Special Education in the Berkeley School District

Parent Q&A

Select any title to view the full question and replies.

  • We have a child with an IEP within BUSD. We're looking for some answers related to IEPs and special education. Any parents or educators with information on the related items would be most helpful:

    - What are options for the types of daily/weekly communication (with parents) by the case manager and/or general education teacher (email, checklist or other); and what's required by law?

    - What opportunities for pull-out services are available in BUSD for kids needing 1:1 focused academic training? (math etc.)

    - What best practices exist in California school districts for kids who have ADHD, to help them with executive functioning challenges; help with critical thinking and self organization etc.

    - What BUSD schools (Elementary and Middle) have the best reputation for helping kid populations who have IEPs and who are black; looking for well regarded case managers, best test scores for these populations etc.

    If you have knowledge about any of the above items, we'd love to hear your experience and understand our options better. A private response is welcome. Thank you.

    Check out DREDF.org based in Berkeley. They are very knowledgeable in navigating IEP, IEE, etc. They helped me when I wanted to request an IEE for my son when he was at OUSD. They are awesome advocates!

    My son also needed OT, but for sensory processing disorder and I was told that public schools only provide OT for kids who have difficulty with fine motor skills like writing as opposed to gross motor skills. My son has received OT at CPMC Kalmanovitz Child Center in SF with Sydney Lew OTR which has been amazing for him. She is so kind and patient, but most importantly taught him the skills to learn what his body needs and how to manage them.

    As a side note, if you’re able, I would suggest homeschooling your child as it has been the best decision I made for my son with high functioning autism and sensory processing disorder.

    Thank you Jme! Most appreciated! I've reached out to DREDF.org and will see what I find out regarding resources they have. Very little protocol seems to exist around executive functioning training for neurodiverse kids at public schools, such as self organization & self regulation. It's frustrating more resources aren't identified for children with this need, especially when it directly impacts their academic performance and connecting the dots. We have our own routines at home yet the public schools fall short for these kids.

    Reply now  »
  • BUSD speech services

    Dec 14, 2023
    8 replies

    Does anyone have experience with BUSD speech therapy services? Particularly at any elementary schools in the central zone. 
     

    I’m trying to get my son, who will be entering kindergarten next year assessed prior to the school year.

    We are doing this as well. We emailed the district and they sent us an application along with the requirements. You can email Stephanie Dictado at stephaniedictado [at] berkeley.net

    It's my understanding that your son has to be in school at BUSD to get assessed. Since he hasn't started yet, he is not part of BUSD yet so wouldn't qualify for an assessment. Both my kids received speech therapy through BUSD. One ended up having to do outside services as well as it wasn't quite enough through BUSD

    He's not a BUSD student yet, so you won't be able to have him assessed prior to Kindergarten. In my experience, the teacher needs to make the referral to speech and then the speech therapist does an initial eval and takes it from there. Also, they're pretty relaxed about certain articulation issues until maybe 1st grade (stuff like not being able to pronounce R's, and other speech skills that develop late). 

    Yes, you can get your child assessed for speech or any disability prior to entering kindergarten.  My son received speech therapy through the school district from age 3 through kindergarten.  There are Early Childhood Interventions for many disabilities, I believe for age 3 and up.  Often speech issues can be corrected before kindergarten if you catch them early enough.  Email the Special Education Dept of the school district and include any assessment or doctor's record that you have already.  Or just describe the issue as well as you can.  The school district will have 15 days to get back to you with an Assessment Plan, which you then have to sign and return as soon as possible.  Best of luck!

    It is incorrect that you need to be a BUSD student to be assessed. You only need to be a resident. My son gets speech therapy at Hopkins preschool 2 days a week but goes to a different preschool (CCC). I started the paperwork with BUSD last spring, when he was 3. They take the whole summer off so he wasn't assessed until this fall. He is now 4. If you start now, your child can get help as soon as they qualify. I wish I had started sooner. He might even qualify for help over the summer. 

    Feel free to message me if you have any questions. And

    You can absolutely get him assessed through BUSD! Any child 3yo and over qualifies for an assessment through their local school district. Contact the district, you’ll likely be assessed at a district location (not necessarily your “home” school). If your child doesn’t qualify you might consider reaching out to your pediatrician and going through insurance.

    I think there is a law that says kids are eligible for school district services starting at age 3. So BUSD is obliged to do an evaluation as long as you live in their district. You would want to start the process right away because it can take a while to get that first appointment with the SLP.

    Usually first step is filling out an application and proving residency.

    Go to the BUSD website and search for "Special Education". You will find the right contacts.

    If you need a referral, your PCP can provide one.

    If you have health insurance, they may cover a private assessment and some sessions. That could be a temp solution while you wait for BUSD.

