In the United States, EVERY child has 
the RIGHT to an education and it’s the state’s responsibility to provide that education. Unfortunately, between budget cuts and the tendencies of states to attach that budget to the performance of the children, a lot of schools really can’t afford to provide the special education that some kids need. They try to just kick the children out, mainstream them, or whatever they can do to NOT spend any more money than they have to.
What does this mean for the parents of special needs children?
It means that you are going to have to fight for your children’s right to be properly educated. If you don’t have to fight, consider yourself very, very lucky. My grandson was kicked out of kindergarten on day 3. They told me daughter that he was just a spoiled rotten child. She put him in a different district where they called me to come pick him up every day by 9am. I finally ended up having to home-school him for kindergarten.
What you need to do: Educate yourself!
Learn everything you can about the educational laws in your state along with federal laws, especially where they concern 504 plans and IEP’s. Every state has it’s own laws but they are all governed by federal laws that they HAVE to follow. Don’t let them tell you otherwise.
Record EVERY conversation.
You will constantly have people tell you one thing then later claim they never said it or say something completely different. You have to inform people if you audio record them in some states, but might not if you video record them. This law may vary from state to state, check the laws in your state. Illegal recordings don’t help you at all.
Find an advocate.
An advocate is a person who knows the educational laws in your state and is there on behalf of the child. If your child is in any type of special program or sees special doctors, they may be able to help you find an advocate. Check with various mental health facilities as they may know of some resources you can obtain. It truly is amazing how a person’s whole attitude sometimes changes just by the presence of someone who knows the laws and is there on your side.
How I Handled the School District in Regards to My Grandson
When it came time for my grandson to enter 1st grade, I went to the school I chose to send him to (based on their special ed program). I had him enrolled then went in to talk to the vice principle who referred me to the school counselor. I explained to the counselor that we needed an IEP and we had to have a plan in place BEFORE he went to that school to handle his special needs (at this point I knew he had Sensory Processing Disorder, we were waiting for the autism diagnosis). Later the counselor called me and said the vice principle told her something to the effect that the school could decide if they wanted to accept him or not.
Ok. Now I had to put my war boots on. First, I told her that he had a RIGHT to an education and it was the STATE’s responsibility to provide that education, and if I had to I would take it up with the state Department of Education. I made an appointment to see the vice principle and I asked his therapist to come with me. Funny how when the therapist was with me everything changed. They said they weren’t allowed to do an IEP without first doing a full evaluation and they couldn’t put him into a special classroom without an IEP. But, they would put him on a 504 plan and make certain accommodations to to handle his sensory issues.
It took until March to get his IEP evaluation completed. This was partly because they were waiting on the official autism diagnosis from his developmental pediatrician. Without that, they were really unwilling to do an IEP. For the three quarters of a year while he was in a regular classroom, he basically learned nothing. The teacher had her hands full with 25 other kids and was unable to handle his meltdowns. So he was basically just allowed to do whatever he wanted.
With the IEP completed, however, he was moved to a different school with a sensory classroom in place. Minimal sensory triggers, only a few other kids, almost as many teachers as kids and a “quiet room” for those meltdowns. The first month or so most time went to teaching him to act properly and do his work. He is not caught up yet (a quarter of the way through 2nd grade) but he’s making actual progress and received student of the month for September.
For more information, you can check out the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act from the federal government. I haven’t had time to check it all out but when I do, I will post on it.
My Autistic Grandkid 