Why Won't The School Board Let Us Tape Record Meetings?
Dear Mrs. Tucker:
Attached is a copy of Board Policy IGBA. I outlined in aqua the portion of the policy that pertains to your request.
You can directly view the policy through the R-7 website, leesummit.k12.mo.us. Once you are on the website, go to Board Policies under Board of Education, and request PoIicy IGBA.
(See attached file: IGBA.doc)
Sincerely,
Ann Starlin-Horner, Ph.D.
Associate Superintendent
Instruction and Leadership
816) 986-1027
FILE: IGBA
Critical
General
If any person knows or believes that a student has a disability and is in need of accommodation, that person should contact the school’s principal or district administration immediately.
All complaints regarding discrimination will be resolved in accordance with policy AC. Anyone who has a complaint or suspects discrimination should contact the compliance coordinator identified in policy AC.
The district will notify all parents and students of its obligations under this policy and the law.
Unless the parents of the child have initially consented to the district's offer to provide special education and related services, the district cannot provide special education services pursuant to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), and the child will not receive the protections of the IDEA.
The Board of Education prohibits the use of audio, video or other recording devices at meetings held pursuant to the IDEA or Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as well as other meetings between district employees and parents. Exceptions to this prohibition will be made only when otherwise required by law or under unusual circumstances when such recording is necessary to ensure parental rights guaranteed under Part B of the IDEA. Requests for such exceptions must be made within a reasonable period of time prior to scheduled meetings. This prohibition does not apply to conversations held within view of district security cameras.
When you attend an IEP meeting you are supposed to be an equal participant. This is not the case in Lee's Summit. The school district's meeting notes are the only notes that are official. A parent's meeting notes are put in the correspondence section of the file. It sounds as though the district doesn't want to be held accountable for what is said in a meeting. Trust me, they never accurately report the meeting. See examples below:
Dr. McGehee,
This is exactly why parents should be able to tape record meetings. The school uses their version of the conference notes for the official record of the meeting. My copy goes in Jake's file under correspondence. How can any parent be an equal member of the IEP team when only the recollections of the school district are in the official record? I must state that the school district's recollections are not completely accurate and are definitely not complete.
Also, you can see from all of this correspondence that I have been asking for Jake to be removed from a very stressful and unhealthy situation. I had to email the team 3 times to get a response. It took an email to Heidi Atkins Lieberman to get a response. I was finally told, " The other concerns you have mentioned in your email are being considered. We will get back to you as soon as possible." Below is the letter that I received from the team. It hardly says that the team has done anything, but ignore my request and pass it on to someone else. I believe my concerns were with the SPED program and how this particular teacher was or was not implementing it and the further damage that it is doing to my child. My child's health is at risk. No one has chosen to address that. It is not a simple request for a schedule change.
Sherri Tucker
Lee's Summit High School 400 S.E. Blue Parkway Lee's Summit, Missouri 64063-4399 (816) 986-2000 · FAX (816) 986-2095
October 13, 2008
Dear Mr. and Mrs. Tucker,
Your recent e-mails would appear to indicate that you are asking for a change in teacher, not what we would consider a SPED change in placement. There is a delineated process for that on pages 20-21 of the Student Handbook/Calendar, under Schedule Change Policy. If you would like to pursue this process, please call Jacob's Assistant Principal, Dr. Jamie Argotsinger. You also asked about your notes being added to our Conference Notes. Our Conference Notes are the school district's record of the meetings. Your communications with us are placed in Jacob's SPED folder.
Respectfully yours,
Joy Rose SPED Process Coordinator
Attached is a copy of Board Policy IGBA. I outlined in aqua the portion of the policy that pertains to your request.
You can directly view the policy through the R-7 website, leesummit.k12.mo.us. Once you are on the website, go to Board Policies under Board of Education, and request PoIicy IGBA.
(See attached file: IGBA.doc)
Sincerely,
Ann Starlin-Horner, Ph.D.
Associate Superintendent
Instruction and Leadership
816) 986-1027
FILE: IGBA
Critical
General
If any person knows or believes that a student has a disability and is in need of accommodation, that person should contact the school’s principal or district administration immediately.
All complaints regarding discrimination will be resolved in accordance with policy AC. Anyone who has a complaint or suspects discrimination should contact the compliance coordinator identified in policy AC.
The district will notify all parents and students of its obligations under this policy and the law.
Unless the parents of the child have initially consented to the district's offer to provide special education and related services, the district cannot provide special education services pursuant to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), and the child will not receive the protections of the IDEA.
The Board of Education prohibits the use of audio, video or other recording devices at meetings held pursuant to the IDEA or Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as well as other meetings between district employees and parents. Exceptions to this prohibition will be made only when otherwise required by law or under unusual circumstances when such recording is necessary to ensure parental rights guaranteed under Part B of the IDEA. Requests for such exceptions must be made within a reasonable period of time prior to scheduled meetings. This prohibition does not apply to conversations held within view of district security cameras.
When you attend an IEP meeting you are supposed to be an equal participant. This is not the case in Lee's Summit. The school district's meeting notes are the only notes that are official. A parent's meeting notes are put in the correspondence section of the file. It sounds as though the district doesn't want to be held accountable for what is said in a meeting. Trust me, they never accurately report the meeting. See examples below:
Dr. McGehee,
This is exactly why parents should be able to tape record meetings. The school uses their version of the conference notes for the official record of the meeting. My copy goes in Jake's file under correspondence. How can any parent be an equal member of the IEP team when only the recollections of the school district are in the official record? I must state that the school district's recollections are not completely accurate and are definitely not complete.
Also, you can see from all of this correspondence that I have been asking for Jake to be removed from a very stressful and unhealthy situation. I had to email the team 3 times to get a response. It took an email to Heidi Atkins Lieberman to get a response. I was finally told, " The other concerns you have mentioned in your email are being considered. We will get back to you as soon as possible." Below is the letter that I received from the team. It hardly says that the team has done anything, but ignore my request and pass it on to someone else. I believe my concerns were with the SPED program and how this particular teacher was or was not implementing it and the further damage that it is doing to my child. My child's health is at risk. No one has chosen to address that. It is not a simple request for a schedule change.
Sherri Tucker
Lee's Summit High School 400 S.E. Blue Parkway Lee's Summit, Missouri 64063-4399 (816) 986-2000 · FAX (816) 986-2095
October 13, 2008
Dear Mr. and Mrs. Tucker,
Your recent e-mails would appear to indicate that you are asking for a change in teacher, not what we would consider a SPED change in placement. There is a delineated process for that on pages 20-21 of the Student Handbook/Calendar, under Schedule Change Policy. If you would like to pursue this process, please call Jacob's Assistant Principal, Dr. Jamie Argotsinger. You also asked about your notes being added to our Conference Notes. Our Conference Notes are the school district's record of the meetings. Your communications with us are placed in Jacob's SPED folder.
Respectfully yours,
Joy Rose SPED Process Coordinator
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