IEP Evaluation Determination Meeting rejected

[Susie S]

Hi all.  I’m new to this.  We had my daughters ‘s determination meeting today and the school said they will not evaluate her.  They are forming a committee to brainstorm solutions for her to thrive.  They told me I can request another meeting to determine later if all this other stuff doesn’t work.

 

my thought is to take the 6-8 weeks and try all their suggestions and then call another meeting to prove it didn’t work, but my husband says to hire a lawyer.  I’m not sure which is the right path.  What do you all think?

 

is this normal or I gettin 

[Jenna]

Did you submit a written request for her to be evaluated for special education? Will the district provide notice in writing of their refusal to evaluate her for special education, and the reason for their refusal? Once you get their refusal in writing, you may need to consider your procedural safeguards.

Lisa has a helpful article (with links to OSEP guidance) on RTI/MTSS and how that can't be used to delay evaluations. See https://adayinourshoes.com/what-is-rti-response-to-intervention/.

[Susie S]

Thanks for your response.  Yes, I formally requested the evaluation in writing, had it stamped at the district office to prove they received it.  We had the determination meeting where they refused to evaluate.  The reasons they gave were that her psych-edu evaluation was from 2019,her dyslexia only was 11 points different bs 22 and there were two things in her 504 plan which she isn’t utilizing.  They gave me a write up of the meeting, but it’s pretty vanilla, so I plan to respond with better details that lead to questions.

 

thanks for the article.  I’ll read it over the weekend!

[Lisa Lightner]

In addition to what was said above...

If they are refusing the evaluations, they must provide you with that information on a PWN. Then you have choices.

If you have other independent evals that point to a disability, that will make your case stronger in mediation or due process.