Re: Has anyone in here ever done mediation or due process?

August 30, 2007

I really wish can help out, but I am in the same situacion. I'm trying to get my

son in a private school, because the public school is not fullfilling his needs.

To tell you the true , I don't know where to start. Should I get a lawer? should

I keep my son in this situacion and for how long? It is so frustrated.

Good Luck and anything you would like to share I'm all ears

you can emailme privately too

Rosie

Trisha Rice wrote:

Hi - I'm in the middle of something but I'm not sure what!

We

have disagreed with the school's placement and they have denied our request

for an FIE, which I understood to mean that they are to file against us; to

date nothing has happened. It has also been 15 days since our ARD finally

concluded and we still have not seen any paperwork from that ARD. We have

asked for the SD to pay for my son's placement in a private school and

that's all I know at the moment.

Emotionally, this is a rollercoaster of anger and frustration, and this is

only the beginning. School reactions up to this point have been the

psychologist rolling her eyes and the behavior specialist uttering the " oh

geez " under her breath when I was setting up my laptop to take notes. We've

told them all communications need to go through our attorney, so there

hasn't been much chance for negative interactions.

You can email me privately if you would like more details.

Trish

Has anyone in here ever done mediation or

due process?

You can e-mail me privately if you wish, I will like to know about the

outcome and how did it

go trough, the process, like the school reactions etc.

Please if you have let me know.

jacqueline

August 31, 2007

Trish, been there, done that, got the t-shirts. We went to Mediation and won.

Email me privately and we can discuss important information.

For the rest of the readers, some things to remember, do not get emotional at

ARDs. Do not take it personally. Sounds easy until you get there. We did and

it works. Remember you are fighting for your child and they need us. Stay

focused and stick to the issue. Do not move on until you are satisfied with the

answers or changes made in the IEP. If you are not satisfied, take a recess and

regroup. Good luck to all.

Trisha Rice wrote:

Hi - I'm in the middle of something but I'm not sure what!

We

have disagreed with the school's placement and they have denied our request

for an FIE, which I understood to mean that they are to file against us; to

date nothing has happened. It has also been 15 days since our ARD finally

concluded and we still have not seen any paperwork from that ARD. We have

asked for the SD to pay for my son's placement in a private school and

that's all I know at the moment.

Emotionally, this is a rollercoaster of anger and frustration, and this is

only the beginning. School reactions up to this point have been the

psychologist rolling her eyes and the behavior specialist uttering the " oh

geez " under her breath when I was setting up my laptop to take notes. We've

told them all communications need to go through our attorney, so there

hasn't been much chance for negative interactions.

You can email me privately if you would like more details.

Trish

Has anyone in here ever done mediation or

due process?

You can e-mail me privately if you wish, I will like to know about the

outcome and how did it

go trough, the process, like the school reactions etc.

Please if you have let me know.

jacqueline

August 31, 2007

Joe what is your e-mail? my husband and I just hired a

lawyer and going trough the beggining.

--- joe whitehead wrote:

> Trish, been there, done that, got the t-shirts. We

> went to Mediation and won. Email me privately and

> we can discuss important information.

>

> For the rest of the readers, some things to

> remember, do not get emotional at ARDs. Do not take

> it personally. Sounds easy until you get there. We

> did and it works. Remember you are fighting for

> your child and they need us. Stay focused and stick

> to the issue. Do not move on until you are

> satisfied with the answers or changes made in the

> IEP. If you are not satisfied, take a recess and

> regroup. Good luck to all.

>

> Trisha Rice wrote:

> Hi - I'm in the middle of

> something but I'm not sure what! We

> have disagreed with the school's placement and they

> have denied our request

> for an FIE, which I understood to mean that they are

> to file against us; to

> date nothing has happened. It has also been 15 days

> since our ARD finally

> concluded and we still have not seen any paperwork

> from that ARD. We have

> asked for the SD to pay for my son's placement in a

> private school and

> that's all I know at the moment.

>

> Emotionally, this is a rollercoaster of anger and

> frustration, and this is

> only the beginning. School reactions up to this

> point have been the

> psychologist rolling her eyes and the behavior

> specialist uttering the " oh

> geez " under her breath when I was setting up my

> laptop to take notes. We've

> told them all communications need to go through our

> attorney, so there

> hasn't been much chance for negative interactions.

