[blindkid] Schooling and State Regulations

[Phouka]

Cheryl,

 

I have a feeling you're going to get a lot of responses to your post-and
most will be from people far more knowledgeable than I.  My son, Eddie, is
about to turn three, and we're currently going through the IEP process with
the school district as we transition from Part C to Part B services.  It's
been ugly, so I definitely feel for your situation and understand what
you're going through.  I imagine a lot of people on this list will say the
same.

 

First:  The IEP Itself

Interestingly enough, the districts don't have as much power as they want
you to believe they do.  They are required, by law, to give a free
appropriate public education (FAPE) in the least restrictive environment
(LRE).  I don't think your TVI gets to tell you whether or not you have
another IEP meeting.  The IEP has not been signed-therefore, you have not
agreed to the IEP, and you need to keep having meetings until everything's
ironed out.  You say you need a meeting, the district says you need a
meeting-the TVI can suck it up and go to the meeting.

 

I highly recommend becoming as educated as possible as quickly as possible.
As parents and advocates, we have a steep and quick learning curve.  I've
found Wrightslaw to be helpful (www.wrightslaw.com), and I have their book
on IEPs (http://www.wrightslaw.com/store/aaieps.html), which I definitely
recommend.  I'd also say to check out the Web site for your state's
Department of Education.  Kansas, for instance, has its Special Education
Process Handbook available for download-the handbook both cites the relevant
portions of state and federal law and explains them in plain English that us
regular folks can understand.  See if there's something similar for your
state.  I printed the entire honking book out-all 200+ pages-put it in a
binder, and took it with me to our last meeting.  I think it made a
difference that they could see that even if I wasn't currently informed, I
was working on becoming informed, so they needed to tread a bit more
carefully.

 

You have the right to request an independent evaluation for your daughter at
the school district's expense.  If they're saying that you don't need vision
services and vision isn't an issue, it might be worth pursuing the
evaluation.  See if your state school for the blind (if you have one) has
suggestions.

 

Second:  The TVI

Your TVI doesn't get to decide how many hours she spends with your child,
and she doesn't get to decide what your child needs on his/her own.  The
time your child gets with each service is set by the IEP.  You might check
on her credentials:  what training does she have in special education?  Is
she a certified teacher of the visually impaired?  Is she also the O&M
person?  In that case, is she a Certified Orientation and Mobility
Specialist (COMS)?   You might have grounds to argue for different people
providing the services if she doesn't have the right qualifications and
certifications for her job.

 

Third:  Moving

We're planning on moving to a different district ourselves, so I understand
this impulse; we're also on a state line, so I know what you're talking
about with different regulations in different states.  What I'd suggest here
is to do your research.  Find out what the laws are, but also ask people who
live in the different districts what they think.  We've found that service
providers can't necessarily say bad things about the districts they work
with-but other parents can and will.  Call the schools when you've found a
home and ask questions about their program to make sure it's what you want
for your daughter (I've got a list that some of the parents at CCVI have put
together that I can forward you off list if you want-just let me know!).
We've talked to other parents of B/VI kids, service providers (Social
workers, TVIs, etc.), the kids themselves when they're old enough to tell us
about it.  

 

The best advice I've gotten so far is to "use my resources."  Do your
research.  You can do this.

 

Let us know how it goes,

Mary