For what its worth, this is from bossy me.
You have come so far with this already, much farther than many of us have been able to get. I have total faith in you that you are going to prevail.
Stand your ground. Ask them how he is doing according to OSEP standards. If you are positive he is capable of more than they require, ask if there has been any standardized testing done to prove he is learning to potential and your expectations are unreasonable.
You do have a right to refuse to sign the IEP and to enter a formal complaint with the state. We are always advised not to sign it at the meeting but to take it home and go over it to determine if it is really what you believe is best for him. I would take advantage of that because we all know they will double talk and dance around issues so there is no clear resolution but you don't realize that until its too late.
Good luck!
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Excerpt from
www2.ed.gov/parents/needs/speced/iepguide/index.html#review12. Reviewing and Revising the IEP
The IEP team must review the child's IEP at least once a year. One purpose of this review is to see whether the child is achieving his or her annual goals. The team must revise the child's individualized education program, if necessary, to address:
the child's progress or lack of expected progress toward the annual goals and in the general curriculum; information gathered through any reevaluation of the child;
information about the child that the parents share;
information about the child that the school shares (for example, insights from the teacher based on his or her observation of the child or the child's classwork);
the child's anticipated needs; or
other matters.
Although the IDEA requires this IEP review at least once a year, in fact the team may review and revise the IEP more often. Either the parents or the school can ask to hold an IEP meeting to revise the child's IEP. For example, the child may not be making progress toward his or her IEP goals, and his or her teacher or parents may become concerned. On the other hand, the child may have met most or all of the goals in the IEP, and new ones need to be written. In either case, the IEP team would meet to revise the IEP.
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Look at Those Factors Again!
When the IEP team is meeting to conduct a review of the child’s IEP and, as necessary, to revise it, members must again consider all of the factors discussed on page 11. This includes:
the child’s strengths,
the parents’ ideas for enhancing their child’s education,
the results of recent evaluations or reevaluations, and
how the child has done on state and district-wide tests.
The IEP team must also consider the "special factors," as listed earlier.
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TOP
13. What If Parents Don't Agree With the IEP?There are times when parents may not agree with the school's recommendations about their child's education. Under the law, parents have the right to challenge decisions about their child's eligibility, evaluation, placement, and the services that the school provides to the child. If parents disagree with the school's actions-or refusal to take action-in these matters, they have the right to pursue a number of options. They may do the following:
Try to reach an agreement. Parents can talk with school officials about their concerns and try to reach an agreement. Sometimes the agreement can be temporary. For example, the parents and school can agree to try a plan of instruction or a placement for a certain period of time and see how the student does.
Ask for mediation. During mediation, the parents and school sit down with someone who is not involved in the disagreement and try to reach an agreement. The school may offer mediation, if it is available as an option for resolving disputes prior to due process.
Ask for due process. During a due process hearing, the parents and school personnel appear before an impartial hearing officer and present their sides of the story. The hearing officer decides how to solve the problem. (Note: Mediation must be available at least at the time a due process hearing is requested.)
File a complaint with the state education agency. To file a complaint, generally parents write directly to the SEA and say what part of IDEA they believe the school has violated. The agency must resolve the complaint within 60 calendar days. An extension of that time limit is permitted only if exceptional circumstances exist with respect to the complaint.
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OSEP Monitoring
The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) regularly monitors states to see that they are complying with IDEA. Every two years OSEP requires that states report progress toward meeting established performance goals that, at a minimum, address the performance of children on assessments, drop-out rates, and graduation rates. As part of its monitoring, the Department reviews IEPs and interviews parents, students, and school staff to find out:
whether, and how, the IEP team made the decisions reflected in the IEP;
whether those decisions and the IEP content are based on the child’s unique needs, as determined through evaluation and the IEP process;
whether any state or local policies or practices have interfered with decisions of the IEP team about the child’s educational needs and the services that the school would provide to meet those needs; and
whether the school has provided the services listed in the IEP.
This guide is intended to help states and school districts write IEPs that comply with IDEA. Writing effective IEPs is a very important first step in improving educational results for children with disabilities.
I was about to conquer the world but then I got distracted by something shiny.