>

> You can email me privately if you would like more

> details.

>

> Trish

>

> Has anyone in here

> ever done mediation or

> due process?

>

> You can e-mail me privately if you wish, I will like

> to know about the

> outcome and how did it

> go trough, the process, like the school reactions

> etc.

> Please if you have let me know.

>

> jacqueline

>

> [Non-text portions of this message have been

> removed]

>

> Joe Whitehead

>

> ---------------------------------

> Need a vacation? Get great deals to amazing places

> on Yahoo! Travel.

>

> [Non-text portions of this message have been

> removed]

>

________________________________________________________________________________\

____

Sick sense of humor? Visit Yahoo! TV's

Comedy with an Edge to see what's on, when.

http://tv.yahoo.com/collections/222

August 31, 2007

we just hire and angel of a lawyer, she gives me strength.

in to think that all we are asking for is our kids rights,

I hope you do well, with my 3 little one's is like I have to do all over 3

times.. and that can

be a little to much concern to us.

> Hi - I'm in the middle of something but I'm not sure

what! We

> have disagreed with the school's placement and they have denied our request

> for an FIE, which I understood to mean that they are to file against us; to

> date nothing has happened. It has also been 15 days since our ARD finally

> concluded and we still have not seen any paperwork from that ARD. We have

> asked for the SD to pay for my son's placement in a private school and

> that's all I know at the moment.

>

> Emotionally, this is a rollercoaster of anger and frustration, and this is

> only the beginning. School reactions up to this point have been the

> psychologist rolling her eyes and the behavior specialist uttering the " oh

> geez " under her breath when I was setting up my laptop to take notes. We've

> told them all communications need to go through our attorney, so there

> hasn't been much chance for negative interactions.

>

> You can email me privately if you would like more details.

>

> Trish

>

> Has anyone in here ever done mediation or

> due process?

>

> You can e-mail me privately if you wish, I will like to know about the

> outcome and how did it

> go trough, the process, like the school reactions etc.

> Please if you have let me know.

>

> jacqueline

>

August 31, 2007

We are in the middle of a due process hearing process right now. It is not

a quick fix to any problems.

Last September, the school decided to call the police when my son had a

meltdown instead of implementing his BIP. We pulled him at that point and

enrolled him in a private school. We had two ARDs, one that ended in a

disagreement and then the required follow up 10 days later. At that time,

we informed the district that we would be placing our son in a private

school due to their failure to provide FAPE and we wanted them to pay for

it. We have been dealing with it ever since.

We are scheduled to go have a hearing at the end of this month. Our

attorney is in Corpus Christi. Is that near you?

Good luck. Email me privately if you need to.

_____

From: Texas-Autism-Advocacy

[mailto:Texas-Autism-Advocacy ] On Behalf Of CH

Sent: Wednesday, August 29, 2007 4:56 PM

To: Texas-Autism-Advocacy

Subject: Has anyone in here ever done mediation or

due process?

You can e-mail me privately if you wish, I will like to know about the

outcome and how did it

go trough, the process, like the school reactions etc.

Please if you have let me know.

jacqueline

September 1, 2007

Folks we have been to the mediation tables and know what you are all going

through. The year has just started and so have all the fussin and fightin.

Here are some tips to stay on track in ARDs

1. Stay focused, write down a list of your concerns and use it at the meeting.

Do not leave until you have gone through the entire list.

2. Do not let the school district lead you down a " rabbit trail " . They are

notorious for getting you off the subject so they can get you rattled. Just say

thank you for bringing that up but I want to go back to what we were talking

about before you said that...

3. If you are making a request from a district/school, do so in writing.

While the ARD is being transcribed, they are also bad about typing only what

they want to. If you present them a request in writing and have them sign a

copy, one for you and one for them, you can usually get them to go along with

you.

4. Every 15 minutes, stop the ARD and have the typist read back what has been

said and correct as you go. Nothing scares a district more that to be corrected

during a meeting. If you cant get them to correct it, have them type that the

district refused to correct whatever is wrong in the minutes. Do not proceed

any further until that is typed. If they refuse, call the meeting over. You

will go into recess for 10 days. That gives you time to get info, in writing to

prove they were wrong and they will have to correct the mistake in the minutes.

