Expert: Tim Runner - 7/21/2009

Question
Hi,

My son has Asperger's and is in a regular class with support in our school district.  We live in New York.  I hired a private consultant and asked my school if she could come and view my son in school.  They freaked out and opposed it completely - letting me know their are privacy issues and that they have enough support and their own consulting team.  This is true.  They do have a lot of support and an autism consultant for my son, but I don't always agree with their opinions - especially lately and I wanted to get an external opinion.

The reason I've told you this is because I want you to see how strongly they are opposed to external people.  For now I'm not going to insist about my consultant viewing my son at school, however I would like my consultant to be present at our team meetings.  We have regular team meetings which consist of the psychologist, teachers, SLP, OT etc.  I want my private autism consultant to attend but I'm sure they're going to try and stop it.

My question is, do I have the right to bring an external person to the meeting?  How much notice do I have to give to the attendees?  And also, do you know if I have the right to have my private consultant view my son at school?  As I said, I'm in New York State.

A heartfelt thank you for any guidance you can provide me.

Answer
Under the law, you have the right to have a knowledgeable person with you at IEP Team Meetings. In order for you to benefit from their knowledge, you need to have them attend other meetings with you and the school personnel. This should be no problem for them as it is your right under the law. You should let them know that you will be having this person attend all meetings in the future so he or she can help you in IEP Team Meetings. The law does not set a time-line for this notification, but advance notification of at least one business day is the minimum I would suggest. You should notify them of your intentions in writing immediately. Most IEP invitations have a place for you to list who you are having attend an IEP Team Meeting. If it is not on the form, just write the information at the bottom of the invitation before you return it.

Classroom visits are more of a challenge. The school is correct concerning privacy issues for the other students, but again you have the right to bring experts with you on visits you make to the classroom so that they can assist you with their knowledge at IEP Team Meetings. You will need to schedule this joint visit at least a few days in advance because most districts have visitation policies. It get more complicated when you are requesting that your "expert" visit without you. I suggest that you just plan on visiting together, then the school does not have the legal right to block the visit.

I am suspicious when the school does not want a parent visiting a class. Many schools welcome parent participation. I often encourage my parents to volunteer in their child's classroom -- especially when the child is not making progress or has had a big change in behaviors.

I wish you and your son the best,
Tim Runner, Education Advocate
Email: timrunner@cox.net
Phone: (949) 582-3601
You can learn more at my web site:
www.special-education-answers.com
www.education-advocates.com (for DSL and phone)