"I have asked and asked the school to give my child extra help. The school never does anything."
First, if you did not ask for help in writing, you have no proof that you ever asked for help.
You need to learn how to make requests of the school in writing (read Chapters 22, 23 and 24 about letter writing and paper trails in From Emotions to Advocacy.)
I recommend that parents always prepare for IEP meetings by writing a report to give to the IEP team members.
First, write a list of your child’s strengths. Here are some examples:
Strengths
* Johnny is competitive
* Johnny loves to play basketball
* Being allowed to play basketball makes Johnny want to do better in school
* Johnny gets up every morning to practice basketball.
Next, make a list of things that are difficult for your child. Here are some examples:
Challenges
* Johnny struggles in reading, science, and math
* Johnny and I work up to 3 hours a night on reading, science and math homework
* Johnny receives tutoring which we pay for in reading, science and math
* Johnny often gets D’s and F’s in reading, science and math
* Johnny is not allowed to be on the school’s sports teams because of his poor grades.
Next, make a list of what your child needs from the school. Look at your lists of strengths and challenges. Make your list of needs fit the strengths and challenges. Here are some examples:
Needs
* Johnny needs special help in reading, science and English
* Johnny needs to have his grades take into consideration his effort
* Johnny needs to be allowed to play on school sports teams so he will be motivated to do well in school -- and not drop out
Write only what is most important. Your goal is to get the IEP team to focus on the important areas. You can also write goals in your report.
Make enough copies of your report so everyone who attends the IEP meeting has a copy. After you think you've made enough copies, make a few more. You want to be sure you have enough copies of your report to go around.
Do you have questions about IEPs? You aren't alone!
If you are like many parents, when you receive a notice about an IEP meeting for your child, you feel anxious. During IEP meetings, you may feel confused and overwhelmed. The best antidote to negative emotions is accurate, reliable information.
Click here for more information about the new program.
One of the most frequently-asked-questions is "How can I find an advocate / attorney / consultant?" Here are some suggestions about how to find a consultant, advocate or attorney who represents children with disabilities.
1.
Visit the Yellow Pages for Kids with Disabilities
We built Yellow Pages
for Kids for each state so people can get reliable information
and help.
The Yellow
Pages for your state has hundreds of resources - parent support
and study groups, evaluators, educational consultants, psychologists,
tutors, advocates, attorneys, and others who provide services to
parents and children. You will also find listings for government
programs and grassroots organizations in your state.
2. Ask other parents
Ask other parents for their recommendations - they are often your
best source of good advice.
3.
Contact your state Parent Training Information Center
To learn about special education training for parents, contact your
Parent
Training Information (PTI) Center. The Directory
of Parent Training Information Centers has contact information
for every state. You may want to attend a Wrightslaw
legal advocacy training program.
4.
Contact a disabilities group or organization that represents you
child's interests
You will find a comprehensive directory
of disabilities organizations, clearinghouses and information groups
on the Yellow Pages
for Kids site.
5. Legal and Advocacy Resources
If you have a dispute with the school about your child's special
education program, you may decide to consult with an attorney or
an advocate who is familiar with special education law.
Contact the Protection & Advocacy
organization for your state - they are legal disability rights
agencies.
To find an attorney or advocate, check the Directory
of Legal and Advocacy Resources, in addition to the attorneys
and advocates listed on the Yellow
Pages for your state. You may also contact the Council
of Parent Attorneys and Advocates (COPAA) for a referral.
Finding
Other Helpers
How Can I Find an Evaluator? Tutor?
If you are looking for an evaluator or academic tutor who is trained
in research-based reading programs, read Research-Based
Reading Instruction for strategies to find an appropriate person
to work with your child.
Consultations
with Pete Wright
If
you want to schedule a consultation with Pete, please go to the
consultation page.
Would You Like to Become an Advocate?
Rind out how. Read So You Want to Be an Advocate? Your Game Plan by Pat Howey.
Teacher Says, "I Don't Care If He Has an IEP."
by
Suzanne Whitney Heath, Research Editor, Wrightslaw
I am feeling in desperate need of help. I just now learned about Wrightslaw.
My son is 7 years old, his ADHD has been characterized as "very severe" - by one evaluator, "most severe I've seen in 25 years of practice." I've taken him to three private evaluations and he is now under the care of one of the most respected child neurologists in the county.
