How do I request a new teacher for my child?

We have heard from some parents that their child's teacher is not supportive of inclusion or does not provide enough support for their child's behavior. In these cases, parents may wonder if they can request a new teacher through the IEP process.

It depends on the school. If the parent tried to work things out with the teacher and the teacher didn’t improve, the child's case carrier or case manager should be helping to facilitate things. If that doesn’t help, the parent can enlist the support of the special education administrator for the school. If there’s an inclusion facilitator, that person could be called in to support. If there is a behavior support or intervention plan in place, the person overseeing the BIP should also be called upon.

Undivided Navigator Kelly shares, "I've gone through this with both of my kids. What I did was enlist the case carrier’s help. The case carrier worked with the teachers to make sure my kids’ needs were met. In one instance, the teacher was especially resistant, so we had to have a meeting with the admin, and that helped. In my kids’ cases, the case carrier is the one who would work with the counselor on any teacher switches. We ended up not having to do that because the case carrier was so helpful. Generally it’s the case carrier’s job to help ensure IEPs are being followed."

What might be helpful is keeping track of whether the teacher is not following the IEP, including a behavior plan if applicable. For example:

• Is the teacher refusing accommodations?
• Is the student aware of their accommodations and comfortable asking for them? What happens when the student asks?
• Does anything need to be changed in the IEP?
• What about the teacher is unhelpful to the student? Would an accommodation like use praise or redirect privately be helpful to add?

The IEP cannot be used to request a specific teacher, but the IEP can be used to make sure the student is receiving all the support they need.