[blindkid] location of TVI service delivery

Richard Holloway rholloway at gopbc.org
Fri Sep 18 15:42:55 UTC 2009


Leah,

It sounds like you have done what many of us have done-- discovered  
that too many services can overwhelm a child such that some of the  
services can become counterproductive. It takes a while to find the  
right "balance" for a child and there are ongoing adjustments for most  
of us too--

Services at private school can be problematic for a number or reasons  
it seems.

One thing that we did while in private school was bring our child to a  
county school to meet for services at the public school with itinerate  
teachers. She was not a student at public school at that time. We  
would get her from private school early, then bring her and sit and  
wait to take her home for about an hour each time. This is less  
convenient than ideal, but it was a workable solution at the time.

The is quite common (at least around here) for things like speech  
therapy when children are in private school (and perhaps also for home  
school). As I recall, we needed O&M in a more traditional environment  
than our private school had available (there were no indoor hallways--  
the school had many separate buildings and more of an outdoor campus  
setting that was not ideal for early O&M-- too much of a "free-form"  
situation-- no doorways to count, few right angles anywhere, lots of  
curvy paths, etc.)

This has been a couple of years ago and I forget some of the details,  
but I think we ultimately added some TVI services in that same "carry- 
in-for-lessons" model as well, such that we were having services with  
both our TVI & O&M instructors at both the private school and the  
public school, but we remained enrolled in school only at the private  
school.

With other services (I think this was OT), I can't even recall why,  
but we had to meet off-campus but not at our home (not allowed for  
some reason), so we borrowed a room at a local (county run) recreation  
center. I want to say that they would have needed to go through a  
different process for in-home services. There are many rules to follow  
and it is a hassle, but you have to choose your battles at times...

Long-term, I think many parents will find it is so complex to work  
with private schools (even if they can manage to get needed services  
from the state or county) that it is better overall to go with public  
school options. The thing which happens to many people is they run  
into some items which the private school is unwilling to address  
appropriately and with private school, you have very little recourse  
except to take your child out of that school.

We had an outstanding first year in private school (at age 3) followed  
by a much less successful second year at the same school-- same  
teacher and everything. Ultimately, we changed to public school and  
had 2 really great years. Now at a new public school in first grade  
(her old school stopped after kindergarten) we're having some growing  
pains again but I know it will all get straightened out soon....

Good luck,

Richard




On Sep 18, 2009, at 10:49 AM, Christi-An Miceli wrote:

