Category Archives: Saving Aleczander

ARD Meetings Aren’t Supposed to be Run by Lawyers

12 THINGS TO PAY ATTENTION WHEN DEALING WITH SCHOOL DISTRICTS “I’m retiring,” my friend said. “You aren’t old enough to retire,” I replied. “Yeah, I am. I’ve been a teacher in this district for nineteen years and I’ve never lied … Continue reading

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Without a Paper Trail, We’re Toast!

PARENTS, YOU MUST CREATE A PAPER TRAIL BEFORE YOU HIRE AN ADVOCATE, OTHERWISE YOU’RE JUST SPINNING YOUR WHEELS Lots of things that school districts get up to these days don’t pass the smell test but few of the actions taken … Continue reading

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Just the Facts, Ma’am; Just the Facts

Today I’m going to talk to you about special education law, specifically special education case law. Case law isn’t all that interesting, however it is much less boring than I previously believed it to be. The trick, for me, has … Continue reading

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PLAAFPs are supposed to be the Foundation of every IEP

Today’s lesson to parents and advocates: No matter how many times the members of your child’s IEP team tell you that “they’ve got your child’s best interests at heart,” you are advised not to believe them. At best, go ahead … Continue reading

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Don’t Let Anyone Rent Space in Your Head

Sample Letter from Parent to District Articulating Specific Concerns and Referencing Evidence to Support Parent’s “asks.” This letter contains three parts: an identifying information opening, a salutation, and a summary of your case. I suggest that you send a letter/email … Continue reading

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5.17.2020 Texas Special Education Continues to be AWOL

I didn’t write this article, I copied and modified it from the website, educationviews.org The article was written by writers from Houston Public Media and the Houston Chronicle and is based on four case studies of Special Needs children and … Continue reading

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Gee-Whiz, I Wish I’d Known all this Stuff Back Then

  File today’s post under the heading of gee-whiz, I wish I’d known all this legal stuff back then. From IDEA 2004, (c) Parent-initiated evaluations. If the parent obtains an independent educational evaluation at public expense or shares with the … Continue reading

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I Thought Mother Teresa Lived in Abject Poverty

In 1995 my writing career appeared to be dead in the water so it came as somewhat of a relief to me when a special education  director from a small town south of San Antonio called and asked if she … Continue reading

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TEACHER, CAN YOU PLAY WITH ME?

Today is April 18, 2020. I’m only marginally stir crazy as Gov. Abbot announced yesterday that Texas will soon reopen for business, although it is beyond infuriating that the DISTRICT is using the Corona virus as its latest reason to … Continue reading

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I’m Almost About To READ!

June 2018 Update This is one of those good news bad news stories. Aleczander completed third grade at Salem Sayers. That’s good news. For a second year now, instead of crying hysterically as he did during kindergarten and first grade … Continue reading

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It’s Only Pretend Reading, but It’s a Giant Step in the Right Direction

July 2016 In this video, Aleczander is reading a predictable pattern book. The book was given to him by Miss Shelley, a dyslexia teacher who was employed by Aleczander’s previous school to give him 12 1-1 lessons during the summer … Continue reading

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Did You Know That Henry Winkler Has Dyslexia?

Just like The Fonz, Aleczander, age 8, has dyslexia. Aleczander also has dysgraphia and oral motor disfluency. The fact that Aleczander is a third grader at Salem Sayers Baptist Academy and no longer attends his public school can be summed … Continue reading

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