I still walked away with a good long list of suggestions for the teachers, though even those were mostly positive.
Then we got to his 7th period class. The students were great. The teacher just doesn't want him there. It is evident in everything that this teacher says and does the whole class.
Anyway, I walked away, typed all of my observations and suggestions in a long email and sent it in, requesting an IEP to discuss the class and more appropriate accommodations that were obviously necessary, and the fact that accommodations already in the IEP were not being given.
This is what happened in the IEP meeting this morning. I was first pulled aside to ask me if Micah and his aid could sit this meeting out because it was probably going to be confrontational and they didn't want that to affect the relationships they have even further. In the 45 minute meeting, I found myself citing IDEA to the teacher and being backed up by everyone else on the team. Micah's engineering teacher explained how he was grading participation and it was determined by the team (though the teacher strongly objected) that he should be excused from that particular grade since it was all based upon social interaction. Testing was also determined that it was not appropriately given according to the modifications allowed in his IEP and now Micah will be able to retake all the tests.
The teacher was still very defensive and determined to get Micah out of the class, constantly referring to another student with autism that was doing fine in his class. He was reminded by the program specialist (a district level administrator) that he cannot compare students with autism, that's not how autism works.
Anyway, the suggestions that I gave about giving Micah group assignments early so he can work on them with his aid before class and she can work on his group work skills alongside speech therapy and the study skills instructor were put into the IEP. These suggestions I gave to the teacher before this, but he constantly argued that it was not okay because his aid didn't understand the engineering involved. I told him that it didn't matter because she was just working with him on how to ask questions that he may have and to help set himself up to do the work. Besides, Micah understands the engineering. The teacher was still very confrontational, but it's all in writing and he said he would try.
I think the worst thing about the whole discussion was that when the teacher was asked what areas Micah did well in, he said he couldn't think of anything in his class that he does well. He even went as far as to imply that I did Micah's homework for him. I just couldn't believe that Micah did nothing well, especially since they are working on coding for their robotics right now and coding is something that he excells at. At this point it feels like the teacher and Micah are both in a routine of failure.
The best part about it was that the only person who wasn't agreeing that what was happening was unacceptable was the teacher. Speech therapy more fully understood goals of group work and said that she would work on his group skills even as they specifically apply to that class and could do some of his make up sessions one on one in that class if scheduling worked out. The program specialist had a difficult time keeping a straight face when the teacher made observations that were obviously discriminatory and called him out on it more than once. Micah's case manager was nodding every time I spoke and did everything to make sure that I was viewed as an expert on Micah and knew what I was talking about and not just asking for the teacher to give him an easy A.
Overall I think the meeting went as well, at least as well as I thought it could have. I started to feel bad for the engineering teacher, knowing that he was fighting against everyone in the room, and I have been there and it's a hard place to be. Still, the things he was digging his heels in about were not about learning, they were about changing his behavior. I just didn't think that I was asking for anything that was unreasonable. They were minor changes. The biggest thing was asking him to give the assignment for the day to his aid earlier in the day so that she could discuss it with him and help with prompts, and that does not seem that unreasonable.
The opposition was not unexpected, so I really feel that the meeting went as well as it could have given the attitude of the teacher. When the discussion came up that we would revisit his continuing in the program next semester, I didn't actually say it, but there is no way I am going to allow my son to stay in a class with that teacher. He doesn't seem to want to teach my son, and Micah doesn't have to put up with that. He is a blessing and so very intelligent and anyone who refuses to see that doesn't deserve him.
