I would refrain from making diagnostic or prescriptive
statements unless in a specific licensed capacity to do so. I
would limit the negative aspect of a reference or
recommendation to academic performance within my area of
certification. If your a science teacher and NOT an ELAR teacher
I wouldnt even make claims of reading comprehension or
fluency for example. If your not a math teacher making a
statement about a students numeracy or analytic skills could
cause problems.
On 1/12/15, My 2 cents is right wrote:
> Sticky situation. Would it be possible to suggest student
> would likely need to apply for student services
> (disabilities office) to assist with academic needs?
> Colleges & universities are prohibted by law that they are
> disallowed to suggest/offer DA services to struggling
> students. Students, after age 18, have to advocate for
> theirselves on their own.
>
> Most professors will NOT be sympathetic toward below level
> students. They feel you should be ready to go with little
> assistance from DA office. This would not be considered
> lying but merely stating this student have had academic
> struggles and needed (services).
>
> On 1/11/15, Curious wrote:
>> On 1/11/15, please explain wrote:
>>> I am confused about why anyone would mix up being on
an
>> ARD
>>> committee with being asked to give a recommendation to
a
>> private
>>> school? When a family approaches a private school, and I
> know
>>> this because I have investigated many private schools
>>> for my child, most private schools provide a application
>>> packet which includes a recommendation form to be filled
>>> out by the
>> teachers
>>> of major courses. The parent then passes these out to
>>> the current teachers. It is likely that the parents want
>>> a particular teacher to follow through with sending it
>>> in because the parents perceive that teacher to have a
>>> positive relationship with the student and they foresee
>>> that teacher making positive comments. The
>>> recommendation form
>> specifically
>>> asks that it be sent to the private school directly. As
>>> a teacher in public, I have filled out many of these
>>> forms and I was truthful. I sent it in a sealed envelope
>>> to the school. This has nothing to do with legal
>>> obligations as an ARD
>> member.
>>> The recommendation forms that I have filled out merely
>>> ask if the student receives any special services: yes or
>>> no. Those forms do not ask for any delicate information.
>>> Please explain why being on an ARD committee or not
>>> being on one would
>> matter
>>> in this case.
>>>
>>>
>>> On 1/10/15, my 2 wrote:
>>>> A recommendation for private school goes in a sealed
>> envelope,
>>>> mailed by the teacher, to the private school. At that
>>>> point, it is not revealed to the parents. I don't get
>>>> what the issue is. A person can refuse to give a
>>>> recommendation. The private school will use other items
>>>> such as test scores on tests that they give, and in my
>>>> son's case, an interview that was extensive. I would
>>>> not worry that the school will accept this student.
>>>> There is one caveat. If the private school wants to
>>>> accept this student because they want the parents'
>>>> money, then they will do so no matter what the
>> recommendation
>>>> says anyway, which might be the case. If that is the
>>>> case, so what?
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On 1/10/15, Curious wrote:
>>>>> A person in my department is being pressured by the
>> family
>>>> of a SpEd student
>>>>> to give a recommendation for an elite professional
>>>>> school.
>>>> This student has
>>>>> been provided with an enormous amount of support
and
>> her
>>>> IEP's water down
>>>>> even some of the basic skills and principles of the
>>>>> classes
>>>> involved. Sadly, the
>>>>> administration is terrified of the parents because one
>>>>> is a
>>>> well connected
>>>>> lawyer.
>>>>>
>>>>> This student, who I have also had in class, has a low
>>>>> IQ, is
>>>> limited in every
>>>>> aspect of reading, writing and speaking. In addition
>>>>> the
>>>> student has other
>>>>> disorders which her parents have taken pains to avoid
>>>> revealing to the student
>>>>> who is now nearly 18. The parents have basically
>> demanded
>>>> every kind of
>>>>> implementation available, to the point of even
>>>>> threatening
>>>> standardized
>>>>> testing organizations if they don't allow the student
>>>>> to
>>>> exercise all of the IEP
>>>>> demands that include extended time, access to
>>>>> dictionary
>> and
>>>> more. They
>>>>> didn't ask me for a recommendation because I was very
>>>> straightforward about
>>>>> this student's abilities. The teacher in my department
>>>>> is a
>>>> very sweet lady who
>>>>> is dealing with a number of personal issues and the
>>>>> family
>>>> and administration
>>>>> are using this opportunity to bully her into a
>>>> recommendation. So LEGALLY,
>>>>> can the administration force the teacher to do this?
>>
>> We are talking about a college level education facility,
>> not a private training school. As for the ARD committee,
>> this is not being driven by the ARD committee, but by the
>> parents and by the administration in an attempt to
>> placate them. They want the teacher to assure the college
>> that the student is capable of
> doing
>> the work, which the student is not. We have had students
>> at the college before and are well aware of the
>> expectations. Having had the student previously, I know
>> that the parents believe the student is capable of
>> regular ed work. They are asking the teacher to lie.
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