Singing the Sky

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I am bitch, hear me roar.

Not really. But I did stand up effectively for a kiddo in a Manifestation Determination Hearing. This is the school district’s version of a rap song. Try saying “manifestation determination” in an rhythmic angry voice. Anyway, for those of you who don’t know what it really is, it is a meeting where the school tells the parents that their child is being expelled for behavior that was not caused by the child’s disability. This is always decided upon in advance, unless the child’s parents have an attorney, and then the student usually doesn’t get expelled, or there is at least a tape recorder running the entire time.

I went to one of these meetings for a prior student who was about to get send back to our program for the fourth time this year. He is mentally retarded, and is a sweet boy who is easily led by others, and also easily caught misbehaving. He becomes frustrated with the labyrinth of school mores and incomprehensible work. I just can’t stand to see him spend his school years in a cubicle.

One of the referrals he had gotten was for refusing to “do his work” during in-school suspension. The principal looked puzzled when I asked her if perhaps the work was too challenging. She told me that they copied the school handbook all day when they were in ISS. I said that if either she or I were to copy something in Greek all day long, that we would probably not like it very much either. Honestly, I cannot imagine why an adult would tolerate this, can you?

The reason for the in-school suspension was an abundance of tardies after lunch and a referral from the math teacher who did not like his arguing about the tardies. Turns out kiddo never got his school ID, and didn’t know how to get one for himself. With no ID, the school lunch line becomes very difficult to navigate. According to my son, even with an ID, kids usually don’t have time to eat. Sooo, kiddo would go to class and be chewed out by the math teacher for being late. Kiddo would become defensive. Still, despite this frustrating situation, he never cursed out a staff member. I’m surprised, because I would have.

At the meeting, they were getting ready to check the little box that said that his behavior was not a result of his disability when I remembered the “private discussion” modification. The math teacher, who had been brought down to reassure me that he was following the modifications, had said that he confronted the kid in front of the class. Bingo. The mods weren’t followed, so the IEP wasn’t in place. I wanted to leap out of my chair and scream, “Whoo hoo!” Instead, I settled for thanking the principal for listening to my concerns.

Kiddo is getting a new math teacher and an ID. I hope I don’t see him unless it is in the grocery store, because he doesn’t deserve a worse life than he already has.

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