SPED experts

[sk!mom]

How long can a district wait at the beginning of a new school year before they get IEP’s to new teachers and start providing services?

I tried googling but can’t find an answer.

 

[Princess_Ariel_5]

It may be dependent on your state or district. I know that in my district (in NYC), we are provided the IEPs the week before school begins and we are expected to acknowledge that we read them within one week of school beginning. If you have been provided with the student’s IEP, and do not read it and provide the proper accommodations, it can turn into a serious legal issue.

 

[sk!mom]

8 days in and my problem is that I haven’t been provided them yet. We have a new SPED teacher so this is a new problem for me.

 

[Princess_Ariel_5]

8 days in and my problem is that I haven’t been provided them yet. We have a new SPED teacher so this is a new problem for me.

Yikes. Can you approach him/her and ask about it? Just say that you want to be sure you are providing your students with what they need so that they can be successful, and see what he/she says.

 

[sk!mom]

Yikes. Can you approach him/her and ask about it? Just say that you want to be sure you are providing your students with what they need so that they can be successful, and see what he/she says.

I sent an email earlier this week and spoke to Admin today. Trying to find the actual law so I will know how hard to push.

 

[Princess_Ariel_5]

I sent an email earlier this week and spoke to Admin today. Trying to find the actual law so I will know how hard to push.

Are you in NY?

 

[sk!mom]

Are you in NY?

No, Texas. I can find lots of law but none regarding the start of a new school year and an acceptable amount of time before Services are given.

 

[SandiH]

What type of services? Academic, speech and language, motor services? I’m assuming you’re the gen ed teacher. Not sure what the law states or if it does but services are supposed to start right away. By day 8, you should have an IEP or in the very least talked to the sped teacher, especially if you are providing services or accommodations or modifications. Now if the student has pull out services and you aren’t responsible for providing any services, those pullout services sometimes take time to schedule but should be in place by now. .

 

[DLgal]

They have to provide services from day 1, if the IEP was already in place last school year. If you have a student with an IEP in your class, and no one will give you the IEP, reach out to the parent and ask for a copy. Not sure if that's kosher, but as a parent, I would rather a teacher do this than be jumping through administrative hoops to get my child's IEP. And, as the parent, I would also chew out the administration at that school for being so nonchalant about their responsibility to provide federally mandated services.

If I am misunderstanding the situation, correct me.

 

[LSUmiss]

8 days in and my problem is that I haven’t been provided them yet. We have a new SPED teacher so this is a new problem for me.

In our district teachers can access IEPs for kids in their class through the state dept of education website. Do y’all have anything like that?

 

[DisneyOma]

8 days in and my problem is that I haven’t been provided them yet. We have a new SPED teacher so this is a new problem for me.

How do you know any of your students are on IEPs? Could you have a classroom without any?

FWIW, our school district has all IEPs on our server, so there's no wait to access them. Perhaps suggest that to your district?

 

[jam217]

As a special ed teacher, please, please don't reach out to the parents and ask for the child's IEP. You are setting that new teacher up for a very rough year. I get what the other poster is saying but not all parents will be as understanding. In my district, IEPS are available online in each teachers electronic classes. They click a little box next to the child's name and up pops the IEP. Maybe suggest that your district look into that as well. If it were me, I'd show up the special ed teachers room and ask to see each child's physical file. I wouldn't even ask. I'd go in with a list and say I need to see this so we're not violating federal law by not providing accommodations.

 

[Wishing on a star]

I am not sure I would expect the SPED teacher to personally hand this to me.
(which does not say a lot about some IEP staff!!! BTDT as a parent)
You should be able to request this IEP document, if it is finalized and signed by the parents/staff. And get a copy immediately.
Are you sure the year's IEP has been finalized and signed?

Yes, it is true, that it should not be up to you to know which of your kids have IEP's and make sure you have a copy.
But.... you might have to be proactive.

As a parent, the parent can request that the teacher(s) be at the IEP meeting. And, then the teacher would have been due a copy of all of this, ASAP.
If the parent did not do this... If the parent is not being proactive and advocating for their child, then I am not sure I would see much of anything going on related to any IEP requirements.

 

[Luv Bunnies]

In my district, a SPED teacher would have nothing to do with a gen ed student on an IEP, unless the student was previously in a SPED class and is now being transferred to gen ed. Each student with an IEP has a case manager, usually based on his or her primary need. For example, a gen ed student who only receives speech services would likely have the speech therapist as their case manager. If they receive resource services for academic or learning issues, the case manager would likely be the resource teacher. Those case managers would be responsible for providing the gen ed teacher with a copy of the IEP, as well as consulting with the teacher during the school year regarding the student's progress. In some cases, the school psychologist can also be a case manager.

