During the annual IEP meeting, the team should always consider if a student’s IEP could be implemented locally. When a student has made significant progress and when appropriate supports and services are provided, returning to district can be a positive change.
But when placement changes are made for the wrong reasons, children can get hurt. Your child has to be ready, AND the district has to be ready.
Here is some information to help you make informed decisions and support your position:
- LRE-There Is More To It. Read ASAH’s new article describing 11 myths about LRE you may have heard.
- The Private School Option — What Parents Need to Know — Our 2023 edition booklet about private special education in New Jersey.
- Eligibility for Special Education Related Services – It’s Not All About The Grades! — In making an eligibility determination, the local school district must use a variety of assessment tools and gather relevant information, including that provided by the child’s parent. A district cannot use any single procedure or measure, including a student’s grades, as the sole criterion for determining whether a student has a disability.
- The Stay-Put Provision — What Parents Need to Know If They Disagree with A Proposed Change in Placement.
- PRISE – Parents Rights in Special Education – A New Jersey Department of Education guide about special education rights and responsibilities. Spanish and other foreign language editions of this booklet are also available on the NJDOE page.
- A Parents Guide to Placement — ASAH’s Checklist to Help Parents Make Decisions About Appropriate Placement. Also available in Spanish.
- ASAH Preschool Guide – ASAH’s guide to preschool services for students with disabilities is intended to help parents of our youngest children – those in the preschool years – understand and access the high quality, effective services they need to make a lifetime of difference! Click a language preference to view the guide as a PDF now. English • Spanish
- Memo from the Commissioner of Education on the Role of the Executive County Office of Education.
- The NJDOE’s memo about Extended School Year Services and how to qualify for them; it is more than just “regression.”
- Letter from Washington D.C. clarifying that districts are NOT required to limit out of district placements to a certain percentage of students.
- ASAH’s Outcomes Report — Our graduates go to college, get jobs, join the military and are connected to adult service providers. Read more about the results of our annual statewide survey and how ASAH Members get results.
- NJDOE IEP Guidance Letter — This IEP Guidance letter from NJDOE clarifies the need for annual goals and objectives for students whose disabilities may not impact learning in academic subject areas. The memo underscores the need for goals and objectives related to other skill areas, such as social skills, communication skills, organizational skills, study skills, self-regulatory skills and others.
- Direct Care Professionals – Be Careful What You Wish For! — Often when moving a child from a private school to a public school setting, districts offer a 1:1 paraprofessional. Click here for an overview of research describing why this solution is NOT always a good idea: