So it was going great, quickly promoted to child study team leader, then to special education coordinator. Then I started finding the problems, lots of them. Kids getting services who didn't qualify, some who had never had an IEP in their lives, kids who should be getting services but were forgotten about and IEP's allowed to expire. Reevaulations that weren't done last spring, that I just got done. Funding that should be sped spent on sports and facilities, etc, etc, etc. Yeah, it is a mess, one too big for me to clean up. So I reported them to the state, who guaranteed an audit. The local ISD says that a loss of sped funding is pending. I have an employment attorney, just in case, and I have paper copies of everything. What else do I do to make sure I come out of this with my career intact?
I'm not sped and have never been in your position, but want to tell you that you should be proud of yourself for doing what's right for kids.
Keep documentation at home and not at school. It might mysteriously disappear. Good luck. I hope it gets sorted out.
No advice, but as czacza and teacherintexas said, major props for standing up for the kiddos. You certainly deserve to come out with your career perfectly intact, if not in an even better position before.
I thought this sounded like maybe one person before you did a really bad job until I got to the last part about funding. Yikes. Good for you for reporting. Does your employer know it was you? Definitely get letters of rec. from as many people as possible. Will you be job searching this spring?
I, too, applaud you for doing what is right by the students! I will echo what has already been said to keep any and all documentation at home in a safe place, get letters now just in case they are needed, and be proud of yourself for reporting this. I don't understand how things like this continue to happen and do not get noticed by others.
Thank you for being ethical. You did the right thing. It takes courage to do what is right. It gets noticed but ignored for many reasons. Some want to keep their job. Others are horrible at their job even thought they know what they should do. Others are ignorant in their job.
DEFINITELY make sure you have paper copies of all your past evaluations, and they are at home. At this point, any discussions with administration on this matter should be by email, with a blind copy to your home email, if possible.
And that's a shame. I know that there are many incompetent people who cannot do their jobs but for some reason remain in them.
Definitely do some remedial paperwork workshops with your teachers and whoever else has a hand in the paperwork process! Man, what a headache!!
Because teaching is a really easy job if you do it poorly. All the unflattering comments we hear about long vacations, great hours and guaranteed jobs are all technically true if one puts in very little work. To TC, you deserve to be congratulated for standing up for what is right. I'd think you'd be protected by Whistleblower laws if the worst case scenario of retaliation does happen.
I was thinking about this a little more. I think sometimes it happens because people start in jobs and the laws are explained to them by those already in the school. It is taken at face value that the information they are being provided is accurate. Even when questioned, they end up being told that it is a state or district "policy" like we have seen in several other discussions. I believe some at school that run like this are really unaware of the law. Our district had special trainers come in to instruct how close to "the line" you can come in order to save money by limiting the types of services that are provided or methods to keep pressure on parents to avoid having to provide only what they felt they could get away with if everyone stayed on board.
It has only gotten worse, I have had one formal reprimand for something seriously minor (three other people did the same thing on the same day and did not get into trouble) and I was verbally told that the ISD said I was to keep things in house, so I called the ISD....they did not say that. Told me to cya seriously. I have paper copies of everything and an employment attorney. I find more wrong every day. The ISD ran a report on my district today, they found one minor mistake on one of my IEP's, I clicked on the wrong box. They didn't tell me everything they found with the school. The audit has begun. They have it out for me and I am so stressed it isn't even funny. To top it off my ex husband texts me today and asked if there was any hope for reconciliation. All I can think of was holy he&^ he has bad timing.
