You know, if the school had just accommodated my son many months ago, I might not be in the ring with you.
It’s better this way. Now I’m learning to play dirty and use dirty words, and I’ll dance for you for free.
I learned the IEP game up close and personal. We tangoed all year with the “Intervention & Referral Services” team to help my son adjust to public school life in first grade. You know, because it was so normal for a 6 year old to be masked, and to attend hybrid-schedule, public prison, I mean school, system for the first time last September, after attending a full-day, mask-free daycare that summer.
The ISR process was the precursor to an IEP evaluation. My son’s teacher quickly and accurately identified my son as needing some additional supports after transitioning from private Kindergarten at his former daycare and subsequently joining remote, public school Kindergarten in April 2020, with a very terrible assistant teacher-me.
To this day, I am grateful for the bi-monthly meetings and special techniques recommended by the ISR team that greatly transformed my son from a distracted student, unable to read a full sentence, to a boy who just wanted to return to his public school, in spite of my offer to homeschool him and my overt opposition to mandated masking.
I tell you this story to share a dirty little secret I learned in the process about IEPs and 504s: There’s a fast pass. You hold the ticket.
You know, the ISR process can take all year, and you have no elevated, legal protection for your child.
But the IEP: that’s a golden ticket in many ways.
Have one? Good. Want one?
Just ask. Write a letter and sign it, and “regular” mail. Say: “I request an evaluation by the Child Study Team for my child to determine if any IEP is appropriate”. That’s literally all it takes for the school to be required to schedule a conference with the Child Study Team to evaluate whether your child should receive a full evaluation to determine whether an IEP is appropriate. And guess what? The conference must be scheduled within 20 days of their receipt of your letter.
Gosh. What if everyone asked for that conference in the same week or so? That might be a bit overwhelming. It’s almost…no, we shouldn’t do that in the first few weeks of school! That’s cruel, like making little kids sit in plexiglass cubicles to eat their lunches or sit on hot blacktop for snacks!
Why would you want an IEP?
It’s a brand-name status. You want to call more shots?
Get your kid a brand name.
“Regular” kid? Slim chance you’ll see a mask exemption.
IEP with a doctor’s note specifically and explicitly stating that masking your child creates a health hazard? I’m saying there’s a chance.
So if you already have a child with an IEP or 504, you can immediately request a re-evaluation conference AT ANY TIME. Come armed with the doctor’s note.
No IEP yet? Take the fast pass. Schedule a visit with your child’s doctor/therapist/psychiatrist/psychologist/behavioral specialist and explain why your child is in need of the exemption.
Did you know you can bring an advocate or lawyer to your conference? You can. That might help.
After the IEP is in place, re-submit the mask exemption request by requesting the IEP be amended to include a specific reference to your child’s entitlement to the exemption. If your request is denied by the School, you will be legally entitled to pursue various avenues of relief. Take a read through this to see the many options available. https://www.state.nj.us/education/specialed/form/
Pay close attention to all of the rights of parents, and duties imposed upon the School, once your child enters the IEP world.
Thought break: pay close attention to these thicc bodies.
Anyway, a little bird told me some helpful hints about IEPs and 504s:
“In order for a child to qualify for a 504 plan he must have a medical diagnosis of his disability and the disability must have a substantial impact on the student’s learning in school. To get the process started for a 504 plan you would need to take your child to the doctor to be evaluated and diagnosed with a disability. Often if you take your child to the pediatrician they will not give you a diagnosis and will often refer you to see a Neurologist, Behaviorist, Psychiatrist, or other Specialists. It can take months to get appointments with a specialist. So if you go this route I would start with the pediatrician and if you get referred to a specialist I would take whatever appointment they give you even if it’s 6 months from now and ask to be put on a waiting list. If you are put on the waiting list you have to be willing to take an appointment with a day or two notice (but it will get you in faster). Once you get a diagnosis you would need to submit a doctor’s note to me with the diagnosis. Also, you will need to get the doctor to fill out a district form as a part of the 504 plan process. If you would like to pursue this route please let me know and I will send you the district form that you will need to get completed.
An Individual Education Plan (IEP) is through the Child Study Team (CST) which is a separate entity then the Intervention and Referral Services (I&RS) team. If there is a suspected learning disability that is evidenced in the student’s academic performance and he is continuously struggling academically after numerous strategies and interventions have been tried through the I&RS process the I&RS team sometimes makes a referral to the CST. Usually these students have received Basic Skills Math Support, Basic Skills Reading Support, or other related services that haven’t shown improvement. However, parents have the right to write a letter to the CST requesting a full Child Study Team evaluation be completed on their child. The letter would need to be written to (redacted), Director of Educational Support Services. The letter must have your signature so if you email her with a letter the letter must be attached with your signature. If you only send an email the district isn’t able to accept it. Once the CST receives your letter they will schedule a Determination/Eligibility Meeting to determine if he is eligible for testing”
Did you hear that???
Let’s roll. Happy Constitution Day. Time to use it.