Our nine year old daughter is going into fourth grade in our large public school district. We are requesting a certain teacher, who we personally know to be experienced, informed, and knowledgeable about diabetes, but our request is not being honored at this time due to the established custom of parents not being accommodated and “not getting who you want.” Do we have any rights to request a certain teacher especially since we are going to establish an IEP (Individualized Education Plan)? Our daughter is on the pump, and we are concerned that some kid might pull it off.

You have the right to have a 504 plan in place that assures that the school make “reasonable accommodations” to insure that your daughter’s diabetes needs are met. However, I do not believe that your request comes under the heading of “reasonable accommodations”. The school must only demonstrate that your daughter will be in a safe environment.

SS
Additional comments from Lois Schmidt Finney, diabetes dietitian:

This might be a great opportunity to have another teacher become very aware of diabetes, so she or he can work closely with her, using your daughter’s guidelines. (Sometimes those with prior knowledge about diabetes may not have the most recent info). Anyway, I have found that many times parents tell you “this is the best teacher, or don’t get that one”, but it seems that you need to jump in with an open mind and work with the situation. Also, there is very little chance of a pump being pulled out, so I would not be too concerned there.

LSF