Hi Holly,
I think I sense frustration in your message and I want to reassure you that it is perfectly appropriate for you to have expectations for your son. All too often we find that when a child is diagnosed with a disability expectations for that child automatically go down. I don't know that it's anything intentional, but it does seem to happen an awful lot. Your message is a little bit difficult to address here in this forum as there are a lot of complex issues contained within it. It might be better if you were to contact your regional program specialist individually to discuss it in greater detail. Our regional map can be found on our website at www.insource.org. Look for your county and you will be able to identify the regional staff person who covers your area and find their contact information. And, while your situation is a complex one and I can't even begin to address it completely here I'll attempt to give you a little bit of a push in the right direction until you can hook up with one of our staff who will be able to give you more information specific to your case.
If he is failing four subjects you are certainly right to question their assertion that he is doing "fine." Obviously he is not. With an IQ of >70 he may not be an A student but failing is not appropriate either. And although he has not experienced any behavioral issues up to this point, if he becomes frustrated it is almost certain that eventually he will act out in some way and probably in an inappropriate manner that will get him into trouble. Some questions to consider: Has he ever passed ISTEP? If not, how far from passing is he? What track is he on--CORE 40, vocational, certificate of completion? What are the things in his IEP that are not being provided? What do you think the barriers are to the school following the IEP as written? Why would he be forced into an Algebra class when he is not working at grade level? Is the work he's doing in that class modified to his level? What are his present levels of academic performance? Do you have any recent information to establish these? I'm not talking about IQ tests here--but tests that give good, valid data about where he is academically compared to where other students his age are functioning.
These things all need to be addressed in a case conference. If they are not following the IEP he already has they need to explain why and either correct the problems that have led to their noncompliance or rewrite the IEP with accommodations/modifications that are more appropriate for helping to meet his individual needs resulting from his disability. If they are already defensive you need to be particularly careful in how you approach them so as not to alienate them or make them more defensive. It may be that full time inclusion is a bit much for him at this point and that more support in a pull-out type setting for part of the day is appropriate. It may be that he'd be fine where he is if they had incorporated the appropriate supports that he needs and then actually implemented them into his educational day.
We've barely begun to scratch the surface here. Again, I strongly encourage you to contact the regional program specialist for your area as soon as possible. Even if you've already had your ACR and signed your son's IEP you can still rescind your signature at any time and reconvene the conference to discuss those issues you feel need further attention. You may also attach a written opinion.
Getting the right education for your child can be a very stressful thing for a parent even if the child doesn't have a disability. A good education makes all the difference in the life of a child. You are to be commended for your efforts to advocate for your son. I wish you the best of luck!
Sandy