He is also gifted. He was in a private school that really couldn't meet his needs, so I placed him in public school. He has an IEP.
The Background
He gets good grades in second grade, nothing below a C, and he reads on average at the 3rd grade level. I have a tutor who works with him one, sometimes two hours a day. I spend at least an hour or more a day with him also. I think it’s the support he’s getting at home, not in school, that is keeping him afloat.
We just started late last school year a very low dose of Dexedrine, which helps a bit, but if we do much more, interferes with sleep and appetite so we are careful.
Fortunately, the teachers over the years have all agreed that he is the sweetest dear in the class; kind, respectful, well behaved – model child in that department. But every last one of them has said he needs too much guidance.
His PreK teacher said he was the brightest in the class but simply could not stay on task for more than a couple of moments. It was she who suggested I test for gifted and she was correct.
He is in a full time gifted program with 33 students and two full time teachers. Both of these teachers are enormously frustrated by his need for guidance “95 percent of the time.”
They told me on the 7th day of school “this has to end,” They say things like “I don’t care if he has an IEP, he needs to be more independent.”
He comes home with a chart filled mostly with sad faces because he didn’t complete various tasks (like writing down homework) correctly. They are bothered by the fact that they have to write it down. I don’t like the idea of him being penalized if he doesn’t, since its written into his IEP that they must help.
One is a brand new teacher. I wouldn’t be surprised if they don’t know much about the condition. I’m still learning and never would have believed it could be this maddening if I hadn’t been living with it for so long.
Anyway, the school has called an IEP team meeting – I did not request this – for this Thursday where the county special ed director will be present. I’m concerned they are going to lower some kind of boom.
Two questions
1. Can I ask for a paraprofessional? I’ve heard there are other ADHD kids in the class too. And even though two teachers for 30 plus kids should be fine, I think there are other children who could use the help.
2. Can they ask my child to leave the school?
Sue's Advice
I’ll answer your questions first - but I think there is more.
Q: Can I ask for a paraprofessional?
A: Read this before you ask for a paraprofessional.
Then even if you want a paraprofessional, don’t ask for one.
Instead, focus on the IEP goals and accommodations.
If more staff is needed, do you want to request someone other than a teacher to teach your son? Let the non-certified staff supervise recess, collect data, move chairs around for reading groups, help with the buses, etc.
Let teachers do the teaching. They have the training, we hope.
Q: Can they ask my child to leave the school?
A: No, they cannot ask your son to leave. They are required to teach him. They are even required to teach him with out making him feel like he doesn’t belong there.
About the IEP meeting
Go
ahead and attend the meeting, but as soon as you get there tell them
that you were unable to prepare because you do not know why they have
asked for the meeting.
If the meeting gets out of hand, repeat that you were unable to prepare for the meeting because you did not know what would be discussed, and ask them to “reconvene at a later date when you will be able to participate as an informed member of the team.”
If the meeting is going fairly well, still respond to whatever is presented with, “Well, I didn’t know we were going to discuss this. Let me get back to you about it in a few days.”
That will give you time to figure out your plan and respond in writing once you have had time to think about what happened in the meeting.
Don’t agree
or to anything at the meeting. If the school members of the team wanted
you to be prepared and be a full participant, they would have told you
what the meeting was about ahead of time.
You
control whether or not they catch you off guard. Just go in there to
find out what they want and then respond in writing. Read “Letter to a Stranger" once you have had time to think.
About the Teachers
The teachers who are having trouble with your son are basically saying that they would be happy to teach him if he would just stop having his disability. Tough.
They get the whole kid. If you can live through it, so can they. They are a public school. He is the public.
When they say, “He . . .
You say, “That is part of his disability. Let’s take a look at...
About his Chart
What needs to end is this chart full of sad face stickers.
How do they think that makes him feel? Do they think the sad face stickers are going to change his disability? Does the kid in the wheelchair get sad faces on her chart for not walking well? If they gave the kid in the wheelchair sad face stickers do they think it would change the way she walks?
You son has a hefty dose of a neurological deficit that affects his global behavior. He is also a child who attends a public school.
He is also a child who they will educate and will not damage by inappropriate behavior on their part. That is a sentence you may want to state at the meeting depending on how the meeting goes. My bet is you will find an opportunity to make that statement - politely, no yelling, even if it kills you.
