[THREEBOYSPLUSONE]

Could someone tell me exactly what an emotional support classroom is? Our 14 yr old has reecently stepped down from rtc to therapudic foster home. He is having problems there. Yesterday he ran away and had to be picked up by police. When he was taken to school he told them he was going to keep running away until he was put back in rtc. School wouldnt let him stay they didnt feel it was safe. He was taken to er but eventually calmed down and went back to therapudic foster home. School scheduled a meeting tomorrow because they want to put him in emotional support classroom. I have never dealt with that before and am just trying to find out about it befor we go to meeting.

[Lorraine123]

An emotional support classroom is designed for students with emotional disorders. The teacher to student ratio is lower. There are multiple support staff in the classrooms. The teachers are trained to work with behaviors exhibited in these classes. Generally a student is placed in a class such as this when they are too great of a disturbance or a safety risk to be in the general education class. Does he have an IEP? He will have to be classified as emotionally disabled to be put in that class I believe. Sounds like he would easily qualify.

[THREEBOYSPLUSONE]

He doesnt have an iep,he is actually in honors classes. He has never been a disturbance in class. Their concern is him running away again. I think he needs some place to go if he needs it to chill out but not sure a placement in this class is in his best interest. He doesnt normally have prooblems in school. Usually his teachers love him and want more of him. Are they usually in this for the whole day? I think this may make things worse for. Him.

[phxmama]

Being classified as emotionally disabled and thus qualifying for special services has nothing to do with intelligence it has to do with meeting his emotional (i.e. psychiatric) needs. This is the only way the school can make exceptions for his "disobeying" school rules, etc. and get him a service plan (i.e. IEP) to meet his needs. If he is classified and gets an IEP the school will have to provide him with the necessarty supports for him to succeed. It is a good thing and sounds like something that is necessary for your son.

[Myoddlife]

I teach in one of those classrooms....feel free to pm for more info.

I am rather surprised the school district would look to that right away. Generally, the student must be assessed by the school district, identified as ED (emotionally disturbed) and then an ARD would be held. An IEP would be created, and then he would be assigned to a self-contained class.

I have two students (out of ten) currently that would qualify for Gifted.....plus, my ad is extremely smart but was hospitalized five times in one year before I was able to get her into a private rtc that worked wonders. She is having to repeat part of her freshman year due to missed time, but is otherwise doing very well and back in all advanced placement courses.

I would also hesitate to place him in a behavior class if his only issue is running. I would probably fight that and require the school make other adjustments to accommodate his needs. Academics generally take a back seat in behavior classes, if only due to the various crises students have throughout the day. It is not unusual for me to be teaching a math lesson while restraining an out of control child.

[Myoddlife]

Originally Posted by THREEBOYSPLUSONE

School scheduled a meeting tomorrow because they want to put him in emotional support classroom. I have never dealt with that before and am just trying to find out about it befor we go to meeting.

This sounds like a trouble-shooting meeting to discuss all options, and probably to feel you out about what you would be open to. I would attend, but don't agree up front to anything. Challenge them for less-restrictive solutions. And find an educational advocate ASAP. Did he run FROM the school, or on his way to school? Did the school feel it wasn't safe from a liability standpoint, or was his behavior upon return severe enough that they felt he would be dangerous or disruptive to have in class?

Having the school identify him as ED wouldn't be a bad thing- gives him a lot more protections (otherwise, if he was running FROM school, they can start punitive procedures, such as suspension, move to an alternative school or expulsion), and an ED dx does NOT mean he would automatically be placed in a self-contained behavior class.

[THREEBOYSPLUSONE]

He ran on way to get school bus in morning. Not really sure why school thought it was unsafe because we havent talked to anyone. From school yet. What I was told is that he told them if he went back to foster home he would run and if he stayed in school h would run and he would keep runnimg until he was put back in rtc. Not sure but we think he believes if put backon rtc he would be able to satyart overnight visits again(this agency womt let him and will only let us see him one day every two weeks which is setting him back but they wont listen to me). Tried to explain it would start all over but dont know if he understands.

[THREEBOYSPLUSONE]

If a child is labeled ED in school will that label stick with him the rest of his life?

[Myoddlife]

No....at least, no more so than repeated hospital visits, suspensions or expulsion would. It will not brand him, but may very well protect him. How did the meeting go?

[Kezs]

He may now be labeled as ED and be in Special Education. Remember, he is in a foster home, and they would have the right to agree to the ARD (Admission, Review, and Dismissal Meeting) and submit his psychiatric reports as the basis. It is usually very slow, but can be faster if the school accepts all the paperwork and moves on.

I don't have all the details, but honestly I would be questioning this placement. The agency should be open with you, and they aren't be. Is there another agency you can go to? Moving him will be hard, but it would be better than having him set back even further.

[THREEBOYSPLUSONE]

Thanks for the replies. The meetingg went much better then I expected. They plan to evaluate him to see oif he qualifies for es. If he does he will have an iep to let him go to es room whenever he needs it. He will also have an es teacher checking up on him and watching grades and available to talk. For us one of the best things about this is that if he qualifies when he comes home the local school district has to follow it. In the past they refused to listen to us because they didnt think he had a problem.

[THREEBOYSPLUSONE]

Kezs- actually the foster family can not sign for. any of this. We are the only ones who can and all the paperwork will be coming to us. We have never lost custody this placement was made through insurance. There is no other placement for him. There are only two agencies in our county that do this. One doesnt have any homes available and this is the only one with this agency. Obviously he wasnt ready to come home. I am not impressed with this agency but for now we have to try to work with them.