Seeking Advice for Laws and Rules for ARDS in the Texas School Districts.

Just to ease some of your fears. In our area (I am assuming you are in HEB) many schools are leaning towards full inclusion. Which basically means, that unless the student requires constant supervision or an aide, they try to have them in mainstream education. And they cannot implement a plan without you being on board. Most every ARD I have been a part of as a teacher, our goal is to work with parents to help a child achieve. For the most part, these are positive meetings.

I would not worry about hiring a lawyer unless your child's needs are not being met or you cannot come to agreement with the ARD committee.

THis link is basic information, but it's a start. It gives you the basic vocabulary and general rules. http://www.disabilityrightstx.org/files/IDEA_booklet-colo... Here's the TEA link too. http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/special.ed/ardguide/

My son is in speech with no modifications. This works for us. We are friends with a boy who started kindergarten with a serious speech impediment. Close friends and family were the only ones who could understand him. It seriously affected his reading and classroom communication. It was never considered that he would not be in the regular classroom. He simply had more services available and more modifications. He also got extra reading assistance.

If speech is the biggest concern, it may also help if you have a "premeeting" of sorts with the speech teacher on your campus. I did this. It helped me see where the school was leaning as far as the ARD. I was able to ask about the services available and some questions I had concerning the ARD (since this was my first time being on the other side).

HTH.

I am a Texas teacher and here is my 2 cents (for what it's worth). Do not hire a lawyer- at least not yet. If you come in with a lawyer, they likely won't even have the ARD that day. They will wait until a school district lawyer can be present and that could push off your meeting for awhile. It will also put them on the defensive automatically. During ARDS, parents have the opportunity to voice their wishes. If your child is only suffering from a speech delay, I doubt that would recommend anything other than normal placement with some type of speech services. Before the ARD, I would schedule a time to talk to the current PPCD teachers, they should have an idea of what is going to be recommended. You can also share your wishes with them and see what they think. They can also provide you detailed information about how the ARD process is handled in your district. That will give you some information and make the ARD less of a "surprise." It can also give you time to think about their reasons and your reasons if you are not in agreement. Then you can look for research to support your case. If all else fails, and you have the meeting and do not agree with the decision, you always have the opportunity at the end of the ARD to check the box that says you do NOT agree with the committee's decision. At that point, you could ask about the next steps and consider entertaining the idea of hiring a lawyer. I hope that helps!

Do not get a lawyer. There is no need for one. I am sure they will recommend the proper placement. Is there a parent advocate at the meeting. Go in with an open mind.

PM me if you need information on a great advocate. She is here in the Carrollton area and has helped many moms in my MOPS group. She really knows her stuff and she is affordable. : )

Just speak positively about the teachers that your children have already had and say all the progress they have made and that you want them in regular kinder with speech or whatever services they need and you should get it. If for some reason they balk do not sign that you agree with the ARD and then say you will have to check into it and maybe find an advocate then. But go in with an open mind and you should not have a problem unless they are seeing something that you aren't.

You've gotten some great answers already. My son was in PPCD and is now in Kindergarten. We have had 4 ARDs this school year. From my experience, the ARD is very useful and has been great as it is the platform to make decisions on how things need to be handled to make sure your child succeeds in school. Don't take a lawyer. Listen to all their recommendations, ask questions, chances are you are already on the same page as the school. If next year starts and there are issues or things you aren't agreeing with, request a meeting with the teacher, speech therapist, whoever. If those meetings aren't enough, request another ARD.

Of the 4 ARDs we had this year, I requested one, one was our annual ARD and the others were requested by the teachers and diagnostician.

I would order another round of testing if it has been more than 2 years. A lot can happen in 3 years. That will help you get a better picture of where you stand.