9 Days and Counting

Eph's been out of school now for 9 days and I'm not sure when he'll be returning. We received a call the Monday before last saying that Ephraim choked the teacher. Jen picked him up and we did the suspended thing. When she went to have the return to school meeting on Wednesday we discovered it was an expulsion hearing. We hadn't gotten the letter about the incident or letting us know what was going to happen. Jen rescheduled the meeting which was good. It gave us a few more days to investigate what the possible placement options might be. We toured the pioneer school and while it could be really good it also has the potential for being locked in the seclusion room that is so scary to us. I would doubt Ephraim would get to that level but none the less it still makes me sick to my stomach knowing it's possible. It was interesting to me that when we went to the tour the woman who came to the end of the incident on Monday also believed Ephraim had reached up and choked the teacher which is what we were lead to believe. When we got the letter finally on Wednesday we found out she'd been wearing a scarf that he pulled on and was choking her. It doesn't change the fact that there was an incident and that he is responsible for his behavior but there is a big difference between your kid choking someone with their bare hands and them pulling on a piece of clothing that consequently the teacher shouldn't have been wearing in this setting anyway. We have the big expulsion hearing this afternoon and an IEP review/update. I'm very nervous as there is a lot of tension surrounding this specific event and his needs and rights. We have a lawyer from DRO joining us as well as a OPTI advocate. I hope we can get what Ephraim needs out of this so that he can return to school and be successful. He's been having a fantastic time away from school and it's been nice to have time with him. I'll write more with the outcome and any insight I gain from the meeting.