Attention Liberty and Roosevelt Parents with IEPs or 504's!

If your child has an IEP or 504 plan and is going into Liberty or Roosevelt this fall, you need to read this.

As you should be aware by now, the BOE passed a new middle school schedule on June 26 that will affect Liberty and Roosevelt--the changes are significant enough that EVERY IEP for 7th and 8th grades WILL NEED TO BE AMENDED OVER THE SUMMER.

This is to let parents know what state/federal law requires for the procedures to amend your child’s IEP.

PLEASE, if you know other parents with students going into 7th and 8th grade that may have IEP’s, 504’s or I&RS plans for learning disabilities, pass the word about this, even if you think their kids won’t be affected by these changes. We as parents need to help inform each other.

As we mentioned above, these amendments need to be done during the summer, but in order to do so the school district will need to follow proper procedure.

They have two main options:
1.Amend the IEP without an IEP meeting
2.Amend the IEP with a meeting.

If the second option, then the meeting can take place in person, or via “electronic means.”  (Phone, etc.)

We don’t recommend that you accept information about amendments or agree to make any amendments over the phone. Ask for it all in writing before any agreements are made--either via email or hard copy.  If you do agree to amendments by phone please make sure you have already received a Prior Written Notice (PWN) from the school with all the changes and options which you have read carefully before agreeing. (More about what PWN is below.)

DO NOT agree to make any changes to the current IEP until after the entire amendment process has been completed!


First, the school district needs to contact you.

Please remember:

Never accept information about IEP meetings or proposed amendments to your child's IEP only over the phone, ALWAYS GET THEM IN WRITING.  (Email counts as “in writing.”)

Your consent is required to make changes to your child’s IEP--it is not true that changes “have” to happen due to a new schedule and that you have no choice.

Proposed changes expire after 15 days.   If you do nothing, AFTER 15 DAYS the DISTRICT’S PROPOSALS EXPIRE and the IEP REMAINS THE SAME AS IT WAS.  It does NOT mean that the changes will take effect after 15 days (as is the case after an IEP meeting.)  It means that after 15 days, if they still want to amend your child’s IEP they must send you a new notice.  Your child’s IEP can only be amended if you agree to the proposed change(s).  (So if you are away during the summer and return to find the district contacted you, remember that they cannot change the IEP without you and don’t worry!)

1) They can send you the proposed changes in writing, to amend the IEP without a meeting: (we recommend you don’t take this option--see below)
                
For that please remember the following:

• They will NEED to send you PWN (Prior Written Notice) if you agree  to review the amendments without an IEP meeting to explain the educational rationale for the changes.
• IDEA 2004 (federal law) does not place any restrictions on the types of changes that may be made, so long as the parent and the school agree. However, it is strongly recommended that amending an IEP without a meeting should be only utilized when the changes to make are minor such as adding an objective, a supplementary aid or accommodation, or minimally changing the duration and frequency of service. The changes being proposed this summer are not minor--they involve huge changes in instructional time in reading, put all 8th graders in World Language instead of reading, reduce Resource Room time for those who get Resource for reading, etc.  Due to these significant changes, we do not recommend you opt to amend the IEP without a meeting.
• Proposed amendments must be documented on a Prior Written Notice (PWN). This explains the rationale for proposing amendments.  In this situation the PWN serves as the “written document to amend or modify the child’s current IEP,” and as such, it must be developed prior to writing any amendment in the IEP document itself. (The district needs to give a reason “why” amendments are needed before they propose “what” the amendments should be.)  The PWN must be given to the parent along with the form “Consent to Amend the Annual IEP.”  (If you only get the form for amending without a meeting without a detailed PWN explaining the reason for amendments, this is wrong.)
• Upon receipt of the parent’s signature agreeing to amend the IEP without a meeting, the amendments will be incorporated into the IEP and the parent must be provided a copy of the revised IEP.
• The date of the parent’s signature on the Consent to Amend form becomes the date of the revised IEP.
• All IEP team members must be informed of the changes to the IEP.
• If you, as a parent/guardian, do not provide your written agreement to amend the IEP without a meeting, the school won’t be able to proceed with implementing the proposed revisions. They will need to convene an IEP meeting.

• Prior Written Notice (PWN) must be provided in advance of the meeting explaining what the rationale for the proposed amendments is and what the amendments will be.  We do not recommend you see these documents for the first time in the meeting--insist on getting the PWN and amendments in advance so you can read them, research, ask questions of staff, family, PASSE,  etc.
• All required team members must be present at the meeting UNLESS AND ONLY UNLESS you agree to excuse them in writing BEFORE the meeting, and you have the right to request certain people be there--for example, you can ask that a reading/resource room teacher be present if changes to reading services are being proposed.  (Showing up and being told that someone you requested is not available after all is not acceptable--ask to reconvene.)

1. A description of the action proposed by the district board of education;
2. An explanation of why it is taking such action;
3. A description of any options the district board of education considered
4. A description of the procedures, tests, records or reports and factors used by the district board of education in determining to propose the action;
5. A description of any other factors that are relevant to the  proposal by the district board of education;
6. A statement that the parents of a student with a disability have protection under the procedural safeguards of this chapter, the means by which a copy of a description of the procedural safeguards can be obtained; and sources for parents to contact to obtain assistance in understanding the provisions of this chapter.