how do you get kids w/disabilities into college pr

How do you get kids with disabilities into highschool college prep classes? I want my kids to go to college, they want to go to college but here in ohio we have this thing called school to work, in jr. high our kids are being tracked into programs designed to have them get jobs right out of highschool, the school to work is pared with the most basic academic classes possible and they are so low level that no college will take the kids without years of remedial classes.how did all of you get your kids in the college prep classes?

PASSWORD>aa5lxIzfiwL2E: How? You calmly, politely, steadfastly refuse to accept anything, any
: course or any teacher except the ones that you know are best for
: your child. Does your child have an IEP? Has your child's IQ been
: tested along with a whole battery of tests including the Woodcock
: Johnson? Your child should be placed at the highest possible level
: based on his/her best test scores and then give every accomodation
: needed in order to succeed.: If one person says "no" then find someone else in the
: school who will support you. If you don't get anywhere at your
: current school, consider transferring to another public school,
: homeschooling or private school.: My daughter was evaluated in seventh grade. She has severe dysgrafia
: with a handwriting speed in the 4th percentile. Although her hands
: look normal the only people who write slower than she does have
: severe physical handicaps. Her verbal IQ is 142. Inspite of her
: IQ, she was recommended for all day special ed, the class for the
: mentally retarded. The reason and I quote a special ed teacher
: "If you can't write, you cant't do anything.": We took her out of public school and put her in a private one. It was
: difficult financially. We took the money from her college fund,
: because we felt that if we didn't do something drastic she wasn't
: going to college anyway. She had a good year in eighth grade, but
: wanted to go a big high school. We talked to the head of special
: ed at our local, public high school and he was great, totally
: different from the people at the middle school down the street.
: She reentered public school in ninth grade in college prep/honors.
: It wasn't easy. There were always teachers who didn't understand
: and didn't want to give accomodations. We moved and it was about
: the same--some wonderfully supportive teachers and others who
: seemed to be from the 1800's. You have to work with everybody who
: is half way reasonable and avoid the others. It is worth the
: effort.: My daughter is now a college student and doing very well.: Good luck to you.Easier said than done Sherry, but I absolutely agree with you! It took a lot of dealing with people who hold the keys to my child's education, to get to the one that could unlock the door to one of my child's classes. It took many conversations until I reached the one who could get the job done, and it is so unnecessary. My child felt the he was barred from the class because he has an iep, and frankly, I agree. When I made them explain how placement was determined, and we looked at standardized testing, they changed placement. This change was what was the appropriate thing for my child. Placement was discussed at the iep meeting for this subject, and yet another placement was later selected, despite the iep team meeting. Anyway with much persistance, I was able to get my child into the appropriate class.Sherry, the placement suggestions for your gifted daughter sound outrageous, and I can see why you left the public system. However, parents should just not need to make such decisions. Qualified professionals who understand that dysgraphia does not mean that you have a below average IQ, should be evaluating placements with you. I would think that your daughter's IQ is quite a bit higher than the brilliant one who suggested an all day sp ed placement for metally retarded for a student with an IQ of 142 and fine motor difficutly.