I agree with the poster who advised not to ask the parent for the IEP. That can make the entire district look bad. If you're waiting for a SPED teacher to give you an IEP, you could ask your school principal to help. Or, go to your district office SPED department. Our department secretary has access to all IEPs and can send copies to IEP team members who need them.

 

[sara mom]

In my N.Y. district we have to distribute and have gen Ed’s sign off they received by first week. We start next week and I sent them electronically last week. We can also access iep’s in our attendance program- we use SchoolTool.

 

[brockash]

How long can a district wait at the beginning of a new school year before they get IEP’s to new teachers and start providing services?

I tried googling but can’t find an answer.

In our district and I assume all... they must be implemented as soon as school starts. We give our teachers their kiddos IEPS and 504s 2 days before the first day of school and they're expected to be prepared for their students on the first day. Is there 1 specific service that hasn't started for your student? For instance in our district special service such ad speech aren't started on the first day.. they start pulling kids between the 2nd/3rd week, but any modifications/accommodations that are applicable are to happen as they're needed (for example if the student gets small group testing etc...as soon as there is the 1st test that will happen.)

 

[DLgal]

In my district, a SPED teacher would have nothing to do with a gen ed student on an IEP, unless the student was previously in a SPED class and is now being transferred to gen ed. Each student with an IEP has a case manager, usually based on his or her primary need. For example, a gen ed student who only receives speech services would likely have the speech therapist as their case manager. If they receive resource services for academic or learning issues, the case manager would likely be the resource teacher. Those case managers would be responsible for providing the gen ed teacher with a copy of the IEP, as well as consulting with the teacher during the school year regarding the student's progress. In some cases, the school psychologist can also be a case manager.

I agree with the poster who advised not to ask the parent for the IEP. That can make the entire district look bad. If you're waiting for a SPED teacher to give you an IEP, you could ask your school principal to help. Or, go to your district office SPED department. Our department secretary has access to all IEPs and can send copies to IEP team members who need them.

Wouldn't want to make the district look bad...

Seriously? The district ALREADY looks bad here! The longer this goes on without resolution, the worse it will be for the IEP kids. I would be livid if I found out 8 days of school had gone by and my child's teacher had not yet seen their IEP. That is unacceptable and just points to larger problems in the district.

 

[Wishing on a star]

I tend to agree with DLgal.
If this student has an IEP, this should have been renewed by now, if not late LAST year.
Teachers, and any SPED staff should all be aware of each child who has an IEP. (which is generally considered SPED, not sure if, or why there would or could ever be a child who has special needs, learning disabilities, and therefore an IEP, who would be 'gen ed'.)
There are some comments above that are simply not exactly true.

As I had mentioned, the only reason that can see for any delay, is if there is an IEP meeting scheduled, and the details of the IEP are still being ironed out. Once this IEP document is finalized, parents, staff, etc. would all sign, and I would imagine it would then be official, effective immediately.

 

[bushdianee]

My sister was just saying yesterday that my nephew hasn't started receiving his resource services yet. They have been back in school for 2 1/2 weeks already and he is becoming very frustrated in math. He is also transitioning into middle school which is a big change from elementary. They had his IEP meeting back in May so that shouldn't be the holdup. She said that in elementary he ever had speech or resource the first week but did shortly after that.

 

[monsterkitty]

In my district, a SPED teacher would have nothing to do with a gen ed student on an IEP, unless the student was previously in a SPED class and is now being transferred to gen ed. Each student with an IEP has a case manager, usually based on his or her primary need. For example, a gen ed student who only receives speech services would likely have the speech therapist as their case manager. If they receive resource services for academic or learning issues, the case manager would likely be the resource teacher. Those case managers would be responsible for providing the gen ed teacher with a copy of the IEP, as well as consulting with the teacher during the school year regarding the student's progress. In some cases, the school psychologist can also be a case manager.

I agree with the poster who advised not to ask the parent for the IEP. That can make the entire district look bad. If you're waiting for a SPED teacher to give you an IEP, you could ask your school principal to help. Or, go to your district office SPED department. Our department secretary has access to all IEPs and can send copies to IEP team members who need them.

Not sure I understand the bolded. A gen ed students would never have an IEP. An IEP is reserved for those who qualify for services and a typical student would not qualify for services. He or she may have a 504, but that is not the same as an IEP.

We receive our IEPs for returning students before school starts. However, our school district has a high transient population and often we have no idea a student has been receiving services through an IEP until the previous school sends records. Some schools will take months before sending records.