Accountability From The Top Down

 If you are like most parents it is a grueling process of getting accountability from your child's local education agency. Do you ever have the moments of wondering how so many school districts are able to violate the federal law with no repercussions. I find it most frustrating at times for myself and families that we have advocated tooth and nail, created these in-depth detail oriented  IEPs just to have them look at as optional for implementation.  Families across the Common Wealth find themselves in a spiral of emotions and financial burdens annually because of non-compliance.  Well, here is some hard truth but may also very well be a factor as to why we are faced with such frustrations.  The DOE, Department of Education, is currently investigating the VDOE, Virginia Department of Education, for NON-COMPLIANCE! Why is this important? The VDOE is responsible for making sure your LEAs, Local Education Agencies aka school districts are COMPLIANT specially in the Special Education Departments policies and procedures. One can draw the conclusion that if there is a issue at the state level, it is no wonder that our local school districts have gone rogue on accountability.  This is where individuals like myself and may others end up walking into these schools and presenting the teams with hard questions as to why there is lack of follow through on the implementation of these children's Individualized Education Plans.  As parents it is important to understand your child's rights and not be intimidated by school districts. The law is there to protect you and your child. if you are not sure contact and advocate or attorney. Your child's educational future is too precious.


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