Read this before the meeting Behavior Problems and Discipline and read it in detail later after the meeting when you have time.
About his IEP
Most IEPs are not great.
Buy and learn what is in these books:
Writing Measurable IEP Goals and Objectives by Barbara D. Bateman and Cynthia M. Herr
Preparing Instructional Objectives by Roger Mager
Measuring Instructional Results, by Roger Mager.
www.amazon.com sells all of them.
Then make sure you participate in writing future IEPs.
If you really look at what the IEP says about your son’s present level of performance, what it expects him to accomplish and provides for accommodations, you may see that it could use some additional information and tweaking.
If the IEP team and all your son’s teachers were abducted by aliens tonight, would the people who stepped in to take their place be able to do it seamlessly based on what is in the IEP? If you close up the holes it may be easier for everyone to follow it and to understand your son’s disability and degree of disability.
For now
Order the books and organize and calm yourself in preparation for Thursday’s meeting. All you need to do there is take notes and respond with common sense as appropriate.
If you get over your head, remind them that you did not know about the subject of the meeting until you arrived and you would like to "reconvene the meeting at a later date when you can participate as a fully informed member of the IEP team”.
How to Find an Advocate
In my area, who would be a good advocate, or how do I research and find one on my own?
Use the Yellow Pages for Kids state directory to find advocates, resources, and disability information for your state.
Good luck,
Sue
Research Editor, Wrightslaw
Quality special education services are intensive, individualized and expensive. Because parents want quality services for their children, parent-school conflict is normal, predictable . . . and inevitable.
Educators believe they are “the experts” in educating children. Some educators and service providers feel threatened by strong, articulate parents who are active advocates for their children. How do schools deal with perceived threats? Some schools try to limit parents’ ability to advocate for their children.
In this article, you will learn how to manage a crisis with the school. We describe typical parent-school crises that cause parents to seek outside help. You will learn that a crisis has two sides: danger and opportunity. We will describe how to avoid common pitfalls and provide strategies you can use to weather a crisis.
Help! Events That Trigger
Here are common events that trigger crises and requests for help from parents. The school:
Three factors increase the likelihood of a crisis:
In a crisis, you will feel frightened, confused, guilty, angry, and helpless. Your common sense and good judgment vanish. What should you do? During a crisis, your first response is likely to be a big mistake!
Crisis Management, Step-by-Step
A crisis hits! What should you do?
For the first few days, do nothing. You are feeling helpless and emotionally overwhelmed. If you believe you must do something, resist this urge!
If you are like most parents, you do not need an attorney. The key to resolving special disputes is preparation, preparation and more preparation. As a parent, your goals are to prevent problems when possible and to minimize the seriousness of those problems you cannot prevent.
Our Prevention Model of Special Education Advocacy is based on the “prepare for litigation” approach to civil litigation. Do you start a fight when you have no ammunition? No! Do you start a fight before you know where the high ground is? No! You do not start a fight until you have a good chance of prevailing.
Short-Term Solutions
Think. Regroup. Analyze the issues. Gather information. Locate the high ground. Think about how to solve the problem. Plan a strategy so you can take the hill and prevail, without firing a shot.
Use your energy to prepare. Focus on short-term solutions and long-range planning. In a crisis, you need to:
Control Your Emotions
Keep your emotions under control! Do not obsess about unfairness. If you allow yourself to obsess about unfairness or revenge, you will make mistakes.
Be careful about revealing your feelings to school personnel. If you share your feelings, the school will perceive you as emotional, vulnerable and possibly as unstable. If you discuss your personal problems, you are likely to appear to be more problem-ridden than you are.
Spend your time and energy thinking, planning, and preparing. When you prepare, it is more difficult to make mistakes. Put your emotions in your backpack. Use your emotions as a source of energy to keep you moving, step-by-step, to high ground.
Remove Your Child from the Middle
Children who are embroiled in battles between their parents and their school are similar to children in custody battles. As they travel back and forth between the two sides, they are in the middle.
Many children assume that parent-school problems are their fault. You may explain the situation to your child but you should not allow or encourage the child to take sides.
Long-Term Planning
A crisis is an opportunity. The crisis forces you to face reality. You realize that you must take steps to change your child’s educational situation. You need to do long-term planning.
