[blindlaw] Missing technology items and more questions

[Carlton Anne Cook Walker]

Anne Marie,

The question about meeting your daughter's technology needs is completely
independent of the question of whether you returned equipment two years
ago. Even if the school still had the equipment at hand, that equipment may
well be inappropriate for your daughter's current technology needs.

In your posts, you reference her ADA rights. Why is this? If she is
currently attending a public school, her IEP (individualized education
plan) should be the first document to look to for technology needs. If the
IEP does not mention technology, it is almost certainly out of compliance
with federal special education law (IDEA) and needs to be amended ASAP. The
IEP should detail your daughter's technology NEEDS. Federal law provides
that these needs must be met by the school district at no cost to the
parent or family. Federal law does not provide school districts an "out" of
they claim that equipment is missing--because the law is focused on the
student's educational NEEDS, not on school district budgets or inventory.
Any concerns about missing equipment must be handled outside the IEP
process. If the school refuses to provide needed technology, that is a
violation of your daughter's federally-protected rights under the IDEA, and
it would be the basis of an appeal by you (either due process or
mediation), including a claim for compensatory education based on the lack
of technology.

So many times, school officials want us to help solve their problems, and
they try to make us the "bad guys." We are not the bad guys. Public schools
have a duty to provide every student with an IEP a free appropriate public
education (FAPE). Schools cannot absolve themselves of these
responsibilities by throwing mud at parents.

Carlton


Carlton Anne Cook Walker
Attorney at Law
BEAR--Blindness Education and Advocacy Resources
Teacher of Students with Blindness/Low Vision
President, National Organization of Parents of Blind Children (NOPBC)
101 Kelly Drive
Carlisle, PA   17015
Voice: 717-658-9894
Twitter: braillemom


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