Expert: Norm Bishop - 3/8/2008

Question
My daughter was diagnosed with ADHD at 10yrs.  She is 13 now and in Jr hi.  I have not had much cooperation with school but finally had an IEP meeting last year.  The contract said 25% homework reduction and she could go to the resource teacher for one on one help if necessary by just letting her teacher know.  The start of this school year I noticed she had more hw than she could handle.  Teachers have not reduced at all and her grades have declined again.  She loves softball and has been trying to get her grades up to a 2.0 so she could play.  She is at a 1.8.  The athletic director and coach spoke with the VP and asked if they would let her play on a week to week basis(that was my daughters suggestion).  If there was no improvement she would sit on the bench that week.  The VP put her on a 6 week hold.  They want her to practice with the team approx 13 hours a week but not let her play until the 6 weeks are up and they can re-evaluate.  Does this seem odd to you.  If a child is having a hard time keeping up with hw why would you allow them to practice so many hours a week(time away from hw)but not let them play.  To me it should have been either she's on or off the team.  This makes no sense. At her conference every teacher said she is a joy to have in class-participates and never a discipline problem.  My question is:  Do I have any grounds to fight this to let her play. She doesn't want me to make any waves because she loves to play and is afraid they will totally take her away from it.

Answer
The simple answer is:  if your daughter is not able to participate in sports because the school is not implementing an IEP as written (which is what you have described), then the school is in violation of federal law.  Athletic rules are governed by interscholastic organizations and are outside of the school as a general rule, however, they are not laws and do not trump IDEA federal law, or state law related to special education.  

If your daughter is not a discipline problem, tries her hardest, gets special education assistance as described in her IEP and is still failing, then the IEP is not working and needs to be revised so that she doesn't fail.  If it is failing because teachers are not paying attention to the accommodations, then the school is wrong and they are penalizing your daughter for their failure!  Not good!

Call your district's special education director and discuss this, see if he or she will intervene.  You tell the Director that your daughter is being denied a Free Appropriate Public Education based upon her own unique needs and getting a generic education based upon some set of standards, not her needs.  If the director cannot or will not help you, then you have the right to make a formal complaint to your State Department of Education, who will investigate it and tell the school to implement the IEP.  Call the Dispute Resolution people at your State Department of Education.

Norm