When a school doesn’t implement your child’s individualized education plan (IEP), your parental role changes.
Being a parent is rarely easy, but sometimes things run smoothly and you can almost relax. Your child’s education goes just as it should: the student has a great teacher and seems to be making progress. Life is good.
Suddenly, there’s a bump. Whether it’s an aspect of the IEP not being followed, a staffing problem, a challenge with the child’s teacher, or something else, there are steps to follow when working to get it resolved.
Chain of Command
Like any organization, a school has a hierarchy. The teacher is the person who works most closely with your child, so they’re where you should start (with a few exceptions, listed below).
If you’ve read our previous blog posts, you know Special Education Rule #1: Always write it down. We recommend emailing the teacher and laying out the problem clearly. Write this email as though the teacher has the best of intentions toward your student. If there is no response, email again two days later asking about the first email.
If the matter is urgent, ask them to acknowledge receipt of the email. Include a sentence telling them you will be following up at a specific date and time and, if you do not hear back from them before that date and time, email again. Include the original email and ask the teacher (still nicely) if they have seen it.
This advice does not apply when the problem is a series of substitute teachers or if you suspect your child is being harmed. In these cases, bypass the teacher and go directly to the next step. Again, do it in writing, indicate urgency, copy the people listed below, and set a very short timeline for response.
The Next Step
If the above suggestions don’t work, it’s time to escalate to the student’s case manager and/or the school principal—the appropriate choices will be apparent from the IEP meetings you’ve attended. If only the case manager usually attends, start there. If both the case manager and the principal regularly attend, email both of them.
If that isn’t effective, email the superintendent. Many parents consider contacting the school board, however this is typically an advisory committee that isn’t able to help.
If you go through the school’s chain of command and the issue still isn’t resolved, the next step is a compliance complaint with the state of California.
As parents, we understand. As experienced and trained advocates, we can help.