I Don’t Agree with What the School Is Proposing…

Even the most collaborative team can be in disagreement or have differing views about what will best support a student in school.  Heck, I’d be hard pressed to find a team of human beings in ANY situation that 100% agrees 100% of the time.

But that doesn’t make a situation or occasion when you are not in agreement with your child’s school team about 1 or more areas any less uncomfortable or challenging. This can happen especially if you typically work well with them, respect them and appreciate them and their work with your child.

So, the first suggestion is to take a deep breath and know that you are not alone.  Be prepared for each of your child’s meetings by reviewing their performance, their current IEP and have a list of questions prepared ahead of time.  This will allow you to more fully participate in the team conversation.  Having another person with you: either a partner, family member, friend, or advocate can also help to be another set of ears.  There is a lot of information discussed at these meetings, and it can also feel very emotional to hear and talk about your child’s difficulties, so being prepped ahead of time and/or having someone with you can be so helpful.

Next, be aware that you do not have to agree or sign anything at the meeting (except the attendance sheet and a summary sheet, if offered at the end of the meeting. This is just to sign you received a copy of the summary. It is not a signature of acceptance of an IEP). After the meeting, you should receive the proposed IEP to review within 10 school days of the meeting.  You then have 30 days to review and respond if you accept, reject or partially reject an IEP.

So, what happens if I reject or partially reject the proposed IEP and /or placement?

In Massachusetts, when you reject an IEP and/or placement in full, the school district will send your response to the Bureau of Special Education Appeals (BSEA) within 5 school days.  Your child’s current active IEP and placement remain on what is called a “stay put” and is what is followed by the school team until a resolution, either through mediation or a hearing is found.  How do you get to a mediation or hearing?  The BSEA will reach out to you via a letter upon receipt of the rejected IEP and/or placement from the school district with information for your rights to request a mediation or hearing and how to do so.  

Instead of fully rejecting an IEP, in most cases, we recommend instead picking the option to partially reject the IEP for the specific areas you are not in agreement with (such as the amount of or removal of services, exclusion of accommodations you feel are needed, exclusion of extended school year, insufficiency of supports, etc).  This option allows the team to actually implement what IS accepted so that your child can move along with new goals and benchmarks while the areas you reject are on “stay put.”  You can also accept or partially reject an IEP and reject a placement or visa versa.  The more clear you can be with what and why you are rejecting some or all of the proposed plan will better help the district and potential mediator or hearing officer come to a resolution.  The same process of the district sending the plan to the BSEA within 5 school days applies with partial rejections too.

There is also an option on the signature page to request a meeting to discuss the rejected options with the team.  We do recommend this route for most caregivers as most often, a resolution can be found without a mediator - but even if going to mediation, it’s important to remember that this step is not intended to be adversarial but to work together in the best interest of the child, even if there is a disagreement.  The mediator is impartial and their role is to help both the district and caregiver come to a resolution in the best interest of the child.

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