Would a request to go back a grade overrule state policy?

[Backroads]

I know, I know, the school year is well under way, but Kid is still struggling with the grade-level material. Due to medical reasons, much of last year's school didn't happen. There were things in place to help with this, but all in all I don't think she mastered the skills needed. I'd like to have her return to a previous grade (2nd), but I'm being told the state won't allow that, especially this far into the school year. The team is discussing this and that accommodations, but my gut says those are just band-aids for the problem of having not mastered the prior year's essential skills. 

[JSD24]

Request a meeting.  Tell them exactly what you said here - that she lacks the foundational skills taught in 2nd grade and needs to be taught those skills before she'll really have access to 3rd grade material.  Let them teach her 2nd & 3rd this school year so she can step into 4th grade on grade level.  Band-aids do help.  You just need to see if there is more that's needed.

[Backroads]

1 hour ago, JSD24 said:

Request a meeting.  Tell them exactly what you said here - that she lacks the foundational skills taught in 2nd grade and needs to be taught those skills before she'll really have access to 3rd grade material.  Let them teach her 2nd & 3rd this school year so she can step into 4th grade on grade level.  Band-aids do help.  You just need to see if there is more that's needed.

You have a good point I just worry that the double-dose of two grades would be overwhelming.

[EmilyM]

IIRC, OP's kid has a virtual school. That could possibly make learning both grades possible and easier than you think. If you're willing to have this meeting, request "extra" classes be removed at least initially and see what skills are duplicated in both grades.

[EmilyM]

On a further note, talk to someone at the state level and see just what are the laws on going back a grade. If she didn't properly attend last year, that at least seems to me a reasonable case. I get it, a good old-fashioned dose of the missed year seems like the right idea.

[Melike Yavuz]

Below is a copy paste from Peal Center LRE content (https://www.pealcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/LRE-BEC.pdf) 

AGE RANGE When the student is attending a special education class in a LEA or IU-operated program for students in K-12, the other students in their class must be near their age. The maximum age range allowed in classrooms serving students with disabilities is three years for grades K-6, and four years for grades 7-12 (22 PA Code § 14.146). The IEP team can decide that an exception to this rule is appropriate for a particular student, but it must explain in the IEP why it made an exception to the rule for that student.

[Melike Yavuz]

I am actually looking at the same topic because my son is put into gen ed 6th grade in September as a new comer to US school system (we live in PA)

Then we requested an evaluation and now that we have the ER - it's obvious that even 4th grade curriculum will be challenging to his base levels.

Now we are preparing for IEP meeting and I found above information about LRE. I am actually considering to ask school to shift him back to 4th (or at least to 5th) grade so that his time in gen ed  makes more sense to his learning (current proposal is 50% gen ed vs 50% resource room + related services) 

I assume it should be a reasonable request to move back in grade, looking forward to read opinions