District trying to talk parent out of eval

[TracyV]

Advised my friend to do an eval request based on new neuropsych eval that diagnosed dyslexia. School is seeming to be very accomodating but steering her away from IEP eval and she is considering just doing a 504. In the meantime, they have set up a meeting to discuss but also stated that "that is also the date the we must give you an official response to your evaluation request". I do not trust that they will not use this as a way to deny her request, thus tying her hands for another year.

Advice?

[Carolyn Rowlett]

First, make sure the request for an evaluation was in writing.  Also, did it attach the neuropsych evaluation?  Did it point to specific reasons for requesting, such as low standardized test scores in reading?  A diagnosis in most states is not enough for an IEP - the student must also be struggling and show deficits in reading (what does the gen ed teacher see in terms of the student's reading level?).  Students with dyslexia are good at masking.  They may have high scores in fluency and comprehension because they have memorized a lot of words and learned how to figure out words from context, but if you drill down you might see deficits in phonological awareness and phonics, which are very important skill to have in place as you advance in grades and can no longer memorize as many words and the reading content is not familiar.  If the first request was not sufficient, she can send another one with the above items.   If there are no deficits or struggles, a 504 would be appropriate.

If they deny the evaluation, make sure the school sends a Prior Written Notice (PWN) with detailed reasons as to why it was denied.  At that point, she could try to request an Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE), but the law is a little unclear as to whether failure to conduct an initial evaluation triggers the right to an IEE.  If she has the data to support her that the student is substantially behind in reading, she could file a state complaint that the school is violating the federal "child find" provision by refusing an evaluation.

[TracyV]

Yes, for all of your questions. In Illinois, they are actually required to do an eval but basically tried to talk her into just a 504. Her son is 7th grade so, yes, has been very good at masking. My concern was that once they deny her eval request, she'll have to wait a year before asking again, if she feels like it's needed.  Is that timeline of rerequesting an eval  correct?

It's a tough one because he does not want any help at school and she has spoken to other parents in district who say that the support from the district is not helpful whatsoever.

[Carolyn Rowlett]

I think the first thing is to make sure the student will cooperate with an IEP if he is given one.  If he "doesn't want any help at school," does this mean he doesn't want to be pulled from the general education setting and go to special education?  If he can't be talked into this, I'm not sure it's worth the fight to get an evaluation.

When you say "the support" is not helpful, do you mean specialized instruction that students receive via an IEP for dyslexia or accommodations via a 504 Plan?  Could the parent consider private tutoring?  A student is usually given a brief evaluation before the tutoring begins with no obligation to sign up for tutoring.

As far as the timeline for requesting another evaluation if denied, she should request an IEE, file a state complaint, and/or file for due process based on the fact that the school was presented with a diagnosis of dyslexia (and other data showing struggles) and refused to evaluate.

[JSD24]

I'd ask for data.  Did the school do a screener?  Dyslexics cannot decode nonsense words.  That's the best type of screener for dyslexia IMO.

She can ask the student to come to the meeting and decode some nonsense words.  It'll take 2 minutes to show that he can't.