Two weeks before school was out, the high school principal notified me that my son had not met the deadlines on his assignments and accused him of insubordination. The principal stated my son will be exited from the Gifted program. I received no notifications from the teacher about this problem. My son has the highest GPA in the high school, and has never been in trouble prior to this. His IEP annual review is next September. Please advise me on what I need to do to stop this from happening.

was the notification in writing. I would write or email (something where you have a record of your communication) and state that you would like the school to give you all of the reasons and facts behind this decision in writing. While you wait for that try to connect with the teacher and also find out what is going on with your son. Also, start reading every district policy (and state statutes) that relate to gifted education - and also on discipline and the routes to challenge disciplinary actions (these are unlikely to be gifted specific). I would start there, and I would try to get the principal's response within 10 days or so.

keep us posted. Cat

I would suggest for the time being to swallow what you are feeling and be a detective, polite, but firm, detective

Go gently ask the teacher(s) what has been happening. Show your concern for your son and for the teacher, like "hope he hasn't been a lot of trouble..." -- what is the problem? how can you help? etc etc etc

Make mental notes, take some notes.

AFter meeting with teacher(s) write/type down everything.

Also, if you can, meet with principal. Bring a friend or spouse if you can. Again, no matter how "emotional" or "strange" the other person gets, keep your composure. You're the detective first to figure out what is going on first. Don't take no for an answer. You deserve to get a meeting.

After all meetings/chats/phone calls/ -- always take down all the notes.

Because if they don't give you the facts in writing, you want to hear it from them, and you put it into writing ... if it is beneficial to you.

Just some ideas. It may or may not work in your situation. Hope some others come to offer advice. Best of luck. Let us know how it goes...

Some states use an IEP for gifted kids, other states only give IEP for kids with a disability (twice exception) and certian disabilities do have behavioral components. If there is a twice exceptional issues that you think might have something to do with this disiplinary action, try to contact the diagnosising doctor and see if she or he can help.

Other than that, take lots of notes, vent here, and not at school, try to act calm and 'businesslike.' Be the Detective!

Love and More Love,
Grinity

I was unaware my son wasn't meeting his goal until school was almost over. I never heard from the teacher, only received an email from the principal requesting a meeting to exit my son from the program; Kansas has IEPs for gifted students. This could possibly be a personal vendetta against me, which is worrisome. Thanks for your advice.

((Hugs))
That is worrisome.
Does your son's school post grades online? If so, you might want to make a printout of that right quick.
grimity

What grade is your son in? Might this be a 'one door closes and another one opens' situation? Were his needs being met in the current gifted program? Can he take 'AP track' classes without being in the gifted program? Would he be happier homeschooling with classes at the local Community College or University anyway? Was he happy in the first place?

Can you back up and give us the bigger picture? Don't be afraid of writing too much (as long as it doesn't give away you identity) - even if we don't help much, I find that the act of writing for a group that really cares can be very helpful.

Love and More Love,
grinity

How is funding done in KS?

Does it come from local tax base, the state, or a mix?

There are also ways to put school administrators in hot water by appealing to the elected officials who control the hiring and firing or the money.

Once you have all the information, consider going to your elected officials.

The first thing I would do would be to go through the policies regarding gifted IEP's in your state in detail, then your district policies. Usually there is some form of notification necessary from the school, besides just- your out. Make sure to check your copy of the IEP first. I would also refuse to sign anything regarding his IEP . If you have already there still might be a way to petition. My understanding was that KS was the only state where gifted was included under IDEA, has that changed since I last read about it in the fall? If that is the case you have a lot more ground underneath you.

I would also request a list of assignments, both completed and not, from the teacher, in writing since it should be part of his school record.

I have a few more ideas but would need a little more info. about the situation.

If you honestly think this may be a personal response due to your advocacy, etc. I would try to get copies of as much as I can (grades, etc) as soon as possible. I tend to think this doesn't happen very often, but it is one of those situations where you it is a better safe ... situation.

I agree with everyone else, this is the time for your to just get as many facts as possible as quickly as possible.

Good luck,Cat

That sounds remarkably like a principal I worked for a few years ago. Unpleasant man.

Anyway, first thing I'd do is look at any written policies your school has for its gifted program. Do they list missing deadlines as a reason for being removed from the program? (Oh, I guess it goes without saying, but find out whether your son actually DID miss those deadlines, by how much, and under what circumstances.)

"Insubordination" is treated with varying degrees of seriousness depending on the school and people involved, but I've never heard of it being used as cause for denying special education services. Combined with your "vendetta" theory, this suggests that the principal might have a personal issue with your son rather than/as well as with you.

As others have said, get all the documents together that you can.

Ultimately, if the principal is against you, there's little-to-nothing that can be done at the school level; you'll have to approach the district. This might actually work in your favor, though, as this principal sounds like the cowardly sort (from the fact that he didn't make any contact with you about these supposed issues until the last minute). Principals who are that timid in dealing with parents are also usually timid in dealing with their superiors.

Insubordination is a bizarre word choice. going against the rules of someone in charge of you (like disobeying a commanding officer). What does that have to do with the situation?

Have you spoken to your son? What does he know about all this?

Why don't you just pick up the phone and call the school and ask the principal what is going on? Ask to see specific details.

All the advice you received looks to be solid. The only thing I would caution you about is the direct contact with his teacher. I suspect the teacher will be on the defense immediately because if your son did in fact not meet deadlines and the teacher did not attempt to communicate this with you, he/she will be a fault and he/she will be covering his/her @ss. This is why I 100% agree with the detective role ... take emotion out of the equation. Go down a list with the teacher and expect the results: ie. grades, assignments he didn't finish on time and how late did he turn them in. Also is this a recent situation or has it been going on all school year. One question you should definitely ask is if the teacher attempted to contact you. They might argue they did by sending a note home with your son, but no matter how many notes were sent through your son it isn't direct contact attempts with you. Did they attempt to call or email you? This is the information you need to gather. Then and only then would I contact the principal and talk to him again because now you have the full picture. And absolutely research your state and district requirements and rules. If you provide more info, I'm sure you will have some help on the research front from this board.