We had a situation where we wanted our daughter to be placed at NECC in the residential program. The district was paying 3hrs of ABA after school everyday but it was not enough and Ed had nothing for weekends and vacations.
We had a meeting with the team from the district including the director of special Ed and they said they should not have to pay the entire cost even though they agreed she needed it. They told us the state agencies should kick in for some of the cost because it was 360,000 a year. We had done our research and found out that in our state it is entirely on the school district unless the parents made a considerable amount of money and could pay for some of it themselves. We were already in programs with the state agencies and had a case worker for DDS who set us up with an advocate in which they paid for.
While we waited for about two weeks for another meeting with the team I contacted our state representative and Senator and their chiefs of staff contacted us. We were lucky it was an election year and they were both up for reelection . They told us they could not force the district to do much since they do not have that power but would contact the district to talk to them. They did in fact do that and although they could not force them to do it they did pressure them a bit with what power they did have by connections.
We did have our meeting with the team and the advocate and the district again agreed that our daughter needed the program but the cost was to high and again said the state should help pay. Of course our advocate pushed the fact that if us their responsibility and they then agreed to mediation. We waited a few weeks and were just about to get an attorney when they contacted us and said that they had talked with the districts lawyer and were informed that we had a strong case and so much documentation that they would likely loose. I think this is where the politicians had pull.
A month later our daughter was in the program and has been for 4 months where she is thriving and not once regressed. She is picking up skills faster than anyone had hoped, and the best part is we have not paid a cent . We do still provide her cloths and some of her favorite things but that is it.
Stick to your guns and get every test or evaluation they ask for done because you can hold it against them. Also use every tool you have at your disposal .
Your right,most school districts think people do not know how much power they have. We were told the school will only do enough to follow the law. When they say it cost too much,you need to remind them that you pay school taxes.
Hope all goes well at your IEP, thinking about you
Let me know how it turns out,just keep in mind it is your child,you know what he needs,fight for it,but in a nice way. Be firm and consistant. You can even get an advocate ,who speaks for your child over phone conference,while in your IEP meeting. They just hook up a speaker. Wish you best of luck,will be thinking of you guys. Remember you are your child's best advocate!! Keep smiling.
Thanks so much for sharing this. I'll have my first one in 2 weeks, not sure what to expect and I hope my ASD consultant/advocate helps my son to be where he needs to.