Parental Rights: Obtaining Information from your School System

One of the most serious topics that I often have to deal with is dissemination of information on parental rights.  School systems tend to stay mum when it comes to providing accurate, easy to follow, and up-to-date information on how to follow proper procedures when a parent feels that the rights of his/her child have been violated.  I have often encountered those professionals who are simply afraid to mention next steps in regards to disagreement on children’s IEPs (Individualized Educational Plan), will not answer questions about the filing of impartial hearings, fail to point to guidelines and procedures, or simply withhold information that could be useful to a parent in making an informed decision.

Our world has changed for the better in many aspects, but professionals within school systems are still afraid that they could be penalized for expanding parent’s choices since those choices can come at an additional cost to the system.  For example, if your child has an IEP (Individualized Educational Plan) that recommends that for the majority of the school day, he/she is to receive instruction in a 12.1.1 setting (12 students/1 teacher/1 assistant), and your child has not been receiving this type of instruction, then you can request mediation or an impartial hearing to resolve the issue.  Sometimes the issue can be resolved at the school level, sometimes a transfer is necessary, and some other times even a private school may be needed.  In the latter case, the school system is liable to reimburse the parent for school tuition, since federal law clearly states that this is an educational right (Free Appropriate Public Education).

I was involved in a difficult situation just a few days ago.  One of my co-workers, under my guidance, informed a mother that in order to better serve the needs of her child (who needed a great degree of educational supports), she had the option of having him attend a particular school who could supply him with a much more specialized and tailored program.  Of course, if she desired, she could also send both her children, the child who needs a special program and his brother in general education, to the closest school.  They would both be together at this location, and the school would have to figure out a way to service the child with special needs as they do not have a ready-made setting, but the option was also available.  The parent chose to have the siblings in separate schools but felt that this was the best setting for each child, therefore tailoring her children’s education to their needs, rather than using a cookie-cutter formula.

When the above situation was revealed to one of the administrators in the division that manages student enrollment for this school system, I was asked to not have these conversations with parents again, as the choice should have never been on the parent.  The administrator referenced the system’s new guidelines and explained how students’ disability status could not be taken into consideration.  This is a great misunderstanding, as the point of the new guidelines is to expand parental choice, so as to not confine the parent to only one choice, a choice that would only be based on the child’s disability.  However, it is perfectly all right, actually desirable, for a parent to have this information and made the choice based on the information that she has been provided.  This is the student’s right to a Free Appropriate Public Education in his or her Least Restrictive Environment (more on this to come).

When it comes to dealing with school systems, your best option is to ASK, ASK, and ASK.  Don’t forget to drop me a line if you would like to get in touch with me!

Only by asking you will know!

Integration vs. Inclusion

I was recently talking to a group of people from work, a group of counselors and former educators, about the Department of Education’s policy* and efforts on integration and policy change based on this premise.  The integration that the department is targeting relates to efforts in ensuring that students from all socioeconomic backgrounds, housing status, and disability status are represented in all schools, and districts without zoning rules are encouraged and programmed to participate in these efforts more fully, as they are not bound by address rules (zoning implies that a family’s address determines where the child/children go to school).

My contention with the term “integration” stems from my perception on what the term means.  I’m a much bigger proponent of the term “inclusion” as “integration,” in my view, implies that a group of people (namely students of color, students of low socioeconomic status, students in shelters or students with disabilities) have a lesser standing in society and need to be brought into the mainstream, need to be assimilated by the mainstream, and need to be educated so that they are up to par, hence, they need to be “integrated.”  The term “inclusion” on the other hand, implies, in my view, that regardless of the student’s status, the mainstream needs to make the effort to accept and incorporate those students in all areas of life.  Inclusion implies a general character and pertains to an effort from all involved.

Of course, I have colleagues that work in this arena as well, who prefer other terminology.  Even the term “inclusion,” for some of them, is not enough to capture the spirit behind what we are trying to accomplish.  Inclusion, they contend, implies that there is a group of people (people in temporary housing, people with disabilities, you name it), who have a lower standing and therefore need to be included.  They prefer terms such as “coexisting” because terms like do not presuppose any particular standing (higher or lower) within society.  I can clearly see why they take this approach and why they practice using this terminology. 

Do you have any thoughts about these terms?  What do they mean to you?  What kinds of feelings do they provoke? 

Share your thoughts below!

Love & Hugs,

Dr. Klimek

*location to be disclosed at a future date

Coexisting together as an inclusive family!