    Just wanted to post to counteract some of the comments here which are providing incorrect information- you absolutely can have your child assessed by the district for special education services prior to starting Kindergarten. The school district is responsible for providing special education services for kiddos once they turn 3. They also have a legal obligation (known as Child Find) to assess any kiddo suspected of having a disability that would qualify them for special education services. Speech language impairment is an eligibility category. You need to submit a written request to the district- there is a sample letter for requesting assessment on DREDF’s website. Please also take one of the free trainings on the process through DREDF so you are informed of your rights and understand the process. 

  • best BUSD schools for autistic child

    Nov 10, 2023
    4 replies

    We have a rising kindergartener who is autistic. Has anyone with an autistic child had a particularly wonderful (or not good) experience at specific schools within BUSD? Our closest school is Sylvia Mendez, but we are open to any.

    Thank you!

    BUSD doesn’t really work that way. You’re in a zone based on where you live. You will rank the schools in your zone based on preference, and then the district assigns you a school. You don’t necessarily get your #1 choice. That being said, the elementary schools are all very good because of this system. I can’t speak to which school is better for an autistic child, but you can tour the schools in your zone to get a better sense. 

    Hi,

    As Sylvia Mendez is the only Two Way Immersion school in the district you would have to apply and get accepted into the program.  Your school selection would be based on your zone, and you rank them in order of preference.  If SM is your closest school I would imagine that you are in the Southwest Zone.  You can look it up on the BUSD website.  Sign up for school tours and get a feel of the different schools, meet with the principal and SPED teams.  As each child is a unique individual your experience would be different from anybody else, you get out of it what you put into it.  You are your child's best advocate don't be afraid to speak up and ask for what you want/need for your child. That being said all schools in BUSD are good schools.  

    hey, thanks for your replies. a clarification: i am aware of all this. however the fact is you are not limited to your zone, you just get preference within your zone. you can actually request any school within the district. you are just less likely to get that choice, but you can still request it. so this is why i am asking parents with autistic children for specific feedback on their school, no matter which one it is. of course i extra appreciate info on my zone's schools (Emerson, John Muir, and Malcolm X). I am aware that Silvia Mendez is open to the whole district so i won't get preference for it even though it's close, but it's my first choice because of proximity. However, if families with autistic kids have had bad experiences there, that would be different.

    I’ve been a parent in BUSD since 2009 with one more year to go. They really prioritize the zones, which is why they have them. You can put whatever you want, but be aware they are really rigid. It’s hard to get your first choice in your zone let alone outside of it. I only have experience with Ruth Acty, King, and BHS, but the district will put you where there is room, not where you want to go. My advice is to stick with your zone. They will claim that all the schools have support services. 

  • Hi, My son is 7 years old and is on ASD, currently we are in Albany School District (Marin Elemantry) , but that school doesn't have good support for kids with special needs.

    I am planning to take inter district transfer as I work in Berkeley City. But before moving there, I would like to know if anyone has experience with Special education in elemantry level.

    As don't want to stuck with schools which doesn't have good support. At this time we are looking for pull in/out session in general ed classroom..

    Any thoughts, suggestion advice will be really helpful.

    Thanks

    Our experience with Special Ed in BUSD was abysmal! In elementary school it was the worst. The staff were not competent for our issues and the supports minimal. Middle school was much better due to a great Special Ed Case Manager but some of the teachers were not helpful. They didn’t even try to understand our child. In the end we had to fight the district to pay for specialized private school and still they forced us to settle for less than the full cost and forced us out of the District in exchange. I wouldn’t recommend BUSD. 

    Unfortunately, our experience with BUSD special ed was horrible.  The district could not support our kids learning or social emotional needs, school staff demonized, and they ended up with incredibly low self esteem, were way behind academically, and had frequent school refusal. Probably one of the most traumatic experiences I’ve had. 

    We ended up hiring an attorney and sending them to a private school that supports LDs for middle.  Best decision ever.  We are now freshmen in high school (private) for neurotypical kids and so far, straight As with an incredibly engaged, and happy kid. 

    Sorry I don’t have more hopeful news.

  • Hello BPN,

    We live in San Francisco and will be transferring to the BUSD with our 8 year old son this coming Fall. Our son has ADHD, mild ASD with an IEP and is currently in a Special Day Class in SFUSD. We're hoping to connect with and get a little intel from parents who've gone through the process before of advocating for their kids in the inclusive classroom setting within BUSD. 

    Specifically:

    - What are the challenges and opportunities of the inclusive program in BUSD?

    - Which of the 11 Berkeley elementary schools are best equipped to handle kids with special needs and why? (staffing, administration, facilities, knowledge base and other)

    - What are some of the processes to be mindful of, as the school transition happens?

    - Do you know other parents that might be a resource to help answer the above questions?

    We appreciate any thoughts/recommendations. Thank you for your help, in advance!

    Hi - our child has ADHD and we’re new to BUSD (3rd grade) and overall have been impressed. Our teacher is highly capable at handling our - whether that’s typical or not, I have no idea. The IEP assessment has been fairly well run, with capable evaluators. I’m very conscious that it’s in BUSD’s interest to not officially label someone as needing an IEP - and a diagnosis of ADHD doesn’t automatically qualify - but so far it seems well handled. 

