"Student will refrain from smoking marijuana on school property." (That was the only thing on that student's IEP.)
I had one student who couldn't be subjected to any violent content/topics. I can't remember if it was written in the IEP or just verbally stated, though.
Wow. That would not be on an IEP in my district. I know kids smoke marijuana outside of school, and there was a case where a couple were caught smoking it at school, but that does not warrant an IEP.
Right?! It's ridiculous. We sometimes get these IEPs with just absolutely ridiculous accommodations and modifications. I can't believe that someone is signing off on them. I also can't believe that I'm legally obligated to enforce them! I really wish there were a way for teachers to appeal some of these IEPs or raise objections or somehow bring our concerns to some oversight office or committee. That just doesn't exist as far as I can tell.
I write the IEPs for our students and there is no one that signs off really. I take those to the meetings with me and the people present (diagnostician, admin, parent, student) sign off on the meeting. I would be embarrassed to write that as an IEP.
I guess I meant that there is a whole team of people who okayed something like that. It's not just one inexperienced person but a whole group.
I write this because I heard when teacher complaining that a girl in his class had an IEP that let her leave the room as she pleased in the middle of class.
I have had students with that written in their IEPs before. It was included for students with emotional or anxiety-related issues. They have never been able to just walk around the building, though. The teacher has to send them to the guidance office, and they will meet with a guidance counselor, school psychologist, or social worker.
Something along the lines of "Student must not be told what to do or to be accosted by staff members for behavioral issues." This student didn't respond well to authority figures and the parent was the special ed teacher and wrote the IEP. The former student is currently incarcerated for domestic assault, battery, 3rd degree assault, and a few other things. I guess the cops didn't read his IEP.
Oh, I feel bad but this makes me laugh so hard. In a really sad, what-is-the-world-coming-to sort of way. I often wonder if we do more to hurt our students with special needs than we do to help them. If we're ignoring challenges that they might (will) face in the world outside of school and not preparing them to cope with those challenges in healthy, legal ways, then we're not really doing our job as educators.
Teacher had to go to school an hour early three times a week to provide private tutoring for a student. Actually written in the IEP. "Student is to be provided with an easier test than his peers." WTH? "Student will leave class at 3:10 each day." This got the student out of school without checking out so she could beat the traffic out of the parking lot. I'm still persona non grata for getting that one removed. Student was allowed to use a textbook on all tests. Student must be allowed to sit next to ___________ (student's best friend) in every class. Umm, the friend didn't even go to our school. That was a stupid one that carried over from elementary school. There are many more, I'm sure. I've seen some crazy ones.
"Student will not be graded on spelling, grammar, or use of conventions." Hi! Language Arts teacher here! Bit of a bind, there. My very favorite was on an AIP. "Teacher will telephone parents at 6pm every evening with updates."
I've had some similar to what you stated at the start of your post. I don't mind it when it is a child who has a severe learning disability. I had a child who couldn't read, write in 8th grade. She could dictate (and did) and an aide would write what she said. She was able to do some rudimentary editing, but that was it. The accommodation made sense for that child. If I had to phone someone at 6pm every evening I would have been fired for not remembering. I can't believe that one! Why not have the parent call every day at 3:30, or why not email, or a note home with the student. As for the post about the child that must not be accosted and who is now in jail...Very sad. I do think that we do our special needs kids an injustice when we overprotect them. The real-world does not work that way. That said, what about the special needs kids whose parents refuse to acknowledge that there is a problem, yet they want accommodations? They expect everyone to bend over backwards trying to get their very challenged child to work on a level with his/her peers, when the child really needs classes that will help with becoming a productive citizen (basic manual skills, writing a check, etc.), taking care of themselves.
