What is the worst advice I have ever seen in online Special Education parent groups?
“Don’t sign the IEP. Refuse to sign it!”
Please do not ever do this. I beg of you. Here’s why:
If you do not sign the IEP – either in agreement, with exception (if you are in CA, MA, MT or VA) or in disagreement – the last IEP with consent that is on file is placed in “Stay Put” status. More importantly, you are not documenting what is that you are in disagreement about.
What is Stay Put?
“Stay put” is the legal protection within the IDEA that ensures a student maintains their current educational placement and services during any dispute with the school district. This would be whatever is in their last consented to IEP is what “stays put” until the dispute is resolved. This also means that your child is working on old goals they may have already met, are receiving services based on the present levels in the last consented to IEP and this can be a huge barrier for making educational progress.
What to do instead.
This depends on what state you live in. I know… I say that so much. I’m sorry. I don’t make these confusing rules, I just learn them and share them. If you live in California, Massachusetts, Montana or Virgina, then you live in a state where consent is required on every IEP document. You also live in a state that allows for parents to sign IEP’s “with exception” – meaning you can agree to some parts of the IEP and disagree (or “take exception’) to other parts of the IEP. If you live in one of these states that allow you to sign the IEP with exception, DO THIS. Go through the IEP and mark up all of your exceptions (do this on a physical IEP or on a pdf, do not do this with electronic signature documents) and then on the signature page choose the box option “I agree with the IEP, with the exception of” and then list the pages you have noted exceptions on. I also recommend you write a Parent Addendum listing all your exceptions and your requests for changes and attach that to the IEP that you are signing. This will ensure your child has a current IEP in place while you work with the IEP team to resolve disagreements.
If you live in one of the other 46 states: you live in a state where it is likely that there is “implied consent” which means that consent is only required on the initial (the first IEP after eligibility is determined) and all subsequent annual IEP’s and IEP amendment documents do not require parental consent to be implemented. Signatures are then utilized to confirm participation and that documents were given. This does not mean that you do not have rights. You do and you should exercise them if you disagree with the district about an item(s) on your child’s IEP. A very powerful tool you can use is to write a detailed Parent Addendum outlining your disagreement(s) with the IEP and submit that with the IEP you signed for participation. Then request an IEP team meeting to address your concerns in your Parent Addendum and see if you can get agreement on some or all of the items in an IEP team meeting. You also have the right to mediation, alternative dispute resolution and to a Due Process hearing. You also have the right to declare Stay Put, which as described earlier in this post would keep your child’s previous IEP in place while you resolve the dispute with the district. This is not something to do lightly, you want to consider this in situations where the district is attempting to change placement or eliminate a service you feel your child still needs. If you invoke Stay Put, I recommend you seek the support of an attorney or an advocate as this will likely require mediation, alternative dispute resolution or a Due Process hearing. In the case of a Due Process hearing, most states (not all so check your state) do not allow advocates to represent families in Due Process hearings so those are places and circumstances you would want to seek a special education attorney.
Use the tools in your procedural safeguards, sign with exception if you live in one of the four states that provides that option, write parent addendums to document your concerns and disagreement(s) – but please do not just refuse to sign. Refusal does not tend to lend to a resolution. It doesn’t demonstrate a willingness to collaborate and it does not document WHY you are in disagreement. It is simply just terrible social media advice you should never follow. The goal should always be to find agreement in the IEP and when that is not happening to carefully and clearly document the disagreement and use your procedural safeguards.