5. Never let them tell you that you only have 1 hour to meet. That meeting

can last all day if needed. We have ordered food for one of our ARDs because it

lasted into the night.

This will get you all started, those who need it. My email is

joe_whitehead@... if anyone would like to email privately about an issue.

God speed and I wish everyone a great school year.

Joe

jackie chalons wrote:

Joe what is your e-mail? my husband and I just hired a

lawyer and going trough the beggining.

--- joe whitehead wrote:

> Trish, been there, done that, got the t-shirts. We

> went to Mediation and won. Email me privately and

> we can discuss important information.

>

> For the rest of the readers, some things to

> remember, do not get emotional at ARDs. Do not take

> it personally. Sounds easy until you get there. We

> did and it works. Remember you are fighting for

> your child and they need us. Stay focused and stick

> to the issue. Do not move on until you are

> satisfied with the answers or changes made in the

> IEP. If you are not satisfied, take a recess and

> regroup. Good luck to all.

>

> Trisha Rice wrote:

> Hi - I'm in the middle of

> something but I'm not sure what! We

> have disagreed with the school's placement and they

> have denied our request

> for an FIE, which I understood to mean that they are

> to file against us; to

> date nothing has happened. It has also been 15 days

> since our ARD finally

> concluded and we still have not seen any paperwork

> from that ARD. We have

> asked for the SD to pay for my son's placement in a

> private school and

> that's all I know at the moment.

>

> Emotionally, this is a rollercoaster of anger and

> frustration, and this is

> only the beginning. School reactions up to this

> point have been the

> psychologist rolling her eyes and the behavior

> specialist uttering the " oh

> geez " under her breath when I was setting up my

> laptop to take notes. We've

> told them all communications need to go through our

> attorney, so there

> hasn't been much chance for negative interactions.

>

> You can email me privately if you would like more

> details.

>

> Trish

>

> Has anyone in here

> ever done mediation or

> due process?

>

> You can e-mail me privately if you wish, I will like

> to know about the

> outcome and how did it

> go trough, the process, like the school reactions

> etc.

> Please if you have let me know.

>

> jacqueline

>

> [Non-text portions of this message have been

> removed]

>

> Joe Whitehead

>

> ---------------------------------

> Need a vacation? Get great deals to amazing places

> on Yahoo! Travel.

>

> [Non-text portions of this message have been

> removed]

>

__________________________________________________________

Sick sense of humor? Visit Yahoo! TV's

Comedy with an Edge to see what's on, when.

http://tv.yahoo.com/collections/222

---------------------------------

Sick sense of humor? Visit Yahoo! TV's Comedy with an Edge to see what's on,

when.

September 1, 2007

Joe,

Just reading your email " exhausted me " . It is good to read emails like

yours once in a while to remind why I chose to homeschool my son despite of

all the hard work that goes along with it.

Thanks,

Has anyone in here

>> ever done mediation or

>> due process?

>>

>> You can e-mail me privately if you wish, I will like

>> to know about the

>> outcome and how did it

>> go trough, the process, like the school reactions

>> etc.

>> Please if you have let me know.

>>

>> jacqueline

>>

>> [Non-text portions of this message have been

>> removed]

>>

>> Joe Whitehead

>>

>> ---------------------------------

>> Need a vacation? Get great deals to amazing places

>> on Yahoo! Travel.

>>

>> [Non-text portions of this message have been

>> removed]

>>

>

> __________________________________________________________

> Sick sense of humor? Visit Yahoo! TV's

> Comedy with an Edge to see what's on, when.

> http://tv.yahoo.com/collections/222

>

> ---------------------------------

> Sick sense of humor? Visit Yahoo! TV's Comedy with an Edge to see what's

> on, when.

>

September 1, 2007

Hi Joe,

This is all great advice. Hard to imagine staying non-emotional

through a process which often seems designed to wear parents down,

most of whom are already operating on frayed nerves. We are not all

made of steel, although that is what is required of us.

Joe, it's great that you won at mediation through staying on task

and remaining non-emotional. I agree with all your strategies.

