Is A PWN Needed?

[Little Papa3]

In a previous ARD meeting I requested Tier intervention for math.  It was not approved because they stated that they only do Tier intervention for reading.  I did not make that request (directly) in writing but, I did during the meeting.  Since our next meeting is coming up and I had not gotten a PWN, I sent an email inquiring about it.  They called and left a voice mail indicating that we will talk about it at the meeting.  With all of this being new to me, I thought if you requested some service and it was rejected or not approved, a PWN was due.  Or did I make a technical error by not putting it in writing?

[Carolyn Rowlett]

Just in general, you should make EVERY request to the school district in writing - whether or not it has to do with special education and whether or not you asked for it in a meeting.  If you did think of it and ask during a meeting, jot down a note to yourself to send a follow up email reiterating your request to the team.

Specifically, I'm not sure I can answer your question.  Is the child eligible for a specific learning disability in math?  If not, there would be no requirement for the school district to provide special education services in math and a PWN rejecting eligibility in a specific learning disability for math would encompass this.  Your use of the term "Tier intervention" leads me to believe you were asking for something provided in the general education setting, in which case a PWN would not apply.  If you child is eligible in specific learning disability (math), the services provided would not be provided in the general education setting.

Others can correct me if I'm off base here.  Also, Little Papa3, please reach back out with any clarification questions.

[Little Papa3]

1 hour ago, Carolyn Rowlett said:

Just in general, you should make EVERY request to the school district in writing - whether or not it has to do with special education and whether or not you asked for it in a meeting.  If you did think of it and ask during a meeting, jot down a note to yourself to send a follow up email reiterating your request to the team.

Specifically, I'm not sure I can answer your question.  Is the child eligible for a specific learning disability in math?  If not, there would be no requirement for the school district to provide special education services in math and a PWN rejecting eligibility in a specific learning disability for math would encompass this.  Your use of the term "Tier intervention" leads me to believe you were asking for something provided in the general education setting, in which case a PWN would not apply.  If you child is eligible in specific learning disability (math), the services provided would not be provided in the general education setting.

Others can correct me if I'm off base here.  Also, Little Papa3, please reach back out with any clarification questions.

This child is in special education under speech only.  I want some help in math because he has failed two straight grade periods in math.  My train of thought was that the school could provide tier II instruction to help him catch up.  I also asked for him to be evaluated for learning disability in math.  The testing is complete and we are scheduled for a meeting.  But as stated in the above post, being in an ARD meeting for a child that is in Speech only special education.  So if I understand your opinion, if I ask for something that is in general education, perhaps it won't require a PWN if my request is rejected.

Also what I'm learning from educational web sites and gov web sites is that even though a child has a problem, that problem must rise to level of actually negatively affecting his/her learning.  I get that but I would like to know from tests, myself, when they don't meet the standard.  Hopefully I can get more clarity during the meeting.

 

[JSD24]

It's always good to make requests in writing as it creates a paper trail so things don't end up a he said/she said situation.  This includes following up with a letter/email after an IEP/ARD meeting.

With a speech only IEP, the case manager tends to be an SLP who wouldn't be able to include things unrelated to speech.  Also, Tiered support is gen ed and there isn't any paperwork required.  The thought behind this is you see an issue, you provide help to the student, the student catches up and stays caught up.  Reading between these lines:  no disability was present so an IEP wasn't needed.

I'm a question person.  Rather than asking for Tier 2 in math, I'd say:  My child is struggling with math.  What can be done to help him?  If they don't have Tiered support, they might have a teacher who can help if he gets to school early or has a ride so he can stay late.  (Odds are the school would say wait & see but they can also say that a special ed eval in math is a possibility.)

To answer your question about PWN:  The PWNs I've seen have be extremely vague.  A request like this wouldn't have made it onto a PWN.  It would have been better to have requested that your concern about your child's poor grades in math go under 'parent concerns' in the IEP.  This gets it into writing where anyone reading through the IEP can see that you have concerns about how your child is doing in math.  As Lisa would say, PWN in this situation is not a hill to die on.

The evals they do for special ed are not like the tests that teachers write to assess how well a student has understood their instruction.  Special ed assessments are normed or tested.  It's possible there is no disability when a student doesn't do well on a teacher's test.  They could have been having an off day or they might not be grasping the concept being taught.  (I do agree with you that when a student isn't doing well in math, the school should have something in place so they can get extra support & hopefully catch up.)