Moving is always difficult, but when you have a child with an IEP, it adds an additional challenge as you have to worry about their needs being met in a new school district. When moving to a new school district, the school districts will be in communication with each other and do formal records transfers and requests. Unfortunately, this is a time-consuming process and it is not uncommon to have paperwork lost in translation or only partial records are sent. Here are some basic things you can do to help make this transition as easy as possible.
First, as soon as you know that you’ll be leaving your current school district: put in a request to get a copy of all of your child’s special education documents. This ensures you have everything in the off chance any records are lost or take a long time to transfer. Once you have all of this information, make an extra copy of your child’s current IEP, eligibility evaluation reports, and any behavioral plans. You will hand these copies directly to an IEP team member at your child’s new school.
Moving your child with special needs to a new school district can seem daunting. You can do it!
Second, once you register at your new school district: provide them with a copy of your child’s IEP and eligibility evaluation reports for them to review. Depending on whether you’re moving to a different state or just a new local district, your child’s new IEP team may make IEP recommendations based on the specific school, area, or state. Some districts may have more built-in supports or offer additional services that your previous district did not have and it will be beneficial for the new IEP team to have a chance to review everything prior to your child’s first day of school.
The new school district should plan to have an IEP within 30 days of your child starting at the new school, but you should request an IEP on the first day of school to ensure your child receives consistent supports and services. At this 30-day IEP meeting, you will be given a chance to connect with the entire IEP team and review any recommendations on changes that might be beneficial to your child with the new school district. If the team instead recommends removing services or making major changes, we recommend not agreeing right away until there is appropriate data to support those recommendations.
If you are nervous about this move and would like direct support for an advocate, contact Aspire Advocacy today! We can work with you to help make this transition as easy and smooth as possible. Aspire Advocacy operates in California, Nevada, Oregon, and Arizona, but will consult and potentially take clients in other states in certain situations. We specialize and take great pride in supporting our military families and their children in all states.
For help at your child’s next IEP meeting, more information about our special education advocacy services, or for a FREE 20-minute consultation to see if we are a good fit for you, call or email today!
As parents, we understand. As advocates, we can help.