Begin a Program of Self-Study
You need to learn about the law, your child’s disability, how your child learns, and how your child should be taught. Where do you begin? Join one or two special education organizations for one year. Immerse yourself in information about disabilities, educational remediation techniques, legal rights and responsibilities, and tactics and strategies.
Join a Support or Study Group
Get help from other parents. Look for a support group or study group in your community. Members of the group will provide information, recommend experts, offer support, and alleviate the sinking feeling that you are fighting this battle alone.
To find a group that is right for you, read Strategies to Find a Support or Study group.
Learn About Your Legal Rights and Responsibilities
You need to learn about your legal rights and responsibilities. Read and re-read the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Use a highlighter. Attach sticky notes on those pages that relate to your child’s situation.
There are dozens of good legal research sites on the Internet.
FindLaw is an encyclopedic law site with resources for legal professionals, students, businesses, and the public.
The Legal Information Institute (LII) from the Cornell Law School includes decisions by topic, journal articles, other resources.
Wrightslaw is a special education law and advocacy site.
Learn About Special Education
You need accurate information about your child’s disability, how the disability affects your child, and about appropriate educational and remediation techniques. The groups listed in the Directory of Disabilities Organizations and Information Groups are an invaluable source of information.
For the websites of national disabilities organizations and information groups, go to www.yellowpagesforkids.com/help/dis.orgs.htm
The National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities (NICHCY) provides information about disabilities; programs and services; IDEA, the nation's special education law; No Child Left Behind, the nation's general education law; and research-based information on effective practices for children with disabilities.
Get Legal and Advocacy Information From Your State
Contact the Special Education Division of your State Department of Education. Ask for a copy of your state special education laws, regulations, and guidelines. Request all material about special education, IEPs, and Section 504 programs.
To find your State’s website, check the Directory of State Departments of Education.
Your state has an independently operated and funded Protection and Advocacy Office. Their mission is to provide legal and advocacy services to people with disabilities. Some chapters offer special education training programs. Request all publications about special education, IEPs, and parent rights and responsibilities from your state P & A office.
For a list of Protection and Advocacy agencies by state, go to the website for the National Disability Rights Network.
Contact your state Parent Information and Training Center. These centers help families obtain appropriate special education services for their children with disabilities, provide training and information to parents and professionals, help resolve family-school problems, and connect children with disabilities with community resources.
For a list of state Parent Information and Training Centers with contact information, check the Directory of Parent Training Centers:
Request Your Child’s Records
Request a complete copy of your child’s cumulative and confidential files from your child’s school and from the administrative office where the special education department is located. Request a copy of your child’s records from all agencies and individuals that may have information about your child.
Get a Comprehensive Evaluation
Get a comprehensive evaluation of your child from an independent expert in the private sector. The purpose of this evaluation is to identify your child’s problems and develop a plan to address these problems. Before you can make wise decisions about your child’s special education program, you need accurate diagnostic information about the child’s disability, strengths, weaknesses, and needs
At this point, many parents say . . .
“But the school is supposed to test my child . . .”
“I want an independent evaluation and I want them to pay for it!”
If the school arranges and pays for an independent evaluation, you should expect this evaluation to support the school’s position. You need accurate diagnostic information about your child’s problems from an evaluator who is independent of the school district. With this information, you will be able to develop solutions to problems.
You are likely to have to pay for this evaluation. View the evaluation as an investment in your child’s future. A comprehensive evaluation will give you a roadmap for the future.
Tip: Many universities have child development clinics and education and psychology departments that will evaluate your child at low or no cost.
Examine Your Beliefs
Examine your beliefs about your child and your child’s disability. Do you feel sorry for your child? Do you feel guilty about your child’s problems? When you tried to protect your child from painful experiences, did you become over-protective? Will pity, guilt, and over-protectiveness help your child grow up into an emotionally healthy adult?
If your child has a disability, your child learns differently. Your child must be taught differently. When your child is taught correctly, your child can and will learn. Conditions that are disabilities in large classroom environments often have powerful, corresponding strengths. When the child learns to channel these qualities, they can be assets.
In Summation
In this article, you learned about typical events that trigger school crises. You learned crisis management techniques, including the need to control your emotions, remove your child from the middle, and begin a program of self-study. You learned about the steps you should take in long-term planning.
