There is a new Bill that has been introduced in Annapolis this legislative session that if passed, will change the time parents have to review the psychological tests MCPS (and any public school in MD) school psychologist provide prior to IEP meetings. Currently parents have 5 business days to review these papers. The new bill wants to reduce that to 5 calendar days.This will drastically impact the amount of time a parent has to review these documents. Many times once parents like myself receive reports we need to engage and pay for help understanding what the reports mean.
Please support special needs families by signing the petition "The MD State House: OPPOSE House Bill 596".
Our goal is to reach 1,000 signatures. The signatures will be forwarded to the sponsors of the bill.
Ali, MCPS Parent
You can read more and sign the petition here:
http://www.change.org/petitions/the-md-state-house-oppose-house-bill-596
Sponsored by:
- Delegate Charles Barkley, District 39
- Delegate Bonnie Cullison, District 19
- Delegate Ana Sol Gutierrez, District 18
- Delegate Jolene Ivey, District 47
- Delegate Ariana B. Kelly, District 16
- Delegate Eric G. Luedtke, District 14
- Delegate Kirill Reznik, District 39
- Delegate Shane Robinson, District 39
- Delegate Melvin L. Stukes, District 44
- Delegate Michael G. Summers, District 47
- Delegate Craig J. Zucker, District 14
I will sign, for sure. Especially because in my experience, with Julius West Middle School, I was given the results AT THE IEP MEETING AT WHICH THE IEP WAS TAKEN AWAY...not in advance at all!
ReplyDeleteI am shocked that school psychologists would lobby to shorten the notice period to 5 calendar days from 5 business days. I can’t imagine any psychologist who in good conscience supports this; they are putting their own desires for expediency ahead of the well being of the children and their parents.
ReplyDeleteThis means that they can provide a parent with an IEP on Friday for a meeting on Wednesday. I know at my child’s school, IEP meetings are always on Tuesdays, so I’d not get a draft until Thursday. Would this be in the afternoon? Night? When? If it’s in the evening, then I have Friday and Monday to effectively prepare for that Tuesday meeting. Why only two days now? Because, as the psychologists lobbying for this know, a child’s physician, psychologist, therapist nor neurologist, are not available for consult on the weekend.
Unless IEP meetings will be required to be held on Fridays as part of this bill, every parent now has two days less to effectively prepare, because counting the weekend means two days less that a parent has to contact doctors and therapists and receive input into proposed changes to a child’s IEP. How is a parent to effectively address changes in goals, placements or diagnosis if they have been denied sufficient time to read the IEP, provided it to their child’s providers, have the providers able to read it, and then asses and provide guidance on the IEP and its inevitable changes?
As it is, parents are always at a disadvantage in the IEP process. The schools have all the resources. This effort is another example of why, when it comes to due process suits, the schools should have the burden of proof in IEP disputes. If this bill passes, it will be another advantage that schools have over parents, another reason why fundamental fairness requires that the states assume this burden.
Thank you,
Julie Reiley
Bethesda, MD 20816
how many parents asked delegates for this bill?
ReplyDeleteclearly an apple ballot payback bill.
Where is Heather Mizeur on this issue? At the public testimony for the delegation dog-and-pony show last fall, she spoke out quite sympathetically for spec. ed students and parents.
ReplyDeleteI know as a teacher, I have been in IEP meetings where the teacher's report was due to the case-worker so that it could be sent to the parent and be received 5 business days early, then the parent complained that the teacher report wasn't up to date and almost 2 weeks old. I don't know why the psychologist's report can't be ready 5 business days early. I
ReplyDelete