how would you handle this?

ok.. so i'm a speech therapist at a school in NJ.
this is my 2nd year in the district, but i've been working in schools for 6 years overall. in my 2 years in the district, I've had 7 observations done. Only ONE of them had anything negative in it- and they were all fixable things ( things with my lesson plan book, and my kid's work folders). even talking to the principal and SPED director, they felt they were all fixable things.
THEN in apil, the child study team was doing an annual review for a students IEP. the kid moved in in september, and was apparently supposed to be getting speech all year! the team never mentioned this to me or passed the info along. Granted, i shoudl have checked his IEP to make sure, but they are also at fault somewhat. (since they are case managers)
SOOO principal and SPED director hear about it, and tell me that i'm not being rehired for next year because of it.
Now, as i said, i completely understand that i should have checked the kids IEP myself... but doesn't the team, as case managers have some responsibility to make sure the kids they case manage are getting the services in their IEP? and the teacher has his IEP- why didn't say something to me? so i just feel like this is a shared blame kind of thing. I tried to explain this all to the SPED director, but shes just not seeing it this way....
now, I'm being asked to sign something that says I failed to provide speech services to a child.
I went to the union about it, but apparently becasue of the couple things in the one observation i don't have any recourse.... it just STINKS!!!
anybody been through anything like this before? is there really nothing i can do?? thanks for any advice! i have been really happy in this district, so its killing me to have to leave

Re: how would you handle this?

my question is. is why would you have checked a students IEP if you didn't know they would be getting speech. I would think that the teacher or administration or team should have informed you that you have a new case - then you would look at it. You cant be responsible for knowing about every student who enters the building and check each one to see if they have an IEP and receive speech services.

something just seems

Maybe NJ does things differently then NY

Re: how would you handle this?

Posted by jgl

my question is. is why would you have checked a students IEP if you didn't know they would be getting speech. I would think that the teacher or administration or team should have informed you that you have a new case - then you would look at it. You cant be responsible for knowing about every student who enters the building and check each one to see if they have an IEP and receive speech services.

something just seems

Maybe NJ does things differently then NY

Re: how would you handle this?

A friend of mine is going through BS in her school (NYC DOE) because the principal wants to hire someone else for her position, so she is getting on her back over stupid crap (and yes, she is also being let go). I'm thinking they are looking for a reason to get rid of you.

Re: how would you handle this?

DO NOT sign anything. You are not at fault here. How would you possibly know to check a new entrant's IEP as to whether they get Speech? Do they expect you to check every kid's IEP? That's ridiculous. I repeat, DO NOT sign anything. That piece of paper will follow you wherever you go. I am so sorry you are going through this. Someone else fell down on the job and you are being used as the scapegoat. Was this your tenure year?

Re: how would you handle this?

thanks for all the good thoughts!! it just doesn't seem right to me either, which is why I'm fighting it as much as I can.
The weirdest part is that this boy moved in in september, i never got any info from the team as far as his speech services. THEN in november, another new student moved in- SAME class, SAME school. before she even started classes, the team came to me and told me she was coming and would get speech- showed me her IEP, etc. SO I was able to pick up right away for speech. now, WHY did i get all of the second student's info, but not the first students?? It just shows that something somewhere fell through the cracks with the information passing on everybody's part with the first student.
the funny part is that the parent was ok with it- i just told her i would see him extra time next year, and she was ok with it.
the SPED director refuses to see my point/side.....i've been emailing her a lot about it.
i got a notice today that i will be discussed at the board of ed meeting, probably to officially "fire" me. SOOO I e-mailed the BOE president, VP, the superintendent, and the personnel director to state my side of things. I'll probably try to go to the meeting in person, too. Not sure if they'll do anything, but I had to at least try!
I'll keep you updated!

Re: how would you handle this?

This makes me so mad! You are not at fault here. If you were not told, there was no way for you to know this child should be getting speech.
IEPs are confidential documents. Only the people who work with a child are allowed to look at it. You would be breaking confidentiality if you checked every child's IEP to see if they get speech. You could not and should not have done what they are blaming you for. The child's teacher of record should have been the one to inform you that he/she has mandated speech services and then you could look at the IEP.

Re: how would you handle this?

The PP is correct, you are not allowed to check IEPs unless told that the student is on your caseload. If I were you, I'd print out every correspondence by email, write down every conversation you had, print out official New Jersey language stating who can and cannot look at an IEP and go into that Board meeting armed with information so that they don't railroad you. You MUST go to the meeting to state your side of the story. If you feel comfortable, ask the parent to attend as well. Are you friends with the student's teacher? If so, I would bring the teacher. What they are doing is ridiculous.

Re: how would you handle this?

I found this old thread and wondered whatever happened to you. I'm very curious. Hope everything turned out OK.