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Originally Posted By Graham

I feel for both you and your child, and understand. I've seen the same thing happen to lots of families. No one at the school intends to cause harm, it's usually that the bureaucratic systems that they employ are often not efficient (teachers probably like bureaucracy about as much as the rest of us). Name changes have to be made in a lot of different places, and some get missed. If you live in a different school district from the child's foster home it doesn't improve things, because the old record is simply transferred to the new school. An important point to make is that school records are NOT confidential. A lot of people can get into your child's records and find out a lot about him or her, and maybe about you. It is not a good idea to let confidential information (such as your child's social history or adopted status, get written down, even in an IEP.) If you have developed a trusting relationship with the teacher (important to do if you can) then you may feel OK sharing sensitive info verbally, but don't let it get into writing. Adoptive families also often feel caught in a bind if they share information that might be very useful to the teacher but they are fearful that the child will be "labeled" if they do. A good example is a history of drug exposure in utero. If the child is making good progress in school it's a hard decision to make as to whether or not to risk advising the teacher ahead of time. I'd welcome thoughts from the teachers on the board!
Graham.