Individualized Education Program (IEP) really does control.

Here is a story out of Syracuse (syracuse.com) reiterating the importance of the IEP, especially when it comes to behavior plans:

“Syracuse school placed child in ‘time-out’ room improperly, state Education Department letter says”

“The Syracuse school district improperly placed a child with disabilities into an inadequate “time-out” room at LeMoyne Elementary School, the state Education Department said in a recent letter to Superintendent Sharon Contreras.

Individualized Education Program
“State officials have determined that Syracuse’s LeMoyne Elementary School improperly placed a child in a small “time-out” room in May. (Paul Riede | priede@syracuse.com)”

In the July 11 letter obtained by Syracuse.com, the department says it found that the 9-year-old boy was placed in the room even though his individualized education program and behavior management plan did not include use of the room, as state regulations require.

Moreover, the room itself did not meet state requirements for time-out rooms and the district has no state-required policy for the use of such rooms, the department said.

The district placed the top two administrators and a teaching assistant at the school on paid leave last month after a student’s guardian complained that her distraught grandson was locked in a closet-sized room in an attempt to control his behavior.

Norma Smith said her 9-year-old grandson told her he had been taken to a small room not much larger than a closet. The boy said he had been put in the room several times after he acted out. He described the room as having a metal door and no furniture or windows.

The school district and Syracuse Police both opened investigations, and on July 1 the state Education Department sent staff from its Special Education Quality Assurance division to visit the school.

The July 11 letter from Suzanne Jackson, supervisor of the Central Regional Office of SEQA, included a plan for the district to follow to ensure it is in compliance in the use of time-out rooms.”

Read the full story HERE.

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