Who is Responsible for Providing FAPE?
How to Document Your Concerns When You Disagree with the IEP Team
by Pete and Pam Wright
"My daughter has made little or no progress after years of special education. Her IEPs contain vague subjective goals and objectives. If our case goes to due process, is the school liable for not providing an appropriate education? Or, is this the responsibility of the parent who signed the IEP?"
Several factors are operating when an IEP team refuses a parent's requests for a more intensive special education program. Although school personnel view themselves as the experts on educating all children, administrators do not want to reimburse parents for services from a provider in the private sector (i.e., a trained ABA therapist or academic tutor). So the IEP team denies your request - and may blame you for having unrealistically high expectations for your child.
Some IEP teams do approve parental requests for more intensive programs. In this article, you will learn about the "free, appropriate public education " (FAPE) your child is entitled to under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. You will learn who is responsible for providing a free, appropriate public education and how it is delivered. Finally, you will learn strategies you can use if you have a disagreement with your child's IEP team.
What is a Free Appropriate Education (FAPE)
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is the law that provides your child with the right to a free, appropriate public education. The purpose of the IDEA is "to ensure that all children with disabilities have available to them a free appropriate public education that emphasizes special education and related services designed to meet their unique needs and prepare them for further education, employment, and independent living..." 20 U.S.C. 1400(d) (Wrightslaw: Special Education Law, 2nd Edition, page 20).
Purpose is the mission statement of IDEA. When you develop, review, or revise your child's Individualized Education Program (IEP), re-read the Purpose of IDEA. Is the IEP designed to meet your child's unique needs? Will the goals in the IEP prepare your child "for further education, employment and independent living?" The answers to these questions will help you determine if the IEP is appropriate and provides your child with a free, appropriate public education.
Educational Benefit
Courts have held that to receive a free appropriate public education, the child must receive meaningful educational benefit. Courts have also held that while children with disabilities are entitled to a free appropriate education, they are not entitled to the "best" education, nor to an education that "maximizes" the child's potential. Strike these terms from your vocabulary.
How will you know if your child is receiving "meaningful educational benefit"? You use objective information from tests that measure your child's knowledge and skills. This is why it is essential for parents to learn about tests, what tests measure and don't measure, the bell curve, and what test scores mean.
Because this is such an important subject, and because many parents and teachers are reluctant to learn about tests and test score, Wrightslaw: From Emotions to Advocacy, 2nd Edition includes two chapters about Tests & Measurements and the Bell Curve. (See Chapters 10 and 11)
Vague Goals & Objectives
You say your child's IEP goals are vague and subjective. Sadly, this is not unusual. In special education litigation, schools attempt to defend poor IEPs by claiming that the parent "fully participated" in the IEP process and agreed to the vague goals and objectives.
Improved Outcomes
The first special education case decided in 1982 by the U.S. Supreme Court was Board of Education of Hendrick Hudson Central School District v. Amy Rowley, 458 U.S. 176. In Rowley, the high court defined a "free appropriate public education" as "access to an education" or a "basic floor of educational opportunity."
Although some courts still cite the Rowley decision, the legal landscape is changing. The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 requires states to adopt high academic standards for all children. The law also requires schools to test all children to determine if they are mastering these standards. When Congress reauthorized the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act in 2004, the focus shifted from access to the schoolhouse and compliance with procedures to improved outcomes for children who receive special education services.
Who is Responsible for Providing Free Appropriate Education (FAPE)?
To answer the question you asked at the beginning of this article, the school is responsible for providing your child with a free appropriate education (FAPE). Your child's Individualized Education Program (IEP) is the roadmap that describes how the school will provide your child with a FAPE.
How to Document Your Concerns When You Disagree with the IEP Team
If the IEP Team develops an IEP that includes vague goals that cannot be measured objectively, or the IEP team tells you to "take it or leave it," you must put your concerns in writing. These strategies will help.
1. Indicate Your Disagreement on the IEP
You are a member of your child's IEP team and a participant in the IEP development process. The law requires you to make your wishes, concerns and objections clear. You can use the IEP to make your objections clear.
If the IEP team presents you with an IEP that you believe is not appropriate, you should share your concerns. You may say that the IEP does not provide your child with enought help or the right kind of help, or that your child is not making sufficient progress. Be polite but firm.
