In the best interest of whom?

Apparently, when a parent rejects a current IEP and that IEP also involves a change of placement, the last IEP is the one that is followed. In other words, one of my students from last year was placed in a new setting because he was aging out of my program. It was determined at the meeting that the child still needs services and would benefit from being in a sub-separate classroom. A placement at another school was assigned over the summer, but somehow or another the child showed up here at the beginning of the year and was placed in a regular education classroom. Eventually, this mistake was realized and actions were taking to place the child in the appropriate setting within our building.



The child's parent thinks that placing the child in the recommended setting is ridiculous and he rejected the IEP. He does not think that his child needs services. He feels like he could better educate his child at home, or that a private school would better meet the needs of the child. The parent was advised by the special education liaison in our building to think about the best interest of the child. So the IEP is rejected and the child is placed back in my classroom, making it his third classroom in the first month of school. So whose best interest are we acting in here? Certainly it doesn't make sense to be disrupting the child's education like this, bouncing him from classroom to classroom? It has to be confusing for him as well as possibly creating a sense of personal rejection.

I tried to welcome him this morning as best as I could. I want him to feel comfortable, but on the other hand, I don't know how long he is going to be there, or if he will even be there tomorrow. Its not the child's fault, but he is stuck in this battle between his parents and the school system. I think the child is a wonderful kid, but that doesn't help him too much in the overall scheme of things does it?