I have a 2E senior kindergardener. They want to do the IEP without an IPRC, probably to avoid being legally bound to accommodate.
Anybody have any experience with this particular odd situation?
What is an IPRC? Just curious. Sorry I don't have any experience with it, but I can't imagine they could avoid being legally bound to accommodate something that falls within the scope of an acknowledged disability/need.
polarbear
They do that in Toronto. Basically you have a meeting with all key people, with your WISC results, since most kids are grade 3 as congregated gifted starts in 4th grade here. Each year you sit down with the teacher and develop an IEP for your kid. You can let the teacher do it themselves, sit down with the teacher (like I am doing) and/or sit down with the teacher, yourself and some specialist you want to bring in. Disabilities are seriously taken into account. The congregated gifted for our district also houses all the special ed students, legally blind, all kinds of learning disabilities. I said legally blind. Kids that can see something, but not much. So I think that they just don't do the IPRC until 3rd grade because no congregated gifted exists before then.
Regulation 181/98 of the Education Act requires all school boards to set up IPRCs. You should take a read through the Act to understand your--and your child's--legal rights surrounding IEP and IPRC.
I would recommend reaching out to your local Special Education Advisory Committee member to discuss the IPRC process for gifted ID. The local forum I linked you to in PM will have that information.
http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/regs/english/elaws_regs_980181_e.htmHere is a link to the special education IPRC process from the TDSB.
http://www.tdsb.on.ca/Portals/0/EarlyYears/docs/Parents'%20Guide%202013-2014.pdf
DS8 has had a 2e IEP since grade 1, we haven't been through an IPRC.
I've been told (by the superintendent of spec ed for our board) that an IEP is legally binding regardless of whether they have been formally identified through an IPRC. In our particular board a little under 58% of the kids that have IEP's have not been down the IPRC route.
That being said I know of groups representing other exceptionalities that strongly encourage pushing for an IPRC. There is a formal appeal process that they feel gives it more strength. It probably helps their advocacy efforts when they have more kids formally identified (if they don't go through an IPRC they are lumped under "unidentified" in the stats).
ABC Ontario recently updated their website with more info on IPRCs and IEPs. I haven't made it through all of it but there is some great info there.
ETA - If a parent requests an IPRC in writing the principal has to give you a date for the meeting within 15 days (note the meeting doesn't have to be within 15 days just picking the date has to be).
We have requested an IPRC twice, in writing, but both times we've backed down on the grounds that informal measures were being taken to accommodate. We've kept a careful paper trail of this.
Aquinas: I understand the legalities, this is really all advocacy-tactics stuff. I'm pretty darned sure he'd eventually going to get an actual IPRC, but we're monkeying with timing, and with keeping a good relationship with the school.
Chay: That is not technically correct, though it may be correct in practice. I'd love to hear more about people's experiences with enforcement around IEPs, especially those lacking IPRC.
PolarBear: IPRC is the process by which formal recognition of a student's exceptionality is given. IEP is the tool to specify accommodations for a child with an IPRC. TDSB (local school board) has been granting IEPs without IPRCs to avoid legally recognizing exceptionalities, and it's not quite clear to me yet what that all ends up meaning at the end of the day. It makes no sense. It's a kludge to keep parents from pressing for IPRC.
We're hearing some real odd stuff regarding the IPRC process and how it's supposed to work. Things that I have a hard time not categorizing as "lies." At the same time, our school's team was totally ready to bat for DS, even to the point of finding workarounds for the one obnoxious person in the room (who was very senior).
We are getting everything we need quite tidily, there's just this weird "better not document anything" vibe.
Legally, they haven't a leg to stand on with not doing the IPRC. Congregated gifted or not.
My hunch is they're trying to save money on psycho-educational testing because they're getting top-down budgetary pressure to halve the special education envelope over the next four years.
Talk to your SEAC. Don't withdraw your request. I don't see how following district procedure would damage the relationship with the school, particularly if they are already accommodative.
weeeeeeeeel. Right now they're accommodative _despite_ the person in charge.
aquinas - It is nearly impossible to get the schools to test anyways so I don't think it is about psych-ed testing. I know several cases including DS's where all of this was all after private testing. The only thing they are saving is the time to do the IPRC itself which admittedly does take some time/money.
Michaela - I sent you a PM.