David-- I recognize the core issue of difficulty GETTING the IEP, but 
still the issue remains as to whether the student wants it used.   It 
is hard to imagine that if the student requested it in person it would 
be refused.  It is NOT hard to imagine that the bureaucracy of getting 
it copied and into the student's hands might cause this to be a slow 
process.  The question that you re-quoted, however, does not imply that 
it was STUDENTS who were having this difficulty, which is what caused 
the alarm, as it were, on the list, I think.

I am the biggest advocate of having as much information as possible 
about a learner's learning history, but equally as big on having adult 
students (over 18) have control of that information.  As I said 
earlier, the student may have very negative feelings about having been 
on an IEP in the first place, or the way it was implemented or 
whatever.   Exploring the learning history with the learner first may 
result in the learner wanting to look it over with someone to learn 
more about it, and therefore the student would be motivated to retrieve 
it from the school. If she or he doesn't want to, then, I believe, the 
program should stay away from it.   We cannot erode the right NOT to 
disclose.

Robin

-----Original Message-----
From: David Rosen <djrosen at comcast.net>
To: The Learning Disabilities Discussion List 
<learningdisabilities at nifl.gov>
Sent: Tue, 10 Jan 2006 11:51:20 -0500
Subject: Re: [LearningDisabilities] confidentiality in adult education

Robin and others,

I want to come back to the original question:

"The top priority for new out-of-school youth policy for workforce
development was learning disabilities.  For example, we heard that it
is often difficult for community-based education programs that serve
adults and out-of-school youth, even those which offer a high school
diploma through the public schools, to get the records from the
schools their students attended for those who were core evaluated and
for whom there is an I.E.P.  I was wondering if anyone on this list
has ideas about how that issue can be addressed."

The problem is that even in cases when the students *want* their
I.E.P. to go to the community-based education program they are
enrolled in, the public school won't send it.  Granted, old I.E.P's
may not be worth the trouble, but are you saying a recently-completed
I.E.P. would also not be worth the trouble? If the I.E.P. could be
useful, I wonder if anyone has had this difficult getting it sent
from a school to a cbo,  and has strategies for getting schools to
release the I.E.P. -- with the student's permission.

David J. Rosen
djrosen at comcast.net


On Jan 10, 2006, at 11:28 AM, Patti White wrote:


> I changed the subject for my reply to you, Robin...the "out of

> school youth

> with ld" thing wasn't working for me anymore.

>

> Thanks for responding, and don't panic, at least not yet.  In

> Arkansas, our

> adult ed and literacy programs are very careful about having the

> students

> sign off on release forms for any sharing of confidential

> information, as

> per our LD Policy requirements.

>

> My big "uh oh, holy cow" moment came when I read Varsha's thing

> about the

> part of FERPA that says, "School officials with legitimate educational

> interest" may not have to do the release forms to share

> information.  So in

> an adult ed. program, that pretty much opens the door for leaving the

> student out of the decision-making process re: who gets to know

> about the

> disability?  "Well, how can they teach this student effectively if

> they

> don't even know the student has a learning disability?"  Maybe so,

> but we

> have always argued that it is still the student's decision whether

> or not to

> share that information, even with his/her teacher.

>

> Our LD Policy manual sure doesn't mention this part of

> FERPA....should it?

> What are the other states doing in their adult ed. LD policy

> development?

> My disabilities advisory committee is *extremely* interested in how

> this

> might affect the whole confidentiality section of our LD policy

> manual.  Do

> we add this piece in?  Do we pretend like we never heard of it?  ;)

>

> I would really, really like to hear from some of the other states

> that are

> working on their adult ed. LD policies.  Thanks,

> Patti White, M.Ed.

> Arkansas Adult Learning Resource Center

> prwhite at madisoncounty.net

>

> ----- Original Message -----

> From: robinschwarz1 at aol.com

> To: learningdisabilities at nifl.gov

> Sent: Monday, January 09, 2006 9:06 PM

> Subject: Re: [LearningDisabilities] Out of school youth

> withlearningdisabilities

>

>

> Ditto for university students with LD/other issues needing

> accommodation that I worked with at a major university--and that I

> have

> had as a teacher.   They must be the ones disclosing to schools,

> requesting accommodations of the learning support at the college and

> then taking the letter requesting accommodations to each

> professor/instructor-- or not as the student chooses.  If they do not,

> the school is helpless to do anything except recommend.   It is pretty

> alarming that adult programs ask for and get all this information

> without the student's permission!  Robin Schwarz,  M.Sp.Ed:LD,

> Columbus, Ohio

>

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