Is One Hour A Day Enough?

A.G. is a 15 year-old freshman at a southwestern town in New Mexico. He was diagnosed with an emotional behavior disorder. The school was only allowing him to attend for one hour a day. In other words, A.G. was expected to work on general science, english, health and drivers' education , in one hour. What he did not finish in school had to be done at home.

Even though the parents had requested that their son attend school full time, officials had denied him the full day program. An interesting point is that A.G. had a JPPO (Juvenile Probation/Parole Officer) working with him. A.G. was expected to do community services instead of being in school. Interestingly, A.G. was never charged with a crime.

A.G's parents had requested a school meeting to discuss their concerns and the school refused it. According to the parents they were told that is all the school could offer and they were already doing him a favor. The parents feeling overwhelmed consulted with an attorney and were referred to P&A. A P&A advocate drove to the school district, met with school officials, and informed them that A.G.'s parents were entitled to an IEP upon request. The Superintendent agreed this time.

Approximately 14 people were present for the school meeting; the superintendent, principal, an assistive technology "expert", a psychologist, a JPPO, a counselor , special education and regular education teachers, A.G.'s parents and an advocate.
To make a long meeting short, everyone except the parents and advocate wanted to keep him on a one-hour day despite the fact that they were in violation of IDEA. A. G. was neither in a homebound program or in alternative placement program. A. G.'s advocate let them all speak to justify their position. When they were finished, the advocate pulled out A.G.'s assessment and read point by point where the school was not implimenting their own recommendations. The Individualized Education Plan (IEP) and Behavior Plan should reflect the assessment. No one but the advocate had even read it. One hour a day for five subjects is not adequate time for a student to progress in his recommended curriculum. The team at this point was still insistent on keeping the same placement because A. G. had done well in one week. Since the advocate was the only one that had read the entire file, he pointed out that A. G. had a erradicate history of doing well and then poorly, and if the team had taken the time to read A.G.'s assessment, they would have known that. The advocate suggested the meeting end and that P&A and the parent were considering further action if the program would not be extended.A.G. was enrolled for two hours the next day and to full-time within a week and a half.

The following day A.G.'s parents received a letter stating that A. G. could attend school as agreed in the IEP, but he would not be getting credit for any of his classes. He had already been absent 10 days. At the meeting the school had agreed that A.G. would be given an additional three days if his absences were excused and if he had a doctor's note, the absences would not count towards the additional three days. The advocate wrote the school officials to remind them of their verbal agreement. A.G. is now in school full time with credit.
Accessibility at BCDC
Because of complaints from residents who use wheelchairs at Bernalillo County Detention Center, P&A spoke with the city ADA coordinator and BCDC about developing a wheelchair ramp to the outdoor recreational activity area. Thanks to their quick response, residents in wheelchairs are now able to access the outdoors.