L.A.'s Success

L.A. is a preschooler who lives in a rural school district. Her father and she have retinitis pigmentosa. Over the years her father has become blind, but has hopes of a new experimental computer chip functioning much as a retina, giving signals to the occipital lobe and computerizing his vision. However, until that procedure becomes a reality, he fears for his daughter whose vision is already rapidly deteriorating.

At the Individual Educational Program (IEP) meeting, the school offered a half day program in their district, but the teachers did not have the specialized curriculum provided in the special preschool for children with visual impairments. The school district refused to provide transportation from the rural district to the special preschool, approximately a 45 minute drive each way. The mother tried to drive her child each day back and forth, but the travel was cutting into her work time, and the father was blind and unable to drive.

After contacting Protection and Advocacy, the advocate assisted the parent with the rewriting of a formal complaint letter. (The initial letter was not specific about possible areas of non-compliance with state regulations or the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act known as IDEA). The parents also contacted their congressman and the Governor's Committee on Concerns for the Handicapped. Whether it was these contacts that swayed the district or not, the district superintendent finally assured the parents that they would pay for and provide transportation for the child 4 days a week, to and from the special preschool. When the school bus showed up to transport the child, the parents withdrew their formal complaint.

A few weeks later, L.A.'s parents received a report that L.A. is making remarkable progress.