    Overall: sample size of 1 child, 1 teacher, less than 1 year - but so far so good. 

    HI:

    There is a Facebook Group called Berkeley Family Friends. Ask to join it. There are almost 3K members and most are parents with children attending BUSD. It's a great resource and I've seen these questions posed before. You will be assigned a BUSD based on your zone. All of the schools are great and that's why so many families are transferring/trying to buy a home in Berkeley. 

  • Dear Parents,

    I'd be very grateful to hear from families who have kids in Berkeley public schools, especially elementary schools, who have kids with Selective Mutism, with either a 504 or full IEP.

    I'm particularly interested in hearing how teachers and administrators have treated kids with SM and their parents. For example, what sorts of accommodations were, or were not made? Did teachers or others at the school respond appropriately when other kids may have been inappropriately aggressive, bullying, etc., towards kids with SM or anxiety disorders? Did teachers disbelieve the SM diagnosis and act as if they thought the student was willfully  uncooperative, instead of suffering from an emotional disorder?

    Input on experiences at privates/independent schools are welcome too.  I can privately/offline share experiences with one private/independent east bay school.

    Thanks in advance!

    I'm posting anon, so in your public message, LMK you want me to contact you and I'll reach out to you!

    I work at a BUSD school and have seen several kids with selective mutism over the years.  The teachers have all been very patient and accepting in the classrooms, finding the child's strengths and not pressing them to speak.  The child works on speech with a pull-out speech teacher. One family moved to a private school after kindergarten, so I can't speak for them, but the other children all improved greatly over the years.  They first begin speaking only to one or two trusted adults, and slowly their circle of trust and speaking widens.  The other kids in the school understand and accept the mutism for the most part.  The SM is generally explained to the other kids so they understand that the child can hear, and can understand, but just does not speak.  Knowledge is power; if it's age-appropriately explained, there is no fear nor mystery.  Our SM kids had friends, and were accepted socially.  

    It's been several years since we had a child with SM in the Berkeley public schools. Our kid has overcome SM and is now a graduate student. I fervently hope that things have changed for the better since we were directly involved with the district, but I'm still connected to SM resources and am happy to be contacted about our experiences. Our child's IEP specified many accommodations regarding social interactions, alternative means to demonstrate academic accomplishment and to participate in class discussions, participation in music and drama, reticence affecting self-expression in writing, and social anxiety issues around eating and modesty. We also negotiated provisions for educating teachers and staff about SM, some of which were more successful than others. We also had experiences with some independent schools in the east bay. Willing to discuss any of this if you want to reach out.

  • Hi Berkeley Parents Network
    We're trying to figure out where in the East Bay we should put down roots. Our 3 year old son has autism, and so the biggest factor is whether he'll have the support to thrive in school. We've heard very polarized opinions about the inclusion programs in Berkeley; we understand that among parents of special needs students, BUSD has a poor reputation, but it is starting to look like BUSD is the surest bet to get our son into a well resourced inclusion classroom. We are currently in Oakland, and while OUSD has some very good inclusion schools, they also have many under-resourced schools, and even if we moved into the hill areas near the good schools, it would still literally ba a lottery to get him a good placement. Whereas it seems like Berkeley has more consistency across programs, and so moving to Berkeley would be a safer play. I wonder if BUSD's poor reputation stems from the fact that they have ONLY inclusion programs and no special day classes, so parents who need their kids to be in a more restrictive environment don't really have anywhere to turn, and that would be deeply frustrating. But if that's the case, and we are looking for an inclusion classroom, then wouldn't BUSD be a reasonable choice? I'm looking for parents who have experience with BUSD inclusion to offer a more nuanced take than what we've gotten so far. (We know Piedmont is the best but we're not sure we can afford it.) Thank you!!!

    Our experience in BUSD inclusion was that it's a lovely idea that requires huge sums of money to actually implement well, money they don't have. So our child was tolerated in his gen ed class, but he wasn't given appropriate services or supports. Our advocate actually said she thought OUSD was better than BUSD for special ed. I think a lot depends on the school you get assigned to (Berkeley is a lottery system based on zones) - some are probably better than others. Our principal was fine with restricting my son's recess if he didn't complete his work, which was a violation of the district's recess restriction policy. She was also fine with him eating by himself every day at lunch rather than have a goal for him to eat with peers. His teacher put him out in the hall by himself with the classroom door closed when he was misbehaving (he was 6, he has ASD). I could go on...we got an attorney and and eventually we felt like it was a lost cause and we moved to another district. My son went from 180 minutes of aide time a week in Berkeley to 640 minutes in the new district (he's still in gen ed). He got a Behavior Plan. It was night and day. I like to believe that most people in BUSD want to help kids, but in our case they didn't seem to have either the will or the resources to provide my son with appropriate services and supports. If you can, I'd research how much they pay for legal costs every year related to special education...if they provided the services they should, they wouldn't spend so much on lawyers and settlements...