Tip: Think about how Miss Manners would handle a difficult situation and use this to guide you.
If the IEP team asks you to sign consent to the IEP, despite your disagreement, pick up your ballpoint pen and write this statement on the IEP: "I consent to this IEP being implemented but I object to it for the reasons I stated during the meeting."
Then sign your name.
Now the school has a problem. You told them that you do not think the program is appropriate for your child. You advised them of this in writing on the IEP. You consented to the program, but you made it clear that you don't think the IEP is appropriate.
Do not be surprised if someone gets angry and says you are not allowed to write on your child's IEP - that it is a legal document. This is not true. IEPs are subject to change. Nothing prohibits any member of the IEP team from writing on the IEP document.
If someone does try to stop you, continue to write. If someone tries to pull the IEP out of your hand, continue to write, while pressing down hard with your ballpoint pen. If someone pulls the IEP away, continue to write, pressing firmly, as the IEP tears.
Stay calm. Pick up your copy of the IEP (whatever is left). Stand up and say, "Thank you, I think this meeting is over." Extend your hand to shake theirs. PIck up your recorder and leave.
This actually happened in one of my cases. When the parent began to write on the IEP, the special education director yelled "Stop! The IEP is a legal document. You are not allowed to write on it." He yanked the IEP out from under her pen as she was writing. The IEP tore in half.
Subsequently, the parent requested a due process hearing. When the school board attorney and superintendent reviewed the file and ripped IEP, the case settled quickly.
2. Tape Record Meetings
If you anticipate problems with the IEP team, you should tape record the meeting. Make sure your recorder is out in the open.
For specific advice about how to tape record meetings, read Chapter 26 about "Maintaining Control in School Meetings" in Wrightslaw: From Emotions to Advocacy.
The school has a problem. You have told them you do not think the program is appropriate for your child. You advised them of this in writing on the IEP. You consented to the program, although you made it clear that it is not appropriate.
3. Write a Letter
When you get home from the IEP meeting, you must write a polite "thank you" letter. Describe what happened during the meeting, document your concerns, what you requested, and how your input and requests were received.
Perhaps you consented to IEP being implemented because "something is better than nothing". Perhaps you decided that the school's inadequate program was better than no program at all. In your letter, you need to clarify that you believe the IEP is not appropriate for your child. Advised the IEP team that you consented to the school implementing the IEP and that you assume the school will implement it. Request another IEP meeting to resolve the outstanding issues.
If you take these steps, the school will want to avoid a due process hearing.
In Wrightslaw Special Education Law and Advocacy Training programs, participants learn the Rules of Adverse Assumptions:
* assume a due process hearing will be necessary to resolve your dispute;
* assume that all school personnel will testify against you;
* assume that the school personnel's recollection of the facts will be opposite of yours; and
* assume you cannot testify.
If you cannot testify on your own behalf, how can you make your case? What evidence do you have? The best evidence is contemporaneous evidence - written evidence created at the time of an event. You evidence is the tape and transcript of the IEP meeting, the IEP, and letters from you that describe your concerns and requests.
Learning and using tactics and strategies helps to resolve disputes before they get out of hand.
Four Rules for Parents
1. Your child is NOT entitled to the BEST special education.
As a parent, you must eliminate the word "best" from your vocabulary when you discuss your child's educational needs. Remember: Your child is entitled to an appropriate education. not to the best education, nor to an education that will maximize your child's potential.
2. Parent testimony carries little weight in the eyes of hearing officers and judges.
Loving parents are biased. Parents want the best education for their children with disabilities. Testimony from parents about what their child needs is not persuasive and rarely carries the day.
3. School staff will testify that their program is appropriate about 99% of the time.
At least 99% of the time, school staff will testify that their program is appropriate and the best program for the child. (Note: School staff can and do use the word "best," but parents cannot.)
4. Parents must have experts who know the child and who are willing to educate the IEP team about the child's unique needs and what an appropriate program must include to meet these needs.
If you have a dispute with the school, you need to have experts in the private sector who have evaluated and observed your child. Experts must never use the terms "best" or "maximizing potential" in their reports or testimony. Your experts should be able to describe the child's strengths, weaknesses and needs. They should describe the educational program that will meet the child's needs, why the public school program is not appropriate, if the child will be damaged if he does not receive an appropriate education, and the nature of the damage.