Austin's special education system (College Station, Bryan: attorney, school district, college)

[Motivation12]

Just want to know about the special educational system from preschool to high school in Austin.
Are there any inclusion classes in the schools?
Are the teachers as well as the principal involved in the conferences?
Can the parent get involved in the classrooms?
Would I have to pay xtra for therapy in the school?
Any parent to parent help meetings in Austin?

Just some questions I have before making the move. any helpful websites are appreciated also

[G Grasshopper]

I can't tell you about special education here is Texas, but since you asked about whether they will charge you for therapy, it is federal law that educationally necessary therapy must be provided without cost. And what is educationally necessary depends on what is in the Individualized Education Plan. Its also federal law that one of those must exist. I was up on this in California, but no longer work in the field since moving to Texas, so you need someone local to fill you in more specifically.

[chuck_steak]

ECI (Early childhood Intervention) helped my son years ago when he was pre-school, but I think I read that it was on the chopping block because of funding cuts. you might call the Main number for AISD (Austin Independent School District) and ask for the ECI coordinator or special ed department and ask them your questions.

My son went through sp ed all throughout his childhood and had special classes, but was included in regular ed when and where appropriate. I'm sure some has changed though since he is an adult now.

He got fine motor and gross motor therapy and speech therapy provided for free through the school system.

Also, Easter Seals provided some side therapy for free. The Easter Seals therapy is sliding scale and depends on family income whereas the school therapy is provided for free.

[clarksvillemom]

Get in touch with disability rights Texas in Austin. They know a lot, have advocates, etc

[jthomas45]

Hello ,
Just went to wish you good luck with the Austin ISD ! My road in getting help for my child was not good ,
I hope you have rad books by wrightslaw ! IF you know all about the laws and IEP's then you can go in to the meetings and be able to tell them flat out what you went for your child !

MY case is , I walked in to the IEP meeting and asked for help for my child ,the problem is help is not a word they know ! I paid someone to come in and be able to get the school to get help for my child ,$500.00
gone in 3 hours ! and nothing came of it !

If you do not know the law and do not have a very powerful special education attorney then the Austin ISD when treat you like me like a low Priority and more or less force you to see things there way ,not yours !

round rock I think might be a better choice ?

My child now 13 has not be in school for 6 years all because my income is not large enough to be able to pay the right people to help me .

Fed agency ranks Texas at bottom for health care | The Eagle | Bryan/College Station, Texas - The Eagle

how texas ranks ------- good luck

[MaryleeII]

Originally Posted by jthomas45

Hello ,
Just went to wish you good luck with the Austin ISD ! My road in getting help for my child was not good ,
I hope you have rad books by wrightslaw ! IF you know all about the laws and IEP's then you can go in to the meetings and be able to tell them flat out what you went for your child !

MY case is , I walked in to the IEP meeting and asked for help for my child ,the problem is help is not a word they know ! I paid someone to come in and be able to get the school to get help for my child ,$500.00
gone in 3 hours ! and nothing came of it !

If you do not know the law and do not have a very powerful special education attorney then the Austin ISD when treat you like me like a low Priority and more or less force you to see things there way ,not yours !

round rock I think might be a better choice ?

My child now 13 has not be in school for 6 years all because my income is not large enough to be able to pay the right people to help me .

Fed agency ranks Texas at bottom for health care | The Eagle | Bryan/College Station, Texas - The Eagle

how texas ranks ------- good luck

How do you get away with not sending your child to school? Aren't there laws that say your child must be in school until a certain age?

[cdfblair]

Originally Posted by Motivation12

Just want to know about the special educational system from preschool to high school in Austin.
Are there any inclusion classes in the schools?
Are the teachers as well as the principal involved in the conferences?
Can the parent get involved in the classrooms?
Would I have to pay xtra for therapy in the school?
Any parent to parent help meetings in Austin?

Just some questions I have before making the move. any helpful websites are appreciated also

Austin has made the push for inclusion in the last 10 years. They are really trying to look at the spectrum of services. I use to be a Sp. Ed. teacher in AISD and I will say that it is not perfect, but I have learned that other districts have their problems also. Some campuses are better than others at implementation. Principals are not always involved in the conferences unless requested because issues can't be resolved between parent and teacher. An administrator will always be at the annual ARD meeting. Many teachers welcome your input and support. Sometimes I feel that people want more than a teacher can do because of their caseload and restrictions by the district. As others have stated, Easter Seals and ECI provide some outside therapy. Extra services will depend on each child's needs. I would tell you to look into Texas Parent to Parent for support meetings.

Again, I no longer work for AISD nor belong to Texas Parent to Parent. I have attended many ARD meetings and conferences as an advocate and I believe that you have to have a proactive appraoch. Start early!