    We have a child in BUSD with multiple LD’s, sensory issues, and some behavior challenges.  

    Our child is not making meaningful academic progress.  District services have not been sufficient to provide our child with the type of instruction they need to do so.  We’ve had an independent neuropsychological eval and it was recommended our child receive Non Public School placement because the district program is not/has not been sufficient for them.  Our child is now so far behind peers remediation in math and spelling is needed, though district won’t acknowledge this.  

    We’ve spoken with a few special education attorneys, all of whom say BUSD is the very worst district to work with if you have a kid w special needs.  They will fight you to bitter end before agreeing to pay for any services your child needs and will insist they can provide them. Though, their special ed teachers well meaning, they are not trained in research based methodologies for LDs like Linda Mood Bell or Making Math  Real and have overloaded caseloads. We have not had positive experiences with our process with the district and are at our wits end, thus calls to attorneys. 

    Also, there is a class action lawsuit in progress against BUSD for their systematic failure to identify and support kids w dyslexia.  

    I hate to be so negative but I’d strongly caution you against BUSD. 

    The schools are minimally staffed and the attendants are barely trained/often barely interested. There was recently a protest for more support.

    Many classrooms are highly strained (but it's rarely acknowledged) because there are rarely attendants who stay with the child all day and the teacher needs to get through the regular curriculum...and even if the aide stays in the classroom, they are often just watching.

    The kids aren't given any special instruction most of the time. And when they do, the aides aren't specialists...and neither are the teachers. Kids on the higher end of the spectrum are given "free play" most of the day.

    I'm not a fan of the full inclusion program because BUSD doesn't have the financial resources to do it correctly. I'm not sure if a school district exists with the funding to do it right.

    Full inclusion might work for you if your child isn't on the higher end of the spectrum, though.

    My child had a 504 plan in BUSD and our experience (3-9 grade) was that BUSD did the bare minimum. They talked the talk, touting the belief that all children can be accommodated in the regular classrooms, but they did not walk the walk. It was left to us parents to negotiate with individual teachers. Repeatedly we had to educate teachers about our child's disability and explain what he needed to succeed.   Kids that needed targeted support were placed in classrooms with teachers who had no specialized training or even a basic understanding of learning differences.  My child, who had significant problems of his own, was in a class in the 3rd grade that included 5 children who required full-time aides, including one child who was non-verbal and prone to violent outbursts such as throwing chairs and stabbing classmates with a pencil. This child spent most of the day doing busy work on a computer while the rest of the class carried on. No kids benefit from this kind of approach, special needs or not. My takeaway was that BUSD doesn't want to spend the money to train teachers or provide programs for the kids who need extra or specialized help. It's one size fits all in BUSD.  I think any other East Bay district would be better than BUSD if your kid has special needs.

  • My daughter came to live with me this summer. She was previously out of state with her other parent. What precipitated the relocation was her being the victim of sexual assault. I am currently in the process of developing a treatment plan for her with the Center for Child Protection at Oakland Children's Hospital, who were referred to me by Bay Area Women Against Rape. The crime is currently under active investigation. Given her current fragile psychological condition, as well as her unfamiliarity with navigating Berkeley, I believe it is crucial that she goes to school as close to home as possible; she has a pretty high level of anxiety at this point, and does suffer from trauma due to the assault. Her stepmother and myself are both teachers, and will not be able to drop her at school on the other side of the city due to our work hours, and I do not feel comfortable putting her on a bus, given her current state. However, BUSD is telling me the school close to us is full and they cannot put her in it due to union rules and told me I just need to get on the wait list, which I've done. But surely she is not the only student in BUSD who has a critical need to attend school close to home! Is there anyone out there who can suggest how to get around this madness? Thanks.

    I would initiate the process of getting an Individualized Education Plan (IEP). Students with "severe emotional disturbance" can be eligible for an IEP. It is a complicated process, but the excellent people at https://dredf.org/ can help you get started.

    Some people register for public school, but then put their kids in private school. You might want to try keeping her home for a few days after school starts, and see if there are any openings at your preferred site. I understand the reasoning behind busing kids, but I do believe that there is value in neighborhood schools, especially in situations like this. 

    Hi, I hope you might find a solution.  I don’t have an answer, but just wanted to say that likely a very high percentage of families want their child(ren) in the school closest to them, which of course BUSD can’t accommodate for everyone.  I’m not sure how old your daughter is, but there are great after school programs (or clubs, if she’s in HS) at all the schools, which accommodate parent schedules, since not all of us are lucky enough to have one parent not working outside the home.  I sincerely hope your daughter finds the support she needs, even if not at your closest Berkeley school.

    Possibly contact DREDF (Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund).  Anxiety or PTSD I believe would be disabilities, and the school or I think school district would have to provide accommodations.  Maybe that could include going to the neighborhood school.  I don't know enough to say how exactly this would work, but I think someone at DREDF could tell you.  It's called a 504 plan (for kids with disabilities) when it is formalized.  My kid has a 504 plan for other issues. 

