Moron State Complaints

IEP season is getting near. ESE specialists are honing up on how to streamline IEP meetings with minimal distractions. This includes practicing a "set routine" of the IEP meeting process and remembering to delay addressing parental questions and concerns until the end of the meeting. Phrases such as "we will get to that later", or "we need to do these steps first" or maybe "we don't have to write that down, the teacher incorporates that in her daily routine", or maybe "all of the kids in that class get that related service - the District understands the importance it is to education, so we don't have to write that down."

Teachers are dreading IEP season because it means more paperwork. They want to know what happen to that slick program that came about last year where there was going to be an assistant that was going to ease the workload, do all of the paperwork and make attending IEP meetings less burdensome. Plus, they know they are going to face the brunt of the parent's frustration when the parent figures out they were given another snow job.


Back to state complaints. Another blogger had suggested that parents need to bring about "legal authority". I have never been through due process, which is a highly formalized legal proceeding, but I have watched a few cases from the sidelines. I have been involved in a few state complaints, the first one unwittingly because I didn't even know that was what it was.

I will agree with the other blogger that parental ignorance allows the system to continue to be dysfunctional. Along with this goes employee ignorance. When I started learning the real rules of the game, I started to see the decision makers, who had authority, were just ignorant to the fact that the way they do what they have always done was wrong.

It is by design. Knowledge is power, so keeping the masses ignorant is a must. Within a motel, there is always dirty laundry. Most parents think if they complain to "a higher person", the problem will go away. That is because they "trust the professionals" to be "professional". After they have been up the local ladder, only to be shoved off to the people they have already been dealing with because the District is strong on following the chain of command, if they write a letter of complaint, it gets sent to the state (it's in the rules).

Most people think an outside agency will bring influence into solving what is obviously a problem, say like kids not getting OT/PT services for months, even thought it is written in their IEP's. But, here is the dirty secret. When the representative from the state calls the parent about the state complaint, they will say everything and anything to get the parent to drop the state complaint.

The point is, the Feds monitor the number of state complaints. The fact is, there are far more "state complaints" that are never recorded as such because the representatives are zealous in their attempts to get the complaint dropped. To the untrained parent, it sounds professional and responsible. Options include Mediation and "Early Resolution". Or maybe they use statements that are similar to the following: "the District said they were going to fix this, they are professionals and really, there is no need for you to continue with this -0k?" "I am glad they were able to take care of this for you so quickly - it shows they care" -

If being nice doesn't work, trust me, they get just like the District and they use veiled "threats" and "intimidation". Despite years of frustration by a parent facing the same problem, they might even say something like "the only reason you are filing a state complaint is to punish the District".

It is a war zone out there folks. It is telling when District people won't commit to paper what is said or done. And then everyone blames parents for filing state complaints, or due process.