However, it is important to remember that " strong advocacy " is far

from a guarantee of success, depending on the individuals who

comprise the ARD, the district you are dealing with, their attorneys

and the issues on the table.

Sometimes, all of these tactics don't result in a single gain with a

district who is intransigent and simply isn't going to budge.

Soemtimes it is more than a battle of wills, it is a battle of

budgets. And we all know who has deeper pockets.

I am always frustrated by statements that the key to our children's

success in dealing with districts is advocacy skills, because when

we are unsuccessful it implies it is a failure by us. We have done

something wrong. We have been ineffective advocates. When dealing

with individuals without a moral compass or an above-the-law

mindset, the best advocacy strategies don't amount to a hill of

beans. Unfortunately, these kinds of administrators are being mass-

produced in our state thanks to the law firms in the area teaching

the " art of legal compliance " with no concern other than bullet-

proofing districts from accountability with our children's needs and

the intent of the IDEA completely forgotten.

Our districts " play the odds " and prey on the weak, knowing we have

little left to give in terms of time, energy and resources. They

know that if we go to due process, we have less than a 10% chance of

winning. They know that due process costs as much as a real hearing

in a federal court, so there is virtually no chance of a case ever

reaching a level where a potentially objective judge will rule on

the issue. In that paradigm, success at mediation is an extreme

rarity. Congratulations, you have achieved the near impossible.

This is not a codemnation of all school districts and all school

district personnel. We have many public school teachers in our

family and love the public school teachers we have this year.

However, it is a condemnation of a process whose fairness has much

more to do with luck of the draw than implementation of the law.

> > Hi - I'm in the middle of

> > something but I'm not sure what! We

> > have disagreed with the school's placement and they

> > have denied our request

> > for an FIE, which I understood to mean that they are

> > to file against us; to

> > date nothing has happened. It has also been 15 days

> > since our ARD finally

> > concluded and we still have not seen any paperwork

> > from that ARD. We have

> > asked for the SD to pay for my son's placement in a

> > private school and

> > that's all I know at the moment.

> >

> > Emotionally, this is a rollercoaster of anger and

> > frustration, and this is

> > only the beginning. School reactions up to this

> > point have been the

> > psychologist rolling her eyes and the behavior

> > specialist uttering the " oh

> > geez " under her breath when I was setting up my

> > laptop to take notes. We've

> > told them all communications need to go through our

> > attorney, so there

> > hasn't been much chance for negative interactions.

> >

> > You can email me privately if you would like more

> > details.

> >

> > Trish

> >

> > Has anyone in here

> > ever done mediation or

> > due process?

> >

> > You can e-mail me privately if you wish, I will like

> > to know about the

> > outcome and how did it

> > go trough, the process, like the school reactions

> > etc.

> > Please if you have let me know.

> >

> > jacqueline

> >

> > [Non-text portions of this message have been

> > removed]

> >

> > Joe Whitehead

> >

> > ---------------------------------

> > Need a vacation? Get great deals to amazing places

> > on Yahoo! Travel.

> >

> > [Non-text portions of this message have been

> > removed]

> >

>

> __________________________________________________________

> Sick sense of humor? Visit Yahoo! TV's

> Comedy with an Edge to see what's on, when.

> http://tv.yahoo.com/collections/222

>

> ---------------------------------

> Sick sense of humor? Visit Yahoo! TV's Comedy with an Edge to see

what's on, when.

>

September 1, 2007

So, they can still faight you until the end just for an aid? or 8 to 3 ?

I mean we are asking for basic rights.

Faight you for an appropiate BIP?

I mean it seems a little to stupid for the Special Ed department to go trough

all that just,

for the rights of an apropiate education for the disable.

That is just like being def and not teaching sign language.

I am terrified, that a lot of you all are having a terrible time with simple

requests to our

educator's.

Perhaps the superintendent should be then, the one that should be ashame of

their board

decisions, if they can't even offer a much better comfort to our children.

Any of you ever took a reporter along?

>

> You can e-mail me privately if you wish, I will like to know about the outcome

and how

did it

> go trough, the process, like the school reactions etc.

> Please if you have let me know.