    I have only dealt with OUSD, which was some time ago.  A couple of times I appealed a placement decision for my child or my child's at risk friend.  With the appeal I made it clear that the child was in therapy and attached a letter from the therapist that supported my statement of facts and needs.  I think this made administrators realize that they would have liability issues if the student was place in inappropriate and unsafe situations.  Hopefully you will receive responses from families currently dealing with BUSD.

    Hello,

    This is ridiculous especially since BUSD claims to be welcoming and family-friendly. Document how your daughter's anxiety manifests itself. Does she have extreme separation anxiety? Describe how a closer school location will enable your family to care for her and reduce the psychological trauma she is experiencing in writing via a BUSD Uniform Complaint.  The form is here https://www.berkeleyschools.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Uniform-Complaint-Form-11.7.17-Fillable.pdf. Have professional health providers document her needs and submit with the form and to school admin. Retain a copy of everything. Most of all do not get boxed in with BUSD options. If you can homeschool or enroll in a public school charter  just for the short term, it might be the less stressful option for your family. All the best.

    I’m so sorry to hear about this. I am a social worker in special education at OUSD. I’m not familiar with exactly how things work in BUSD - and it would be hard to navigate in OUSD as well. But it does sound like your daughter might qualify for a 504 plan related to current mental heath issues that she’s experiencing due to the sexual assault. Even if she does qualify they don’t necessarily have to grant you the school you want, but they might be more willing to do so if you have a legal document like a 504 plan or IEP under your belt. The problem is it takes time to establish such a plan... I would start by contacting the district 504 coordinator and seeing if you can get a response.

    I'm so sorry about what happened to your daughter. I hope she sees some relief from the treatment plan.

    Is it possible for you to take FMLA leave for some time? She's gone through such a huge upheaval in the last couple months that I can imagine how much she needs you for extra support right now, especially as she's starting school. In terms of healing from trauma and adjusting to a completely new life (new primary caregiver, new home, new state, new school full of strangers), the bus ride is the least of your worries. If you do get her into the school close to your home, would she be walking herself there? And walking home to an empty house? Is she going to feel safe alone until one of you gets home? Speaking only from my own experience, I live with a survivor of childhood sexual abuse. If something activates their anxiety on the commute home (normal city commute stuff), they don't feel safe in our home, which we bought together and have lived in for years, and can't calm down until I get home from work too. I wonder if the bus ride would feel safer to her because she can sit near an adult in a more supervised environment than being alone.

    As for navigating the wait list, all I can think is to try advocating for a spot higher up (that is, if you're sure that's the safest-feeling environment for her). 

    Request an IEP for SED in writing. That will start the timeline. Also see what the before/after school programs are like at the school where she's currently assigned. Some of them are quite good. I agree with the recommendation to contact DREDF, you can talk with a parent advocate there who can help your family through the process.

    I am so sorry that you and your daughter are having to deal with this. A few ideas: 

    Until you can resolve getting her placed into your neighborhood school, maybe consider Berkeley Independent Study program or your daughter? I don't know if the timing would work for your family, but it might be a more calm, gentle way for her to transition back to school..... https://berkeleyindependentstudy.wordpress.com/

    If you haven't already, pursue a 504 for your daughter. You may be able to get an IEP as well, but a 504 should be easier to establish quickly. The first step is to simply fill out a 504 request in writing. You may have to go straight to the district for this--the contact who can point you in the right direction there is:

    James Wogan, LCSW

    Manager, Student Services Berkeley Unified School District510.644.6316jameswogan [at] berkeley.net (jameswogan[at]berkeley[dot]net) 

    And don't be afraid to push for more than the standard "accommodations." You'll want doctors and therapists involved with diagnoses and medical recommendations. A lot of local therapists have deep insights/experience in navigating accommodations with the school district.

    BUSD does a terrible job of supporting kids/families in mental health crises. I unfortunately know this from personal experience. It became a second job for me to petition for a 504 plan that would serve my child in the midst of a crisis. It was ridiculous and unnecessary and unduly stressful. This was at the high school level..... I think that if you are at the elementary school level, once you have your school assignment it would be easier to establish relationships and communication within a smaller school environment.

  • Hello,

    Have you worked with education attorneys Natashe Washington or Roberta Savage?  If anyone has worked with either of them, I'd love to speak with you, especially if you had a child within BUSD.  We are not being appropriately served in the school environment, there are compliance issues, and we are being stonewalled. 

    I'd prefer not to leave my name here but if you'd be able to share your contact, I'd be so appreciative.

    At the end of my rope. 

    Although I did not hire Natashe Washington, I had a very positive experience talking with her, which led to a decision not to file a lawsuit. Our son had an IEP and needed residential treatment, which the school district (not BUSD) did not agree to. In our case, she would not require an up front fee to take our case, but would be paid out of the legal fees, if we first followed the process she recommended and she thought we could win. Her advice was very valuable and put us in a good position to have most of our costs for residential treatment covered by insurance, the Adoption Assistance Program, and the school district, without a lawsuit.

