Originally Posted by spedmommy4:
It sounds like his developmental skills are the reason why he qualified for an IEP, and also why he would benefit greatly from a special education classroom. He's 5 now, which means he qualifies (by age) to be in a special education Kindergarten classroom. Because he is on an IEP, he doesn't have to be potty trained. (My daughter wasn't 
). Potty training can take a long time when delays are significant.
When my own daughter was Kindergarten age, the California district we were in tried to pressure me into accepting weekly therapy or an additional year of SPED preschool. That wasn't developmentally appropriate for her at the time. I advocated for her at the meeting and she started that year. Unfortunately, not all parents know that they can and should advocate.
If the parents do want him in school, they should go back to the district and request a meeting to discuss options. Lack of potty training is not a reason to keep a child out of school, especially if he needs it.
I was about to say, it sounds like they registered him and he was placed in special ed. When the parents didn't like that, they were told he had to be potty trained to be in the regular kindergarten. Kindergarten isn't required in many states. The parents decided not to do public school this year. This is going to be a losing battle for them. They should have just put him in the special ed kinder. I used to work in a public school. He must really have issues if the school registered him for special ed. Usually, a lot of children attend regular kindergarten and special ed as they get older and can't keep up with peers.