Services from School District

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I have my IEP meeting on 10/31/05 for Vladi. The Psych was telling me that getting bus transportation would be hard because it should be a need for education not a convenience. My son goes to school on one side of town and we live on the other. That is not the school he belongs to(but is the district he belongs to). It is about 2 miles from our home. Unfortunately the person who always takes him (I Pay her) has inherited a good chunk of money and no longer wishes to take him. Since I have been off work I have beem taking him. However now I must return to work and have no transportation. I checked with the YMCA and they charge $350.00 a month! I can't afford that all year!. The other thing would be to have him go to the school closest but we tried that in the 3rd grade and it was very traumatic. All the kids made fun of him and he would come home crying daily! In his school now all the kids have known him from kinder so they dont make fun of him as much...what can I do to prove it is a necessity! Ohh I go in to work at 7:00am and he goes in at 8:20am, I come out at 4:30 and he comes at at 2:20pm.

In the state of California, if the I.E.P deems this school necessary for your son then the district must provide transportation free of charge. If a therapist or counselor can also back you up then that will deffinately help.The Community Alliance For Special Education CASE can bat for your son even if he is in regular ed classes. They are 1031 Franklin Street,Suite B5 San Francisco,Ca 94109 Tel. (415) 928-2273, Fax. (415)928-2289 or Tennyson Road, Room 1 Hayword, Ca.94544 Tel.(510)783-5333 and Fax. (510)783-8822 or Protection and Advocacy,Inc(PAI)Toll Free Carrgo/TDD:(800)776-5746 9:00 a.m to 5:00 p.m monday thrru Friday. Central Office 100 Howe Ave. suite 185-N Sacramento, Ca 95828. Legal Unit- (916) 488-9950. Southern Calif. Area Office 3580 Wilshire Blvd. Suite 902 Los angeles, Ca. 90010 Tel. (213) 427-8747. San Francisco Bay Area Office 449-15th Street, Suite 401 Oakland, Ca. 94612 Tel. (510)839-0811. Even if not in Calif these people should be able to help you with info. According to the American's with Disabilities Act, if you son has a confirmed diagnoses and cannot safely go to the school in your district or that school cannot accomodate him, then the district has to, or you do have growns for a law suit. Good luck to you. I recommend the book, "Special Education Rights and Responsibilities" it's not just for kids in special Education, it is also for every child who has a special need, rather in regualr classes or not.You need to know what his rights are and also what yours are as parents.

Hey I'm not "Guest" I'm Paula, must have forgot to log in,oops

Here is what I know from working as a special needs bus driver in Minnesota:

1) If the child goes to a different school than the one the child would normally attend because the school they are going to has a program for them as designated in the child's IEP, then the child is entitled to transportation for to attend the school with the program.

2) If the child cannot get to school safely on their own, then the child is entitled to transportation, even if the child lives next door to the school (I have heard of many cases of that here in Rochester).

The trick will be to have it put in the IEP that the child needs transportation. In this case, I would say that since the neighborhood school does not offer the program that the child needs and the other school does and since the other school is at such a distance that the child cannot safely get there to obtain the programming that they need, the child needs transportation to and from school and that the district must provide it.

You can get the transportation put in the IEP then they are required to transport.
I think they are trying to gove you a song and a dance. It happens in my school district all the time.
Laure

Advice from a Special Ed. Teacher.

Federal Law dictates that if the Home School does not provide the least restrictive environment the School District must provide transportation to the school that provides the least restricted environment for the student from the home school.

If the home school does not, and the school that he is going to does, then the school district must provide transportation.

If the home school did, I don't think that you would be sending him to the other school.

The School District does not want to comply with the law for fiscal reasons.

I would consult an attourney versed in IDEA.

WOW! Thanks for all the info!! ! You are great!! !

Now, I do not know if the Home school can provide this, but when he was there it was very stessful for him. I even had the Jerk pricipal tell me (in these words) "something is wrong with him all I did was talk to him and he began to cry" ughhh! you could imagine I had a word or two. Of course at this time he was not DX'd, but regardless it was not acceptable. So do you think he can qualify?

Whether or not the principle is a jerk does not hold enough weight when trying to determine if the school can provide the classroom services your son needs or not. Either way, you are going to have to work constructively with this principle to get what you want. It's best to be professional.

Thanks, but what about Vladi beeing stressed at that school? Even his teacher told me she was sad to see him go because he was one of her best, but she realized that the enviorment of that school was no good for him. Do you think that will have enough weight?

<<I would consult an attourney versed in IDEA.>>
Another option you have is the regional associate. Each school district special education dept. is overseen by the state through thier quality assurance dept. In NY it is under Vesid. Call your stae ed dept. They can guide you to this person for your district.
This person's job is to make sure that all school districts under his supervision are in compliance. Tell him what you are experiencing and I bet one call from him will cure it.
Here in NY they derad when the regional associate calls.
Laure

Good idea Laure.

I also had to have my son's transportation ( and the schedule ) put in his iep because the special ed bus continually forgot to pick him up and once dropped him off early while no one was at home. I also reported this to the superintendent's office and made them document the "unsafe" incident.