I don’t have experience with the Albany school district, but I do have a good friend who has dealt with IEP’s for her daughter from 1st grade through high school. She has had to sue the Berkeley school district 3 times to get her daughter an adequate IEP. We’ve had many discussions about it because my daughters went through the Orinda school systems where IEP’s are virtually non-existent. She told me that the schools districts are just set up that way; you have to sue in order to get one that actually works. Each time she’s sued she has won, which means the school district had to pay not only their attorneys but had to pay for hers as well. Each time she’s told them that if they just give her what she’s asking for instead of dragging their feet and making it difficult at every turn, they would save so much money, because all she’s ever asked for is what the school district is supposed to provide anyway. 

Her attorney was willing to wait to get paid in fill until after the suit was settled, after the initial fee which is generally $5000.

i hope this helps. 

 Hi -  I can speak to obtaining an IEP for my son from the Berkeley Unified School District after he was placed in a residential treatment program (that had a school component.) The law, and it's a FEDERAL law, requires that the school district send someone to evaluate your child if they're not local, which is what BUSD did for my son. Also, you probably know, but the law requires that the school respond within a certain amount of time to your request. In the end, the IEP was granted and from that date on, BUSD picked up the cost of the program. I can't speak to COVID issues, but under normal circumstances, it isn't necessary that your daughter be in Albany. I was warned about this tactic, and others in the stonewalling and footdragging department, but BUSD did us a solid. We didn't end up using a lawyer but I spoke with several and got a lot of good information. I'd be happy to talk to you about this if that would be helpful. 

We moved from Oakland to Berkeley for the schools. My son is partially deaf and qualifies for an IEP but has no learning issues associated with it. The IEP process at our Oakland elementary school was kinda non-existent the first year, but when a new principal came in, it was just ok.

I have to say that the quality of the IEP process and follow-up at Berkeley is incredible, but again, my kid does not have learning disabilities so I can't speak to that. But the organization and teamwork has been amazing. That said, the school is huge!!!!! 1,300 kids!!! Lots of room to get into trouble, but lots of great kids, too. Also, parent involvement really steps down in middle school, there is so much more responsibility given to the teen and it was a rough transition for my son. 

Berkeley is crazy expensive to buy a home in. We were lucky to get in before it got really bad. But you don't have to buy- our friends from OUSD are renting out their Oakland home (to cover their mortgage) and then are renting an apartment in Albany to send their girls to school there. They plan on renting in Albany until their youngest graduates high school, and then moving back to their Oakland home for the rest of their days- they love their home and could not afford to buy it again.

But the Oakland schools...well, out of 63 5th graders in our elementary class only 3 of them enrolled in the local public middle school. Oakland still has a terrible problem with the schools, and I admire the amazing teachers who stay despite the lack of pay and resources. None of us should have to make this agonizing choice about educating our kids- shouldn't our local schools be able to support all kids in a safe and nurturing environment??? Yeah, we can dream. But in the meantime, good luck to you guys. Just please don't move to a crappy, homophobic place where you are gonna be unhappy for 6 years or more. You didn't mention jobs... but if there is any way that you could live an hour from SF, have you checked out Petaluma? It is so great!!! I have heard that their schools are awesome. Our in-laws moved there and we have been spending time there and I really like it. Best to you guys!

Archived Q&A and Reviews

Questions

 


Will BUSD help pay for therapeutic boarding school?

Jan 2016

Our 15-year old daughter has dropped out of Berkeley High School due to anxiety, severe depression, suicidal ideation and other related issues. After two years of seeking local (excellent) therapeutic solutions for our daughter and family, we are finally sending her to a therapeutic boarding school. It has been chosen for it's humane approach and targeted therapeutic offerings. Our daughter was relieved when her neuropsych evaluation recommended that she spend a year in treatment away from home, so please do not reply if your opinion is that a teen should never be sent to therapeutic boarding school--with all due respect, I have already read those posts.

Our question is: Has anyone in a similar situation ever had any success in getting BUSD to help pay for therapeutic boarding school? Or tried and failed? We know that school districts are under a mandate to provide access to education. Given her issues, our daughter would not be an appropriate candidate for BUSD independent study program--at least until she has been in treatment for awhile. I should add that unfortunately, we do not yet have an IEP for our daughter yet. We have the name of a good educational advocate and a lawyer (based in the Walnut Creek area) and are already working with an excellent educational consultant. We are also members of Willows in the Wind (support group). However, before we seriously consider approaching the district, we would like to hear about other parents' experience with BUSD. Also, if you were successful in working with BUSD and would be willing to share the name of your educational advocate/lawyer, that would be great. I tried to research this issue on BPN but couldn't find anything (search error?) Thank you in advance for any assistance you can provide.

