DON’T LIMIT ME!

Gail Williams2/29/2016

EDU363PROFESSOR REMBER

FINAL PROJECT

MEET MEGAN <iframe width="560" height="315"

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Social Justice for Children with Special Needs

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is a federal law that requires schools to serve the educational needs of eligible students with disabilities.

What’s the issue? When your child is discriminated

against because they have a special need!

School officials will use strategic power and ignorance to deny a child a free appropriate public education.

Which can cause potential barriers for parents and children who have a disability

Mateo’s Story

Timeline of discrimination and denied access to a Free Appropriate Public Education

January 15th, 2016- my son was accepted and began a open enrollment dual-language preschool in the Osborn school district.

Mateo has a current IEP that was given to his new school. IEP Diagnosis- Developmental Delay in Social Emotional and

Speech Delay February 10th, 2016- Contacted the school psychologist and

requested a meeting in regards to IEP. (The school psychologist was not aware that my son was attending this school which raised a red flag for the school district)

February 10th, 2016- That same day I was contacted by the Director for Special Education and was told that my son was not the right fit for the dual-language program because of his Developmental Disability and would have to withdraw and return to our neighboring school district. I had 2 days to withdraw. What is wrong with this personal scenario?

Cont… Step one: They accepted my child in the school Step two: They had my son’s IEP upon

registration Step three: The school psychologist had no

idea who my son was Step four: After almost 3 weeks of being in the

program the schools reaction was a quick solution, kick my child out of school and send him back to his old school.

What message is the school sending?

YOU ARE NOT WELCOMED

What is the school in violation of?

Free Appropriate Public Education

All qualified persons with disabilities within the jurisdiction of a school district are entitled to a free appropriate public education.

Here’s an example of how schools violate FAPE

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Breakdown Because Mateo was accepted into the

school under open enrollment, he is technically their student the moment he was accepted.

What does the school do now? The school is now responsible after

accepting him to provide him with a free appropriate public education also known as FAPE

How could this situation been prevented?

If the school would have requiree

What should I do if I feel my child is being discriminated against because of his special needs?

File a complaint with the Department of Education in your state.

Provide a copy to the school district you are making a complaint against

Request to speak to an Early Resolution team representative to help mediate the issue between the school and parents

The school will contact parent to set up a meeting to resolve and support the child and will determine what the best result will be for the child.

Can this happen to children with disabilities?