We had our Son in public school until 4 th grade when changing classrooms and lockers came into play.it was too much for him and we fought he school to place him in an alernative school when we just mentioned an Atty name, did not retain them. They realized we were serious. 4th through 7th was great he was with other learning disabled kids maybe 15 kids per class and low teacher ratio. They had an autism specialist and family therapy all the district paid. We transitioned back to main public school in 8th grade, but what they promised in support din't happen, they wanted to cut budgets. We again fought the school when his grades and behavior tanked. He made it one semester in high school before completely falling apart behaviorally and got the district to place him back in an alternative school and eventually a residential placement. It is a journey that you as Parents need to keep fighting. A lot of parents don't know there are other options in schools for their kids and the district won't share it either. It is parents like us helping one another that will get us the help we need.
My other Son with bipolar and slow processing did great in public school with an IEP and help, but he was goal oriented which helped. He will do anything for a sticker. Ha ha. He is now successfully attending college, so each child is unique in their experience.

Get an attorney. The school must provide for your child. It helped us know our rights and when our teen needed to go to residential school we never thought the district would pay. We found that the funds are guarded closely on the state budget in Illinois and no districts were pulling back due to declining economy. We got it done saving us $130,000 a year in tuition.

In the state of NJ, your school district has to pay for your child's placement in a special school. My daughter was in public school up until 6th grade. Middle school was awful. She missed half of the school year. Finally, we fought to get her into a school catering to kids on the spectrum. She went there for a little over three years. It got bad so we pulled her out, and has a much better placement.

Ccpmom: Family is family and bless them to try to help with an answer for you and your dilemma. But I totally understand where your head is. You want what is right for Chase. I am the grandmother of a child who is mildly autistic and have fought tooth and nail with ANYONE to get him where he should be that will do the most for him. You are Chase's mother, the decision where to place him is always up to you. We are the voices for our children as they cannot speak for themselves. Place him where you feel he will be helped the most and put yourself back on the list where he was before. Talk to the administrator of the school and tell him/her about your story. Dont quit fighting for Chase and good luck!