally scheduled for 3/3.  I (verbally) requested a copy of the 
draft &

teacher reports on 2/26 (because I was there in the office anyway)  She

didn't have it written yet.  I asked her to send it to me as soon as it 
was

done.  Never got anything.

On 3/3 the meeting was cx due to snow but logic would say all the 
doccuments

must have been ready because she couldn't have known it would be cx.

On 3/3 I emailed and in writing requested the draft & teacher reports. 
The

caseworker was out of compliance for not having the doccuments available 
to

me 10 days before the originally scheduled meeting.  She's out of 
compliance

for not providing records within 10 days of the request even just going 
by

the 3/3 written request.  Our new IEP date is 3/26 so if I don't have 
the

doccuments on Monday, she'll be out of compiance yet again for not 
having

them to me 10 days before the new date, yes??





I didn't quote all the other excellent points you made because they 
were, in

fact, excellent :-)



Holly



On Sat, Mar 14, 2009 at 11:00 AM, Carrie Gilmer
<carrie.gilmer at gmail.com>wrote:



>

>

> 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.

>

>

>

> Get this one straight. They do NOT need your signed permission!!!!!! 
> IF
YOU

> DISAGREE you MUST give written DISAGREEMENT, that is your power to 
> stop a

> bad plan. Doing NOTHING, failing to sign a new IEP or proposed change,

> gives

> them consent-they have IMPLIED consent at 14 days for annual IEP's if 
> you

> do

> nothing. Again, you MUST disagree in writing WITHIN that time or you 
> DO

> give

> permission for them and the IEP they send.

>

>

>

>

>

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