Q: I am concerned about how the school is handling my child's needs for help. What can I do?

A: If you're concerned, you have the right to a meeting with the teacher and principal. If you still don't see eye-to-eye, seek support from parent support agencies, learn your rights, and try to work with the district-even when it's difficult.

Know your rights

"Knowing your rights makes you an equal player and allows you to make better decisions about your child's education," says Wendy Byrnes, mother of a child with disabilities and advocate at the Disability Rights and Education Defense Fund (DREDF).

Request an assessment

You have the right to request an assessment to identify your child's special needs. If you are not satisfied with the diagnosis, request more specialized testing, says Kathy Flores, behavior specialist at San Lorenzo Unified School District. If your child is eligible for special education, s/he still can't be given special services unless you agree.

Consider alternatives to special education

"In some cases, kids truly need to be in special education," says Judy Goddess, an online educational advisor. But sometimes a child just needs extra help. One parent, Goddess recalls, wanted her child in special education because she had Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and wasn't doing well in math. Goddess advised the parent to first try other options: tutoring or working out a plan with the child's teacher.

Request extra help from the school

If your child is not in special education but still needs extra help, you can ask teachers and administrators to meet with you and draw up a "504 plan," (from Section 504 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act). This is a binding contract to "provide special accommodations and services," says Flores. A child with ADHD, for example, "could take a test in an alternative setting or be given a pass to walk around and get rid of excess energy."

Confront racial and language discrimination

Many school districts in California assign a disproportionate number of African American and Latino students to special education. "Racial profiling and stereotyping" can be the cause, says Maisie Chin, director of Community Asset Development Redefining Education (CADRE). You can check for bias "by looking at data and talking with other parents," says Tammy Johnson, director of the ERASE initiative at the Applied Research Center (see below: "Resources").

Many children are placed in special needs classes because they don't speak fluent English, says Claudia Monterrosa, director of the Parent/School Partnership at the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF). But that's illegal! Talk with the school about other ways to help your child with language. A child "must be assessed [for special needs] in their primary language," adds Flores.

Prevent inappropriate punishment

The suspension and expulsion rate for students in special education "tends to be very high," says Susan Sandler of Justice Matters in San Francisco. Teachers may not understand kids' special needs, and their "responses to students' behavior can be inappropriate." Talk with teachers about your child's behavior patterns and appropriate ways to handle them.

Resources

• Ask Judy, judyg@schoolwisepress.com
• MALDEF, 213-629-2512
• CADRE, Los Angeles 213-747-1467
• Justice Matters, San Francisco 415-353-5735
• ERASE (End Racism and Advance School Excellence) Initiative, 510-653-3415
• Harvard University Discrimination in Special Education Action Kit, 617-496-6367
• To find agencies for families of children with special needs, see www.cde.ca.gov or call the Department of Education, Margaret Benavides, 916-327-3700