Your Child's Progress

Is the school responsible for ensuring that my child reaches the goals in his or her IEP?
No. The IEP sets out the individualized instruction to be provided to your child, but it is not a contract. The school is responsible for providing the instructional services listed in an IEP. School officials must make a good-faith effort to help your child meet his or her goals. However, the school is not responsible if your child does not reach the goals listed in the IEP. If you feel that your child is not making progress toward his or her goals, then you may wish to contact the school and express your concerns. The IEP team may need to meet and revise your child's IEP.

What if I disagree with the school about what is right for my child?

You have the right to disagree with the school's decisions concerning your child. This includes decisions about:
· Your child's identification as a "child with a disability;"
· His or her evaluation;
· His or her educational placement; and
· The special education and related services that the school provides to your child.

In all cases where the family and school disagree, it is important for both sides to first discuss their concerns and try to compromise. The compromise can be temporary. For example, you might agree to try out a particular plan of instruction or classroom placement for a certain period of time. At the end of that period, the school can check your child's progress. You and other members of your child's IEP team can then meet again, talk about how your child is doing, and decide what to do next. The trial period may help you and the school come to a comfortable agreement on how to help your child.

If you still cannot agree with the school, it's useful to know more about the IDEA's protections for parents and children. The law and regulations include ways for parents and schools to resolve disagreements. These include:
· Mediation, where you and school personnel sit down with an impartial third person (called a mediator), talk openly about the areas in which you disagree, and try to reach agreement;
· Due process, where you and the school present evidence before an impartial third person (called a hearing officer), and he or she decides how to resolve the problem; and
· Filing a complaint with the State Education Agency (SEA), where you write directly to the SEA and describe what requirement of IDEA the school has violated. The SEA must either resolve your complaint itself, or it can have a system where complaints are filed with the school district and parents can have the district's decision reviewed by the SEA. In most cases, the SEA must resolve your complaint within 60 calendar days.

Your state will have specific ways for parents and schools to resolve their differences. You will need to find out what your state's policies are. Your local department of special education will probably have these guidelines. If not, contact the state department of education and ask for a copy of its special education policies.

You may also wish to call the Parent Training and Information (PTI) center in your state. They are an excellent resource for parents to learn more about special education.

How can I get more services for my child?
Suppose your child gets speech therapy two times a week, and you think he or she needs therapy three times a week. What do you do?

First, you can talk with your child's teacher or speech-language pathologist (sometimes called a speech therapist). Ask to see the evaluation of his or her progress. If you are not satisfied with your child's progress, then request an IEP meeting to review your child's progress and to increase speech therapy. Discuss your child's progress and increase speech therapy. Discuss your child's needs with the IEP team and talk about changing the IEP. The other team members will either agree with you and change the IEP, or they will disagree with you.

If the rest of the IEP team does not agree that your child needs more services, try to work out a compromise. If you cannot, then parents can take the problem beyond the IEP team. As was mentioned above, mediation, due process, and filing a complaint are ways to resolve disagreements. But always remember that you and the school will be making decisions together about your child's education for as long as your child goes to that school and continues to be eligible for special education services. A good working relationship with school staff is important now and in the future. Therefore, when disagreements arise, try to work them out within the IEP team before requesting mediation or due process or before filing a complaint.

How can I support my child's learning?
Here are some suggestions that can help you support your child's learning and maintain a good working relationship with school professionals:
· Let your child's teacher(s) know that you want to be involved in your child's educational program. Make time to talk with the teacher(s) and, if possible, visit the classroom.
· Explain any special equipment, medication, or medical problem your child has.
· Let the teacher(s) know about any activities or big events that may influence your child's performance in school.
· Ask the teacher(s) how you can build upon your child's school activities at home.
· Give your child chores at home. Encourage behavior that leads to success in school, such as accepting responsibility, behaving, being organized, and being on time.
· Volunteer to help in the classroom or school. This will let you see how things work in the school and how your child interacts with others. It will also help the school.
· Remember that you and the school want success for your child. Working together can make this happen.

What if I still have questions and need more information?
You can contact your state's Parent Training and Information (PTI) center. Your PTI will have a lot of information to share about the special education process in your state.

You can also contact NICHCY again. We have information on all aspects of the IEP process. We also have information on other issues that are important to families who have a child with a disability. NICHCY staff can send you more publications (see NICHCY's catalog or visit the Web site at: www.nichcy.org), answer questions, and put you in touch with other organizations that can work with you and your family.