Should a school "upserp" ....?

Should a school ever "upserp" the role of a parent in a student's life?

"Upserp", you say? That's not a word!

Well, yes, of course it is. It must be. It showed up in a high school student's Individualized Education Program (IEP) a year ago and has survived several editions of that IEP. And it was even read by a teacher during the May 2009 IEP Annual Review meeting. She stumbled a little over it, but she pronounced it as written and got past it without cracking up.

Now, obviously, it is not a word. The correct word is "usurp." But perhaps someone will tell me why this word survived for a year in an official document. Why did not one teacher question that word?

Hint: it's called chain-of-command. You don't question your superior. Even if you see something that's wrong, you'd better keep your mouth shut.

Is that the way it should be? Absolutely not! The word should have been corrected as soon as someone spotted it. I keep silent for a year to see who would catch it.

I guess there is always the possibility that I am the only one who read the document, even though every teacher is obligated by school law to become familiar with a student's IEP.

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