Schools/Special Ed Services (transfer, public schools, law)

[ajzjmsmom]

My 7 yr old receives speech therapy in the public schools here in NM. Does anyone know if the schools there will accept his IEP's from here or would the whole process have to start over?

[anpanman]

I would be surprised if they wanted to restart the entire process...I think it will be followed. However, here is the official answer from the state dept. of ed:

When a child with a disability transfers to a public school in Virginia from another state, what responsibility does the Virginia school have?

If your child transfers to a public school in Virginia from another state, the
Virginia school must:

decide whether to adopt the eligibility decision, the most recent evaluation, and IEP from the previous out-of-state school or to develop a new IEP with your consent; and

give you notice of its decision and the process it will follow.


If, however, you are not satisfied with the IEP from the previous out-of-state school or if a revision is needed for other reasons, the Virginia school must develop an IEP within 30 calendar days of the schoolÕs decision to accept the eligibility decision from the previous out-of-state school.

If the Virginia school does not adopt the previous out-of-state school's
evaluation of the transferring child because it does not conform to federal or Virginia special education law or the school does not receive a copy of the evaluation, the school must:

give you notice of its decision and the evaluation process;

begin evaluation procedures; and

conduct an evaluation.


Once the evaluation is complete and eligibility is decided, an IEP meeting
must be held no later than 30 calendar days after the date eligibility was
decided. The most recent IEP, excluding sections of the IEP that are inconsistent with the law, must be used until the new IEP is developed and accepted.