**Not Book Related, but Love Related** --- Open letter to the educators of my son's Kindergarden school

Good evening Ms. Kreusel, Mr. Allen, Mrs. Mitchel,

Please see the below email dated March 3rd that I sent the evening after his aunt (the social worker) and I picked up Brayden, we verbally discussed getting together an IEP for Brayden in Mr. Allen's office that day.  Never was I informed that I needed to make this request, formally, and in writing with a date and signature until yesterday after speaking further with Mrs. Mitchel.  Within an hour of that conversation with Ms. Mitchel, I handed Mr. Allen a handwritten note, signed and dated, explicitly requesting an IEP for Brayden.  

Upon further research, I found the following document on the D7 website (photo listed at the end of this communication) which states that a request for an IEP can be made in writing or verbally and within 10 CALENDAR days, I'll be contacted to give consent for the district to conduct the REED examination.  Seeing as by your own document, on your own website, that you're in violation of your commitment to your students, specifically my child.  

Also, found on your own website, under the special education services section, the following information can be found, and I directly quote, "Michigan Law, under ACT 451 of the Public Acts of 1976, requires that special education supports be available to all eligible children, from birth to age 26, or graduation, free, at no cost to the parent. Persons residing within Dearborn Heights Schools No. 7, qualified to receive special education supports, will be provided with appropriate programs and/or services by a local educational agency (LEA), the intermediate school district, and/or through an approved contract agreement. The types of supports provided for each student vary depending on individual need."

My child has been diagnosed with Oppositional Defiant Disorder, which you've been made well aware of since the day of diagnosis.  We've made every effort on our end as parents to ensure that you're in the loop at every turn.  We've made ourselves available for someone to pick Brayden up from school when he becomes too much for you  to handle, at the expense of our jobs and businesses with the exception of one day where we refused to pick him up.  

A plan needs to be in effect immediately.  Brayden's education is in jeopardy.  Brayden's mental health is in jeopardy.  If he needs to be moved to a different teacher, then let's do that, as sad as it would make me to lose the relationship I've been building with Karen since the beginning of the year.  I truly believe she's a wonderful educator, and I also truly believe that our educators are underpaid, overworked and given guidelines by a politician on how to interact with children and the levels of care she's able to give.  That's not fair to her.  That's not fair to Brayden.  And that's not fair to the 21 other children inside that classroom.  I asked about a special education class to put Brayden in to see if that environment will better suit him current needs, and was told that Bedford does not have a special education class, that the students with special needs are in a "general population" situation.  If that's the case, how do you deal with the children who are high functioning autistic, downs children, or children with other behavioral issues.  I'm sure the protocol isn't to send them home when the tough gets going.  

As I stated earlier to Mr. Allen and Ms. Herbert, if I chose to pick up Brayden half day because I wanted to spend time with him, it would take 10 occurrences before you referred me to the prosecutors office for truancy.  Bedford Elementary is forcing my child to be truant from school.  It's not right, not fair, and I'm sure not what you signed up for when you took your college courses and testing to become educators.  

I am a mother who will constantly fight for the rights of her children.  During the last year both of my children have been let down by the D7 school district and that's going to come to a stop immediately.  I ensured that my children were in school on count day so the district would get the state funding per student that it allows.  When you accepted that money, it was with an unwritten contract that you would spend that money to educate my child.  If my child isn't being educated, was that money accepted under false pretenses?  Because I'm fairly sure that's a crime?

Please note, I would request that when and if you decide to reply to this email that you reply to all, so we're all in the loop.

Thank you,

Ashley