IEP question

[Guest guest]

Every year for the past several years, I have expressed my concern that

we are not notified, or notified enough in advance, of having

a test. We have a communication log, so even before middle school when

class calendars are posted, there is no reason for us not to know she's

having a test. Every year, I bring this up and ask for it to be written

in the IEP that " parents to be given x days notification of upcoming

test or quiz, and be provided with material that needs to

study. " I have tried 5 days, tried 3 days, they always say " Oh, we will

do that for you, but we can't put it in her IEP. " And, generally they

begin the year trying, and as they year goes on, slack off. We have

asked not for them to make a study guide for her, but at least let us

know the topics (or if it's vocabulary words, the words) that she is

responsible for, as it's difficult for her to memorize an entire chapter

for social studies or science. Teachers are usually pretty good about

this as well.

What the problem is, I have no recourse if it doens't happen, and I

dont' see anything getting better unless it's a " have to " versus

" should " do it thing. was absent Monday, so when she returned

on Tuesday, she was given a 1/2 sheet (same as the other children,

except it was passed out on Monday) with " you need to know these things

for the test on Wednesday. " So, she had one day to study for a chapter

test, and I had to take the material that was given and create a study

guide for her... and she gets home from school at 3:30 and goes to bed

at 8:30.... not a lot of time, AND she had Challenger BBall that night,

which she really looks forward to! Now, mind you, we were off on our

Feb break the entire week prior, and could have reviewed and studied a

little bit every day, had I know of an upcoming test. Instead, I had to

drop everything Tuesday afternoon/evening and try and get her prepared

for the test. I emailed the teacher, reminding her of her promise to

give us advance notification/study materials, and she replied " sorry, I

don't always know when the test is going to be " . She offered to let her

take it the next day if we needed another day, but I had also got a note

that Tuesday that she had a science vocabulary quiz on Thursday, so if

we delayed Social Studies, she's then have to do both tests on the same

day.... easier not to do that if possible. Especially as she gets more

classes, we will have to juggle her studying schedule even more... IT IS

NOT UNREASONABLE FOR THE TEACHER TO KNOW 3 OR 4 DAYS AHEAD OF TIME THAT

THEY ARE GIVING A TEST!!!!

So, how do I get this written so that it's a binding thing, that we MUST

be given advance notice of a test, and maybe even consequences if they

don't do it? I have to stress that we expect that if

participates in regular ed, she will also be assessed. Sometimes this

is the regular test, other times it's a modified test, but in any case,

she's taking the test with her class, and she needs a little more time

to prepare.... she has other classes and HW to do as well, and we can't

just stop our entire family's life when she has a test next day.

TIA for your suggestions.

, mom to (14), (12 DS), and Sammy (10)