How to Fight Special Education Retaliation, Against Yourself and Your Child!
Are you the parent of a child with a learning disability or autism that feels like special education personnel are retaliating against, you for your advocacy? Has your child been suspended by the school, because you have complained about your child’s treatment? This article will be discussing Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, retaliation, and how you can use the information in this article to prove retaliation.
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act is a federal anti discrimination law and applies to any entity, that receives federal funding; which all public schools do. The child cannot be discriminated against based on their disability. This law also prohibits retaliation based on a person being involved in a protected activity (advocacy is considered a protected activity). The Office of Civil Rights is the federal agency that enforces Section 504. Any retaliation complaints could be filed with them, or could be taken straight to court.
Special Education Due Process and Procedural Violations – 2 Things You Must Know!
Are you the parent of a child with a disability receiving special education services? Are you considering filing for a due process hearing on procedural violations of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)? This article will explain the changes to IDEA that occurred in 2004 when it was reauthorized, in the area of procedural violations, and explain what you as a parent need to know, about this change.
A procedural violation means that the school district did not follow the specific procedures that are required in IDEA. For example: IDEA requires that parents are equal participants in the Individual Educational Plan (IEP) meetings for their child. If special education personnel refuse to allow the parent to give input, this would be a procedural violation. Or if timelines are not followed for testing this would also be a procedural violation.
A Special Education Teacher Is Also Your Partner in Learning
If your child suffers from a learning disability, he or she may thrive more in a special education class. A special education teacher is trained to handle a group of children who each learn in a different way. When you want to create a positive learning environment for your child, you need to work with your child’s special education teacher to become partners in learning.
Hold an official meeting that you and your child’s teacher can go over everything that you want your child to learn from the classes in that school year. The more you work together, the more successful your child will be. If you work with your teacher to determine how and what your child will be taught then you can enhance the lessons in the home during the evenings.