My stepson is a seventh grader. His school principal says he must transfer to a new school in just two weeks, because we've moved. With all that he's going through, it seems cruel to force him to change schools, leaving the friends he's known since kindergarten, in the middle of the year. He's in special education and doesn't make friends easily. The principal says neighborhood kids are waiting to get into the school. Can she really force him to transfer?

Unfortunately she can, at least under normal circumstances. However, your son's special education status could change things. You need to file a written request to review his special ed placement and services. If your school district is large, send the request to the district's special education coordinator. If it's small, send it to the SELPA (Special Education Local Plan Area) coordinator. Send a copy to his school as well. A request like this stops everything — while it's pending, the school can't force him to leave and hence alter his special education placement. This tactic should buy you a little time.

With any luck, the special ed coordinator will see things your way and make a recommendation to the principal. One hopes the principal would then go along with this, but she wouldn't have to. In that case, you would need to appeal to the superintendent. Superintendents sometimes intervene, overturning a principal's decision. This wouldn't make your principal happy, but it would keep your son where he is at least through this school year. That would give you time to prepare him for an almost inevitable change of schools at the beginning of next year.