Seeking access to education


Mike Zatopa is the attorney we (successfully) used with BUSD. We had a very complicated case. He would be able to give you an idea of whether you had a case. Typically, the school district likes to use their own resources before recommending residential care. If you have already decided upon that path it may be harder but I would still go ahead and ask. anon


Dear parent looking for therapeutic boarding school. I was able to get BUSD to pay for what is called a ''Non-public school''. These are schools/therapeutic treatment centers that partner with school districts to provide services of just the sort you describe: Helping children who cannot otherwise attend school for psychological, addiction, or other related issues.

You will need to get an IEP and will need to get a recommendation that she attend such a school. The process can be tedious. You MUST ask for an IEP in writing and you must do everything in writing. You must advocate strongly that she needs this (not the silly independent study or other options they will recommend).

You are unlikely to be able to send her to an out of state private boarding school -- and you might be glad of that. Some of those are quite abusive and hardly regulated. I would be very careful about sending a child to any of those. Check it out first.

The IEP process will take time - so start immediately and follow up at every turn. make sure they follow guidelines about when they will complete assessments, hold meetings etc. but each time they usually get 50 business days so it can really add up.

Best of luck to you and your daughter.... Been there


Speech therapy in BUSD? 

Jan 2015
My kindergartener has a mild speech impediment that has always been the source of gentle teasing but is not correcting as he approaches 6. I would like to have him evaluated for therapy but have no idea where to start and can't find any info on the BUSD site. Any help appreciated. Thanks! tongue tied mom


A very good friend works as a speech pathologist at BUSD. I relayed your question to her and she wrote this back: It depends on what sounds your child is having difficulty producing. Some sounds are later-developing (i.e. not expected to be perfected at age 6), such as ''r, sh, ch, j, s, z, v and th''. If it's one or more of these sounds, you can ask the school Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP) to observe your child. What she/he will likely do is see if your child is able to produce the sound when given cues (e.g. ''put your tongue behind your teeth like this, when you say an 's' sound''). If the child is able to produce the sounds when given cues, the SLP can send home worksheets for the child to practice (that way your child won't miss class in order to go to the speech room, but will still get the practice he/she needs). Or the SLP might see your child through a program called Response to Intervention (RtI), which is a way to work with kids who don't have a ''disorder''. If your child is producing more sounds incorrectly than the ones stated above, or if your child is unintelligible much of the time AS WELL AS having these problems negatively impact his/her ability to meet educational goals, the SLP would then evaluate the child. The evaluation will determine if your child has a speech disorder or not. Summary: Start by asking your school's SLP for an observation, and see what she/he says. Hope this helps!


My son received speech therapy from BUSD for a couple of years. For that to happen, he had to get an IEP (individual education plan). You can request IEP on your own (google IEP letter request and a bunch of examples come up). Your school can also recommend getting an IEP. The thing with the school district is that they would only provide therapy or accommodation or whatever else they decide is needed for the child to be able to perform at school and do school work at the appropriate level. So, I would word your IEP request around that, rather than saying your child's speech defect is a source of mild teasing. Teasing is bad, but doesn't interfere with school work, or at least it's a stretch to argue that it does. You can also get your child evaluated at her health provider. I did that at Kaiser, in addition to getting an IEP from the school district. It was good to have both, and it gave me confidence in the assessment done by the district, and helped me as a parent work with my child on my own. Speaking of which, speech therapy is great, but it happens once or twice a week, or whatever the frequency, but then we parents are able to help our children the rest of the time. It was very helpful to me to watch how the therapist worked with my child, and then apply her technique on my own. By the way, the speech therapist at BUSD was phenomenally great, but she's retired since. I am sure the new one is good, too. good luck!


Special Needs PreSchool for Deaf & PDD-NOS

March 2011

Hello, I need any personal recommendations or experiences if you've had a special need's child and has dealt with BUSD. I'm new to the area and I'm curious what programs are out there and I've done some research but it seems like it's difficult to find information on PreSchool or programs headed by BUSD for special need's kids. My son is about to transition to IEP. He's bilaterally CI'd (cochlear implanted) and was diagnosed early with PDD-NOS and is getting treatment that is home based. I know of CEID but there's a long wait list. I'm a worried mom not knowing what programs are out there that I can look into so I have my questions prepared for the programs they present. I also want to arrange tours if that's even possible. Thanks in advance for help with this. Also, any advice through the IEP process would be extremely beneficial and helpful! Thanks again! mamatoadeafboy


Have you read the Nolo Press book on special education and IEPs? It would be a good place to start, And focus your energy on the educational effects of his disability. http://www.nolo.com/lawyers/attorney/neil-allan-rones-4934.html -neil rones neilrones [at] mac.com


Contact the Berkeley Special Education Parents Network (BSPED) http://www.bsped.org/ We are a group of families of students in the Berkeley Unified School District (BUSD) who have special educational needs. -Jill


Which Central Zone school for special needs child?

Nov 2010

hello there BPN ers,

my sweet almost 5 year old is entering K in the fall of '11; which school in the central zone, in your opinion, is the best for her needs of partial hearing impairment/fine motor impairments?

