After 11 Years, School Wants to DeCertify Son's IEP

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After 11 years using an IEP, my son's school now wants to decertify my son's IEP and is suggesting he use a 504 plan. He has one final, senior year of high school. I am puzzled - why, after all these years of success should we mess with an IEP that is clearly working. It looks like the 504 accommodations are similar to an IEP, and my son doesn't really need a highly individualized plan. Anyone have any feedback regarding moving his accommodations to a 504 plan ? I'm not sure if this decertification is worth fighting about...

thank you ! daveyang

Wrightslaw just sent out a newsletter on IEP termination: http://www.wrightslaw.com/nltr/15/nl.0421.htm

Basically, the school has to do comprehensive eval before taking him off the IEP.

As to why they would want to do this in 11th grade -- if there is any chance at all that something happens and he does not graduate, the school is on the hook for transition services until he graduates or reaches age 21.

don't think he has problem with graduating. He gets excellent grades - I attribute to
his focus during school hours while on meds, and his ability to complete his homework
during school hours in an SSTS class. Because he gets excellent grades, school is
saying he doesn't have special education needs.

They are always looking to homogenize and to treat kids as normal. Part of the role of schools is to socialize children to fit in, so in a way it's understandable. And it costs money to give services, on paper at least. They don't want to spend the money if it's not necessary.

I did not like when they declassified my kids. One was in preschool and valuable time was lost. However my older child has been able to find ways to get support even without an iep.

If your district is supportive this could be fine, and if they're not doing more than accommodating it will be hard to fight. With a 504 he can (if it's included) keep extra time and separate location for tests, a reader, etc anything short of a special Ed teacher or other provider focused on him.

I believe also that you can have it be a transition year, where the CSE can reconvene at any time if there's a problem in order to reconstitute services. It might be automatic. But you could ask about that.

As he's a senior doing well, they also might listen to him, but I don't think kids can fake it. I would ask if he is comfortable and what he feels he needs to be successful and keep the focus there. If he can tell them that is powerful. But they'll ask questions to see what he can do without. At least that's what they've done with my daughter. I try to frame it as just questions and nothing to be afraid of as long as they're nice about it.

Thank you for your feedback. This has been helpful. I don't think my son will
have a problem making a case, should he feel he needs services (which really
ends up being SSTS and extra time when needed.

I haven't researched this yet - does anyone know if either the IEP or 504 follows
my son into college in any form ?

Thank you again...

The IEP does not follow your son to collage, unless he goes to a special needs school, or a state school that is specifically set up to help young adults with disabilities. However, he can continue to get accommodations. He will need to present the psycho-educational results from high school, so keep those on hand. I got a note taker and extended time on my tests. I could not get an excuse to not take Spanish, so I ended up spending the summer after my senior year in a community collage getting the last credits I needed to graduate. (I passed with a C, after experiencing both high school and middle school spanish classes. I really suck at languages.)

Before he goes to school next year, it's a good idea to research the disabilities office at his collage. They will likely have a short list of accommodations that the school is able to provide. They will not be as complete as your high school. They will not have goals written for your son. They will likely have tutors available, remedial classes in writing and math available for all those who need it, and a writing center with students who can help your son proof read his work before handing it in. As I said before, note takers and extra time on tests are frequently allowed.

I really recommend taking the school up on getting an upper class tutor. This might even be worth paying out of pocket for. A upper class tutor can also fill your son in on social norms in collage in a way that he does NOT want to hear from you, his mother, EWE MOM!

It really is best to allow your son to be the one to contact and negotiate with the disabilities office. Collage is his chance to experience being an adult while still having you to fall on when or if he falls on his face. He NEEDS this chance to be independent so that he can get a feel for what it is to be an adult.

Its interesting that your school wants to reclassify your son in his last year. I would talk to them about it. I don't think its any big deal. I don't think that ending high school on a 504 will affect the accommodations available in a regular collage. On a 504, they will still be legally obligated to provide accommodations. Its just odd because he's almost done.

*information source: I was both a special education student and a special education teacher.

In our district, they won't keep an IEP unless services are being offered. They talked about moving my son onto a 504 during his freshman year of high school, but we got them to hold it off a year by keeping him a speech/social skills class through sophomore year. However, he wasn't fond of that class and did not want to stay in it for his Junior year ... so, with reluctance, I let go of the IPE at the start of his junior year and went to the 504.

While I felt I could have fought the district policy, I also realized that at some point my son is going to have to try life without the extra support and, more importantly, he WANTED to try life without so much extra support. I was nervous because I wanted to keep that highly valuable safety net but, truth was, he was not in desperate need of it. The special education program had accomplished its goals - and our goals - over the years. They consider being able to remove a child from IEP as a sign of success. I can't really argue with that, WHEN it actually is true, as I do feel it was in my son's case.

I did make sure we had the 504, however.

It is also important to make sure you have some official accommodation if you want anything from the College Board (AP and SAT tests, etc). My son could NOT have gotten the typing accommodation he needs for his dysgraphia (and extra time for math tests) without a current IEP or 504 (a full new report was also required in our case, but that is another conversation; I would assume you've done all that already? If not, MOVE ON IT. It can take a half year to get it all together).

We've had some bumps without the IEP, I won't deny that, and his grades dipped, but life is not without bumps, and my son is proud to be navigating them the same way everyone else his age has to. He was ready.

I guess, to me, that is the most important thing: is your SON ready? We, as parents, want to protect them forever, but that isn't our job. We have to look at our kids and decide if it is time to let them test their wings a little. A VERY difficult decision, but I think my son's school made the right call, and we were right to go along, in my son's unique case. Our job is get our kids ready for independence by age 18 or, in the case of the developmental delays associated with ASD, perhaps later, maybe 25. That doesn't happen without pulling a few floor boards and seeing what happens. As my son gets ready to go off to college next year, I see more and more how much I have to pull back and let him do things, failure or not, by himself. One of the things high schools do is push parents to step back, and I guess trying to close IEPs is one the methods they use. Most of the IEP kids I've know all went off IEP sometime during high school, and were happy to do it. BUT. You know your child better than a school does in many ways, so be sure you agree he really is ready, and not just being subjected to someone's idea of a standard protocol.

They don't like to evaluate kids with a 504 Plan if they can help it, so if they can do a proper job with the declassification testing that is helpful for his college's disabilities office. Otherwise you will have to pay.

I'm not the OP, but since my son is going away to college next year (has to decide which school within the next week), I appreciate your input here.