Ring, ring! When the school calls...

You are at work. The phone rings. Your heart drops because you see it is your child’s school calling - again. “You need to pick up Susie. She [insert the issue/behavior of the day] again, and you need to take her home." Your answer because you read my posts and know your rights? 😉: “Oh, school is suspending my child?” All too often, the parent rushes to school, feeling obligated to leave work, when the reality is - this is the equivalent of a SUSPENSION. Suspension defined: a temporary cessation of educational services. If your child is asked to leave school, that is a suspension. Your child is asked to leave school, and her peers remain in the current educational placement. If you choose to pick up your child from school, request that the school prepares the appropriate suspension paperwork. The school is requesting you to remove your child from her current placement. What is MOST frustrating? Perhaps you discussed [insert all the frequent discussions] with the school and yet, your child does not have appropriate goals and they have ignored your request for an FBA (Functional Behavior Assessment) to aid in developing an appropriate Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP) for these behaviors. Sending your child home will not help your child. In fact, with most students, it only reinforces the behavior because he or she is asked to leave school and escape whatever is the cause of the behavior. You are not looking to excuse this behavior; you are setting up a plan to correct the behavior. It is time to reconvene the team. Revise the IEP, request an FBA and develop a behavior plan. And, do not leave school without the appropriate paperwork. Having this accurate and reliable data concerning removals from the classroom not only documents your child’s needs, but is critical to ensure that schools act consistent with IDEA and helps track whether students with disabilities are suspended at a disproportionate rate. #IEP#IEPhelp #specialeducation #specialeducationadvocate#specialeducationlaw #504Plan #FAPE #suspension #discipline #ADHD#Autism Email: jen@maseradvocacy.com