Parent:

The school keeps saying "No" to everything I request, even though I have data supporting my student's needs for what I'm requesting. What do I do?

Answer:

You ask, "Where's the beef?" (a.k.a. "Show me the data")

What Does "Where's the Beef" Mean?

In 1984, burger chain Wendy's hit pop culture gold with its commercial of three little ladies staring at a gnat-sized piece of meat cushioned on a giant hamburger bun. One of the women looking at the bun exclaimed "Where's the beef?" Her questioning of the substance of a competitor's hamburger marked the birth of an iconic catchphrase.

The phrase was picked up by everyone from politicians in Washington, D.C., to kids on playgrounds nationwide. The universal understanding is that the phrase questions the substance of whatever is being presented—and the assumption is that anyone looking at what is being presented can clearly see something is wrong. In the case of Wendy's, just a glance at the barely there patty was enough to know it was lacking.

The same holds true when it comes to special education denials and/or proposals.

Show Me the Data (or the Regulation or the Statute or the Case Law or the . . . )

Schools don't have the authority to say "no" without pairing the "no" with data supporting it, or without pairing it with actions required under Individuals with Disability in Education Act (IDEA), implementing state regulations, and so on.

Example 1:

Your daughter is struggling with attendance and school refusal. You request homebound services to help your daughter continue her education while she works through the hurdles she's facing. The school says, "No. We only do that for students with severe behavior problems." Your response? You might use a different version of "Show me the beef" and instead say, "Show me the section of IDEA, Section 504, and/or implementing state regulation that support your practice of denying homebound instruction in instances such as my daughter's and restricting it to a certain group of students."

Example 2:

Your son might need an accommodation allowing him to leave class a few minutes early, so he can avoid crowds—and the stress and anxiety crowds bring him—when he moves from class to class between class periods. You ask for the accommodation and your school says, "No. We don't do that." Your response? Where's the beef? Where's the substance in their "No"? Instead of actually saying "Where's the beef?" you might instead say, "Please provide me the section of IDEA, Section 504, implementing state regulations, case law, and so forth that support that you can deny a student an accommodation he needs just because you don't do that."

Example 3:

Your daughter is in high school and struggles with organization. You request that teachers check with your daughter each day to ensure she understands the homework and has it accurately recorded in her planner. The school says, "No. Your daughter is in high school and expected to do that on her own, and high school teachers don't have time for that type of one-on-one help anyway." Your response? You might instead say, "Please provide me the section of IDEA, Section 504, implementing state regulations, case law, and so forth that support that you can deny a student an accommodation she needs because you expect high schoolers to behave certain ways and because your staff doesn't have time to support my daughter."

Example 4:

Imagine your school does an evaluation of your student. After the evaluation, you tell the school that you want an individual educational evaluation (IEE). The school comes back to you and says, "No. We will not approve an IEE. We believe our own evaluation is comprehensive." Your response? Under IDEA, the school is required to either approve the IEE or file for due process to demonstrate that its evaluation is comprehensive. It has to demonstrate—a.k.a. show you the beef—that its evaluation is comprehensive.

Example 5:

Pulling from example 4, imagine you request an IEE, the school approves the IEE, and then the school says you are required to provide them a reason for your IEE request. Your response? You verbalize a different version of "Show me the beef" and say, "Show me the regulation supporting your request. What section of IDEA and/or implementing state regulations support your request?"

"No" = Ignorance, Poor Training, and Fear of Losing a Job

Too often, when staff say "No" to parents, they are following along with leadership, they don't have enough training to know what they're saying is noncompliant, and/or they're afraid of losing a job. An example of this comes via Office for Civil Rights (OCR) finding against Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS), Virginia, for its COVID-era practices. OCR found that FCPS trained thousands of staff members to discriminate against students and deny them FAPE. Given parents knew what was happening was wrong, staff members should have known too. Those that knew better had a right to dissent, to say they wouldn't behave in such a manner. Yet, the discrimination continued.

Consider the staff members who told you "No" and ask if there's someone else with whom you can speak.

Prior Written Notice

No matter what the reason behind a school's "no", it is required to document its denial. So, if you get a measly "no" that isn't accompanied by data and/or other supporting information, ask for it. Request a prior written notice (PWN) documenting the refusal. If it doesn't provide one and/or it provides one that's skimpier than the gnat-sized burger in the 1984 Wendy's ad, you might consider filing a state complaint and ask the state education agency to find the beef.