INDIVIDUALIZED EDUCATION PROGRAMS
At the heart of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is the concept of Individualized Education Programs, or IEPs. IEPs are essential to special education services — without a plan in place, there is no clarity on your child’s educational challenges:
- Learning needs and the child’s current levels of performance must be spelled out.
- Services to be provided by the school must be carefully defined and described.
- A metric must be created to measure how well the services are working.
WHEN IEPS ARE INAPPROPRIATE
Unfortunately, IEPs are not always specific or measurable. Your child’s IEP may not be based on current educational performance or it may not be specifically tailored to his or her unique needs. If your child’s IEP is not appropriate, the school is denying your child a free appropriate public education (FAPE).
Your child’s IEP is the road map to his or her education and must be implemented by every teacher or professional working with your child. If the school is not implementing your child’s IEP, your child’s education suffers. Frequently, the lack of an appropriate IEP or failure to implement the IEP is the focus of a due process hearing. If your child’s IEP is not being implemented or is inadequate, he or she is not receiving an appropriate education.
If you have concerns that your child’s IEP is not appropriate or that your child’s teachers are not following the IEP, contact special education attorney Sharon M. Ramage to discuss your options. Your child may be entitled to compensatory education to make up for the denial of a FAPE.
To discuss your child’s case and potential legal remedies, talk to special education lawyer Sharon Ramage at 972-562-9890. From our home office in Dallas-Fort Worth, we represent parents and children in every part of Texas.