>
> This is not unusual.  We were thinking about putting our kids into  
> private school but they do not deal with IEP's.  So we homeschooled  
> with duel enrollment and than were able to get the services.  We did  
> not use the school at that time for location of services.  We went  
> to the public library.  I had suggested we use our house for  
> location but she would not allow this.  The people that are in  
> service are employed by the department of education which deals  
> mostly with the public school systems.
>
>
>
> Christi-An
>
>
>
>
> As for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.
>
> Joshua 24:15
>
>
>
>
>
>> From: leah at somazen.com
>> To: blindkid at nfbnet.org
>> Date: Fri, 18 Sep 2009 08:34:05 -0500
>> CC: leah at somazen.com
>> Subject: [blindkid] location of TVI service delivery
>>
>> I have a question about the location for the delivery of TVI  
>> services.
>>
>> My son is 4.5 and legally blind with motor disabilities and other
>> medical/physical challenges.
>>
>> In May, we created an IEP for my son with our rural school district.
>> In the fall, he would attend the (only) local public school PPCD
>> program. The IEP said that for the first six weeks he would attend 2
>> hours on Tues, 2 hours on Thurs, with no meals and no school-provided
>> transportation. For those six weeks the TVI would be there 100% of  
>> the
>> time to help him adjust. After six weeks we would reduce the TVI time
>> and if medically tolerated, increase the classroom time. He would  
>> also
>> receive OT, PT, and speech.
>>
>> Over the summer I learned some new things about his health that led  
>> us
>> to temporarily discontinue all therapies and to enroll him in a
>> private accredited preschool in the city in Austin, TX, two days per
>> week for six hours. I notified the school district before the start  
>> of
>> their school year and the private school year. They did not respond  
>> to
>> my calls and emails for 3 weeks.
>>
>> They won't permit the TVI to visit his private school, which has been
>> in session for two weeks, until we have another ARD.
>>
>> We have an ARD scheduled for Thursday Sept 24th. The school district
>> so far says that they will not allow any of their staff to deliver
>> services off campus. This is in spite of the fact that TVIs in our
>> state are itinerant by nature - they do home visits through age 5 and
>> they are required to visit daycares through age 3 if requested. The
>> TVI and I both believe that the appropriate location for her services
>> is at the preschool. The reasons for this are 1) he really needs VI
>> related social skills assistance (think core curriculum; his social
>> deficits are the main reason I chose this preschool over public
>> school) and 2) the TVI needs to be able to help modify their academic
>> activities to include Braille and large print (he's a dual media
>> learner). The school district does not want to set a precedent for
>> delivery of services off campus.
>>
>> The TVI actually snuck in for an hour on his first day of school and
>> helped him tremendously. I heard him later that day at home playing
>> and practicing saying "Hi" which he doesn't do and she had apparently
>> worked on with him!
>>
>> I'll paste a copy of the pertinent regulation below, but so far with
>> interpretation help from our regional service center, it seems that  
>> he
>> is entitled to all services even though he is enrolled in private
>> school, but the location of the services is unfortunately not spelled
>> out.
>>
>> The TVI lives in the city, so could schedule to see him without too
>> much transportation difficulty. Also, she is going on leave in less
>> than 8 weeks and he really needs her expertise at this time - both
>> with transitioning to school for the first time and because he has a
>> good relationship with her, she has the skills to help him socially,
>> and she won't be available much longer (we don't know about a
>> replacement yet).
>>
>> I'm not planning to ask for any OT, PT, and speech even though the
>> district is offering them, because one of my son's doctors
>> specifically told us not to re-start therapies yet when he has
>> improved so much by stopping them all.
>>
>> Any ideas for arguing that TVI services should be delivered at the
>> private preschool?
>>
>> The alternative I know of is another system where he could get
>> services from the district where the public school is actually
>> located, however the regulations only specify that the services
>> delivered in that system must be much less than the child would
>> usually get from their home district.
>>
>> Regulations below. Thanks for any suggestions.
>>
>> Leah Roberts
>>
>> §89.1096. Provision of Services for Students Placed by their Parents
>> in Private Schools or Facilities.
>>
>> (portion snipped)
>>
>> (c) Parents of an eligible student ages 3 or 4 shall have the right
>> to "dual enroll" their student in both the public school and the
>> private school beginning on the student's third birthday and
>> continuing until the end of the school year in which the student  
>> turns
>> five or until the student is eligible to attend a district's public
>> school kindergarten program, whichever comes first, subject to
>> paragraphs (1)-(3) of this subsection. The public school district
>> where a student resides is responsible for providing special  
>> education
>> and related services to a student whose parents choose dual  
>> enrollment.
>>
>> (1) The student's ARD committee shall develop an individualized
>> education program (IEP) designed to provide the student with a FAPE  
>> in
>> the least restrictive environment appropriate for the student.
>>
>> (2) From the IEP, the parent and the district shall determine which
>> special education and/or related services will be provided to the
>> student and the location where those services will be provided, based
>> on the requirements concerning placement in the least restrictive
>> environment set forth in 34 CFR, §§300.114-300.120, and the policies
>> and procedures of the district.
>>
>> (3) For students served under the provisions of this subsection, the
>> school district shall be responsible for the employment and
>> supervision of the personnel providing the service, providing the
>> needed instructional materials, and maintaining pupil accounting
>> records. Materials and services provided shall be consistent with
>> those provided for students enrolled only in the public school and
>> shall remain the property of the school district.
>>
>> (d) Parents of an eligible student ages 3 or 4 who decline dual
>> enrollment for their student may request a services plan as described
>> in 34 CFR, §§300.130-300.144. The public school district where the
>> private school is located is responsible for the development of a
>> services plan, if the student is designated to receive services under
>> 34 CFR, §300.132.
>>
>> ====================
>>
>> Q&As
>> Dual Enrollment
>>
>> TAC 89.1096(c)
>>
>> • What is a school’s responsibility if a parent requests dual
>> enrollment for a child age 3-5?
>> The school district where a student age 3-5 resides must convene an
>> Admission, Review and Dismissal (ARD) meeting in order to determine
>> whether the child is eligible for special education and related
>> services and, if so, the specific services appropriate for the child.
>>
>> • Which school district is responsible for providing special
>> education and related services if a parent chooses dual enrollment  
>> for
>> a child?
>> The school district where a student age 3-5 resides is responsible  
>> for
>> providing special education and related services associated with dual
>> enrollment if the child’s parent chooses that option. Additional
>> information regarding dual enrollment is available on the TEA website
>> at http://www.tea.state.tx.us/special.ed/private/.
>>
>> Services Plan
>>
>> TAC 89.1096(d)
>>
>> • What options other than dual enrollment are available to a
>> parentally-placed private school student with a disability?
>> A parent of a private school student age 3-5 may choose to be
>> considered for a services plan or may choose dual enrollment. A
>> services plan consists of limited special education and related
>> services as determined by representatives of the school district and
>> private school. While a parentally-placed private school student with
>> a services plan may receive limited services, no parentally-placed
>> private school student with a services plan student has a right to
>> receive some or all the services the student would receive if  
>> enrolled
>> in a public school.
>>
>> • Which school district is responsible for providing a services plan
>> if a parent chooses proportionate share services for a child?
>> The school district where a private school is located is responsible
>> for providing a parentally-placed private school student with a
>> services plan if the child’s parent chooses that option and the
>> student is designated to receive proportionate share services.
>>
>> • What dispute resolution options other than filing a complaint are
>> available to parents choosing dual enrollment?
>> Parents choosing dual enrollment have the option of requesting
>> mediation iif there is a dispute regarding the implementation of the
>> student’s individualized education program (IEP). Parents of a
>> parentally-placed private school student with a services plan may
>> request mediation only for issues related to special education
>> identification and evaluation. For more information about mediation,
>> contact the Division of Legal Services at (512) 463-9720.
>>
>>
>>
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