I attended the September IEP meeting for my first grade son who was diagnosed with ADHD. Several suggestions were written down by his classroom teacher and special education teacher and they all sounded good to me. Now it is April and his classroom teacher said that he is not ready for second grade. I assumed that his education plan was working, but now they say that he has not responded well. This is news to me, what should I do?
This is an unfortunate waste of precious learning opportunities. An unproductive school year in elementary school amounts to one out of five grades. It represents a large portion of the foundational learning needed before moving on to middle school. That is way too much time for him to have spent “off track.”
Communication is an important aspect of the IEP. A good plan specifically states when and how you, as a parent and participant in the plan, will be updated on the student’s progress throughout the school year. A schedule for three IEP meetings should be established at the beginning of the school year. The first meeting should be held within the first month of the new school year. This IEP meeting introduces all the new staff and teachers to your child and makes them accountable to follow the IEP. The second meeting should be scheduled in January (mid-school year). This IEP evaluates progress or lack-there-of, increases or decreases services, modifies educational strategies, adds new services or evaluations, and keeps everyone on target for meeting year-end goals. The third IEP meeting should occur at the end of the school year. It reviews the entire year of the students’ educational experience. By this time the teachers should know your child well and can itemize their strengths and weaknesses. This meeting also determines placement for the next school year, as well as services and goals that will be needed.