She is in private speech and OT programs. Her hearing problems are not correctable, and I am struggling with BUSD to have her issues evaluated (and wow, they are not real helpful).

My little one is cheerful and motivated to learn despite her hearing loss and motor issues, and we are hopeful that there is a school in the central zone that would welcome her and her involved parents. We will happily take her to which ever school serves her needs best, and she is really excited to be going to K!

Any suggestions? gratefully, G's mom


Welcome to Kindergarten!! I think the quality and availability of services is going to be the same at all the schools, for the most part, because they're in the same district and the district determines services for an IEP. That said, my son has an IEP and goes to BAM and I have been VERY happy there. The staff has been very available and willing to work with us, we have a new Inclusion Coordinator this year who is great, and he has a district aide, actually two of them switch off working with him, and they are absolutely fantastic. Come by when we have our Kindergarten tours, you can chat with our principal and a parent volunteer, or contact me directly for more information.

If you're struggling with the district to get an evaluation, you might consider hiring an advocate or contacting DREDF at www.dredf.org. Also, join BSPED; more info here: http://www.berkeley.net/index.php?page=bsped Hope this helps! Jill


Definitely be persistent, yet respectful, with the school to get an evaluation. (as a heads up to other parents reading this, you can get an evaluation while your child is in preschool, and it is a good idea, since the waiting periods for getting the student an IEP assigned to speech therapist or other specialists can take some time. AND, they can get services even before they enter elementary school. Start ASAP with your district to avoid the kindergarten bottle neck.) For your little girl going into kindergarten in 2011, have you checked out John Muir Elementary in the south zone? and would it meet her needs? I recall that John Muir is where many of the children with hearing impairments go. If that would work for you, ask the district for her to be placed there. It may be way easier to get services on a regular basis there.

If you are still interested in central zone schools, each of them have great programs and access to special assistance. Schools are very good at keeping the kindergartners in their own area away from the big kids as needed. Some of the on site specialists change from year to year, as do the teachers, as do the principals. If you are intending to use an after school program, you can look into what is offered at each site. If you want something within walking distance, you may want to pick a closer school. Other than that, set up school visits - including John Muir, keep on the IEP folks and ask them about access to John Muir. Anon


We live in the central zone. It is a good idea to look at all the schools and rank your choices but you should be aware that you will not be able to pick which school your daughter goes to. The district will assign her to one of the schools. You can appeal the assignment after that but you can't count on getting into your top choice or even 2nd or 3rd choice. We were assigned to a school in the central zone that we did not even list as one of our choices. Also you should ask the district how special needs kids are assigned, because we found in our school a very high proportion of special needs kids compared to other schools in the zone. This may work in your favor or not, depending, but it is something you might want to know about ahead of time. anon


Move special ed child from private school to King?

June 2010

I would like to hear from parents with recent experiences with King MS in Berkeley for students with Learning Disabilities. I have a son with several LDs including ADHD, dysgraphia, slower processing speed and verbal fluency issues. He is super bright but getting words on a page is super difficult without loads of one-on-one help. Has anyone had recent experiences with King and accomodations for LD kids? I know that BUSD and King have a Special Ed team and that support staff / resources are supposed to be available for identified LD kids. How does this translate into real accomodations in the classroom and other learning support? Would love to hear recent experiences as I am needing to decide between keeping my child where he is and paying private tuition and extra tutoring support or moving him to King and eventually to Berkeley High. Am recently divorced so money is a real issue but do not want to make the move if the services required are not going to concretely be there for him when dealing with actual teachers, classroom situations and homework. Single Mom of 2 kids with LDs


Hi! You should consider joining BSPED, The Berkeley Special Education Parents Network, which represents families of students in the Berkeley Unified School District who have special educational needs. More info at www.berkeley.net/index.php?page=bsped Jill


BUSD inclusion programs

Nov 2007

I'm looking for information on special ed inclusion programs in Berkeley. My child with special needs will be entering the district next fall and we'd love feedback on other parents' experiences with the various inclusion specialists and programs in Berkeley. Our gut feeling is that we need a small school with a really supportive inclusion program where special ed teachers, regular ed teachers, parent and kids are supportive and accepting of kids with learning, physical, and speech differences. Our child will be in a regular classroom but will need a lot of support in many areas. Thanks! anon


My son is in Kindergarten at Berkeley Arts Magnet with his own 1:1 and I absolutely couldn't be happier. He's thriving there, his teachers are great, the other kids are great, I love the environment there, the other parents (for the most part) have been supportive. I like the principal, I like the Inclusion Support Teacher, and the best part is that he's actually learning. Feel free to contact me directly for more info. Jill


We have a child in inclusion at Le Conte. The inclusion specialist there is very dedicated, and the staff, especially the principle, are very supportive. It rubs off on the kids, too - my child has lots of friends who engage him on the playground or just yell hi when they see him passing, even though part of his disability is that he is nonverbal and has difficulty with eye contact, etc. I could write a book about our experience if I had the time. Please email me if you'd like to talk more on the phone. Jessica