>

> jacqueline

>

September 2, 2007

Joe, you misunderstood my post. It was not directed towards you. It

was directed towards a process that is inherently unfair in this

state. It was not meant to discourage parents from fighting for

their child's rights, but they need to understand the playing field

and that reading booklets and applying advocacy strategies, while a

worthwhile endeavor, is far from a guarantee of success. You seem

to be saying that the parents hold all the cards and the key to

success in IDEA disputes - what is a highly adversarial process rife

with conflicts of interest. You seem to say that because you did

your " homework " and were a good advocate, everyone else who follows

in your footsteps will enjoy the same outcome. But it is unfair to

assume anyone else who fails is ignorant, a poor advocate or gives

up easily.

Your success at mediation is exceptional. It's great that you

prevailed. Honestly, I am happy for any parent's victory. However,

it doesn't set precedent for the fifth circuit and so your win

doesn't help other families. Mediation is bound by a confidentiality

requirement. This is for a reason. Schools settle in mediation

because don't want to disclose how they have helped other families.

Please don't tell me to educate myself. I can probably quote most of

the IDEA, A Guide to the ARD process, and the Procedural Safeguards

verbatim. Just ask my fellow autism parents who know me. Our

experience has been that the more knowledge we have, the more

frustrating the process, because of the blatant lack of

accountability and implementation of the IDEA in this state.

We could have settled at mediation but realized this would do little

to contribute towards protecting our children's rights in Texas. So

we pushed on, for many years. Oh yes, we are tired and weary.

Unbelievably so. But defeated? Well, the jury is still out on that

one. Literally.

Your tips are great but your assumptions are poor.

Take care,

> > > Hi - I'm in the middle of

> > > something but I'm not sure what! We

> > > have disagreed with the school's placement and they

> > > have denied our request

> > > for an FIE, which I understood to mean that they are

> > > to file against us; to

> > > date nothing has happened. It has also been 15 days

> > > since our ARD finally

> > > concluded and we still have not seen any paperwork

> > > from that ARD. We have

> > > asked for the SD to pay for my son's placement in a

> > > private school and

> > > that's all I know at the moment.

> > >

> > > Emotionally, this is a rollercoaster of anger and

> > > frustration, and this is

> > > only the beginning. School reactions up to this

> > > point have been the

> > > psychologist rolling her eyes and the behavior

> > > specialist uttering the " oh

> > > geez " under her breath when I was setting up my

> > > laptop to take notes. We've

> > > told them all communications need to go through our

> > > attorney, so there

> > > hasn't been much chance for negative interactions.

> > >

> > > You can email me privately if you would like more

> > > details.

> > >

> > > Trish

> > >

> > > Has anyone in here

> > > ever done mediation or

> > > due process?

> > >

> > > You can e-mail me privately if you wish, I will like

> > > to know about the

> > > outcome and how did it

> > > go trough, the process, like the school reactions

> > > etc.

> > > Please if you have let me know.

> > >

> > > jacqueline

> > >

> > > [Non-text portions of this message have been

> > > removed]

> > >

> > > Joe Whitehead

> > >

> > > ---------------------------------

> > > Need a vacation? Get great deals to amazing places

> > > on Yahoo! Travel.

> > >

> > > [Non-text portions of this message have been

> > > removed]

> > >

> >

> > __________________________________________________________

> > Sick sense of humor? Visit Yahoo! TV's

> > Comedy with an Edge to see what's on, when.

> > http://tv.yahoo.com/collections/222

> >

> > ---------------------------------

> > Sick sense of humor? Visit Yahoo! TV's Comedy with an Edge to

see

> what's on, when.

> >

September 2, 2007

No, I didnt misunderstand you, I just thought I would email everyone as I

emailed you.

I do think that if we stand up for our kids after educating ourselves on the

law as the school districts do, we can be successful. Do I think parents could

do better as far as educating themselves on school law. It is there for

parents, the state has it for all who want it.

If they fail, are the ignorant, ineffective... No. They are uneducated on the

law. If more parents were educated, most advocates and lawyers would be out of

business.

Educate yourself is the phrase of the day...

Never settle for second best and if you dont arm yourself, you are settling...

end of story

I am not the know all, just an educated parent who wants to share knowledge

gained from others.

Knowledge is power.

Hill wrote: