JSD24

Many curriculum for kindergarten cover the letters & their sound at a pace of 3 letters a week so the whole alphabet gets covered in the first 2 months of school. This allows students to start decoding/reading (writing too) by this time of year. (In comparison, my oldest did a letter a week where it took the whole year to get through every letter.) Children who didn't attend preschool are also at a huge disadvantage with how things work in K. The simplest, best dyslexia screener a parent can do is work on rhyming words. Can you name a word that rhymes with cat? Bat, flat, sat, mat, fat, splat, gnat, vat - there are so many. I remember talking to a parent whose child's name was Michael. He thought there were loads of words that rhyme with his name. Dyslexia runs in their family and he's being watched very closely. Nemours also has a screener that parents can do with their child: https://www.readingbrightstart.org/ Reading nursery rhymes with your child can have a remedial effect. Also, dyslexia can be diagnosed at age 5. The issue is a student needs to be 2 years behind before they qualify for an IEP. Your child isn't 2 years behind and if you work with them to help them have access to school and better self-esteem, it might take years for them to be sufficiently behind to qualify for an IEP where they get the intervention that will help dyslexia. IMO, the system is broken when it comes to child find and SDI in reading as the school calls it. (School psychologists aren't allowed to diagnose dyslexia as this is outside of what their practice allows.) Connecticut Longitudinal Study showed that 20% of students have dyslexia yet 16% of students have IEPs and not all of the 16% are for dyslexia. Might be simpler to do a homeschool remedial program for dyslexia with your child. Toe by Toe and Horton Literacy Primer are the 2 I'm aware of. Many states are implementing reading screeners but screeners aren't as accurate as evals. Not all schools have special ed teachers who are trained to remediate dyslexia where an IEP is going to catch students up to where they should be. (Not looking to be all gloom & doom. We just don't teach reading well but that is changing. It's going to take time to get this to be a system that really works.) You'll definitely need to stay on top of this to make sure your child doesn't fall farther behind.

There are a lot of things that come into play with what you describe. Students need FAPE with the stress on 'appropriate' in this situation. They need access. The IEP needs to be followed too. It sounds like when they are in the general ed classroom, they don't have access because their skill set is behind. If they are lost/cannot follow what's going on, that is not the access to LRE that IDEA says they should be getting. Is a student in a wheelchair watching the gymnastics module in PE really in LRE and getting meaningful benefit? These students are physically there but they are not getting meaningful benefit. Without knowing these students, it's hard to say what can be done so they do have access. Do they need to be pre taught so general ed is a 2nd dose of the same info? And if they need 2X the amount of exposure to a topic to get benefit, where is that illegal? What law does this break? I know of no law like this. So let's circle back to FAPE. What is appropriate math & ELA for these students? Sitting in a room where high level engineering is being discussed isn't going to be appropriate for every college student but they can take a class that covers this but has less need for technical expertise to understand the material and do OK. This is what it sounds like they need. Until the IEP says to do something different, you have to follow the IEP - gotta stay in compliance. Keep in mind that placement is an IEP team decision. If the IEP isn't FAPE, the team has to rewrite it so that it is. Are are the student's needs described in the evaluation report? Does the general ed teacher see that they have access via how they participate? Does exposure to grade level material have to be in a general ed classroom if the student is so far behind that they don't understand what's being taught in general ed? If the school doesn't have the support they need, is this the right placement for these students?

I agree with what Carolyn wrote. I have a child (now an adult) with autism. A 12:1 classroom will often not cover the state standards and these kids tend to end up academically behind because the focus is on behavior. Happened with a friend's child and she decided to pull to a virtual charter school. Her child stopped needing behavior support and is now learning academics. Kids like yours can end up being bored which can cause behaviors. They can also model classmate's behavior and end up with a lot worse behavior than when they started. There is also the matter of FAPE. They must meet his needs now that they are aware of what he needs. My district hires 3rd party therapists when they don't have staff to do what's in an IEP. Paying for outside services is also an option. They will owe comp ed services for what was missed waiting for a space to open. (I think they count on parents not knowing what they are entitled to.) Have you asked how they will make up what is messed while waiting for a slot to open? Have you asked which schools have the 12:1 classroom that is his placement? If they are full, they need to hire a teacher and make room for your child - provided they have an open classroom too. Where are they in this process (or are they waiting for a family to pull their child or move)? A private school that has a slot and can do what's in the IEP is a place your school can pay and have your child go there so they ARE getting FAPE. Is this an option the school is looking at given they don't have an open slot? Not sure where you are but in my area, a child who is 5 cannot get in to see a dev ped - doctors who take insurance do not take new patients who are school age. There are others who don't take insurance but that's expensive. I'd want accurate baselines with academics. I wouldn't want to see his reading regress. Did they do that? Are you in a state that mandates gifted? I've seen lots of kids like yours who are advanced and need gifted services. The IEE is a great next step because I'm assuming they didn't look at his advanced reading ability. That should be factored in with meeting academic needs. (If they say no to an IEE, the school must take you to Due Process to defend their eval results.) Neuropsych would hopefully be more comprehensive with understanding his needs.

Sitting outside of the classroom doesn't sound like he's able to have the same access to instruction (Can he see the board? Does the teacher use gestures that he can see? Is the teacher's voice loud & clear where he's sitting?) that the classmates get. How is he expected to learn the same things if his instruction isn't the same? Might be better for him if he watched a livestream of the classroom than listening from the hallway. This sounds like a civil rights violation to me. Is he always noisy? Does this describe him at home? When he is like this at home, what's the antecedent? Could this be the same at school? I'm not sure how anyone can do an FBA to determine what in the classroom is the triggering antecedent to his disruptive behavior if he's not in the classroom where they can observe him. I'm hoping they will do additional observations so there will be data showing what in the classroom triggers him when he is in the classroom. (FBAs can be dynamic where they get added to.) If this doesn't happen, an IEE would be needed. Was there any biting, hitting, kicking, eloping from learning area or from the property during the FBA? What did they say was the antecedent to those? Why isn't he in the classroom in the morning if the behaviors happen in the afternoon? Pretty sure that "in general ed" means in the same classroom as the rest of the class & not in the hallway near the classroom. What does the IEP say as to where he's educated? Does your state have a place for parents to ask questions like this? - The answer to this looks to be yes. They have a Education Program Specialist (EPS) who can answer questions. More info here: https://education.ohio.gov/getattachment/Topics/Special-Education/Dispute-Resolution/EarlyResolution_Information-sheet.pdf.aspx I think you need to call & clarify that what they are doing is in line with IDEA & state regs. Lastly, how is the BIP teaching him better behavior? Are they teaching him ways to calm down? Does he have a place to go to regulate when he becomes dysregulated in the classroom? He's going to pick his place & end up eloping if he doesn't have a place in the building where this can happen. Picking him up and taking him home is a suspension. How does the school record this on his attendance records?

In his acceptance speech, he says he'll be there for every American citizen. These are his exact words: Every single day, I will be fighting for you, and with every breath in my body, I will not rest until we have delivered the strong, safe and prosperous America that our children deserve and that you deserve. This will truly be the golden age of America. That's what we have to have. From: https://www.npr.org/2024/11/06/nx-s1-5181584/trump-celebrates-historic-win-in-speech We are a diverse group who include the disabled person he mockingly imitated as well as 'losers' who have life-long injuries from defending our freedom. From what he said he's changed from when he was last president - based on his actions. Maybe we need to remind him of the diversity of citizens that he will represent from 2025 - 2029. This is from the 1/6/21 transcript (https://www.npr.org/2021/02/10/966396848/read-trumps-jan-6-speech-a-key-part-of-impeachment-trial And we fight. We fight like hell. And if you don't fight like hell, you're not going to have a country anymore. Our exciting adventures and boldest endeavors have not yet begun. My fellow Americans, for our movement, for our children, and for our beloved country. And I say this despite all that's happened. The best is yet to come. So we're going to, we're going to walk down Pennsylvania Avenue. I love Pennsylvania Avenue. And we're going to the Capitol, and we're going to try and give. He also said: I know that everyone here will soon be marching over to the Capitol building to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard. Maybe the people who were there misinterpreted what was said. I wish he'd stop saying 'fight' and raising his fist. I saw this as aggressive & it was a turn off.

There's only one social skills assessment that I'm aware of. It's the SSIS - Social Skills Improvement System. I'm assuming there are other assessments out there that I'm not familiar with. I did find an article that listed other assessments: https://blog.difflearn.com/2024/05/23/picking-the-right-social-skills-assessment/ The AFLS is something I'm familiar with and I believe it looks at a lot more than just social skills. My child's experience was they taught her 'skills'. I'm not sure if what skills were picked really addressed the deficit areas because there was little progress. You want to teach the skills that they don't have and in a way they will grasp and know when & how to apply them.

Was social skills assessed? That's where my child scored really low due to autism. I'd also change up how you ask her about school. Instead of 'How was school today?' ask 'What was the best part about school today?' and after she answers, ask 'What was the worst part?' With autism, communication seems to always be impaired to a degree but a different type of question will generally not get you the 'knee jerk' it was good/great. You might want to read up on afterschool restraint collapse as well as masking. Lots of autistics go through school masking where this is something they are always thinking about at school.

They need to keep accurate records with billing Medicaid. If the child was out sick or on a field trip where they weren't in the building, this is Medicaid fraud if no services were rendered which is a serious misuse of taxpayer funds. Medicaid is administered at the state level so you would need to go to the state with a complaint. I know where I live (PA), I can go to my state rep or senator with these sorts of issues. In other states, state legislators are part-time positions and they don't get involved with things like this. I assume that you could go to the state dept of health & human services or the ed law center in your state with a complaint. My state has a Health Law Center that could help with this. Realistically, Medicaid should audit this school since the lack of records increases the likelihood that bills were generated for students who didn't receive them. Often, the log is a list of students who got services where the names of other students need to be redacted. Since this takes time, I'd understand that there could be a delay in getting those records to you but they wouldn't be saying that they don't exist - they exist in a form that cannot be shared with a parent w/o editing. Therapists shoulf be keeping progress notes too. Those aren't shared with parents but are used to prepare progress reports that are part of the IEP process. (This might be where billing info come from.) With the week they did testing, I'd email and request clarification. If your child's IEP says 30 minutes of reading daily but they actually only spent 15 minutes with 1:1 testing that week, this would be a violation of the IEP. They need to do what the IEP states and the only time there is an exception is when the student is out due to illness so, technically, they should get services on days when there field trips and assemblies but the reality is that kids need field trips and assemblies when they are happening and IEP services don't happen. The IEP should probably say that in Sept, Jan and May, there will be one week where the reading interventionist is testing students rather than providing service minutes. It's a CYA type of thing. I know my son's IEP says that services start Sept 10 where school starts in August because they are figuring out schedules when school starts plus they do a 4-day weekend with Labor Day.

This is what I found on this document on pg 73: https://www.alabamaachieves.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/2019-Mastering-the-Maze-Process-1.pdf: • Results of the most recent evaluations/assessments/tests (typically within the past year): Include all information on evaluation/assessment/test results that are helpful to develop the IEP. It is not necessary to repeat information from the Notice and Eligibility Decision Regarding Special Education Services. The information should be written in meaningful terms so the parent, IEP Team members, and service providers have a clear understanding of the results. Standard scores, Level 3, percentiles, age, and grade equivalents, can be misleading. For example, stating a child scored a Level 3 in the average range should be easy for all to understand. Be consistent. Use terms such as above average, average, or below average to make test results more meaningful for those not familiar with scoring. Interpretation of Evaluation Results (standard scores with a mean of 100 and standard deviation of 15) o 116 and above = Above Average o 115-85 = Average o 84 and below = Below Average o Example: In reading, John scored a 95 (standard score) in the average range. It doesn't say about including info older than a year old but if I was to be filling out this form, I would want to mention when testing was last done or when the next testing is due. IDEA requires triennial testing so if it is noted that testing was last done in April of 2023, seeing this makes the IEP team aware that it's due to be done again in April 2026. If the student you see in real life doesn't match what's in the evaluation report, IMO, it's a sign that an eval might need to be done sooner than required.

Was social skills evaluated? Why not a speech only IEP with goals & services for pragmatics? I'd request progress monitoring in the areas they will be working on. Looks like they aren't doing anything about pragmatics.

Following how their rules are spelled out, they can deny a parent access to a school building. It is assumed that the parents know that an ID is required - my district swipes your drivers licence but they can also type in a name - so they should be prepared by bringing an ID. On the other hand, common sense says they know him and he'll be supervised while in the building so he's a low risk for abusing children or causing a disruption in the building. These rules all started after Jerry Sandusky abused children in a camp situation. From what I understand, other people were aware of this and didn't say anything. From what I'm aware of, Mr. Sandusky would have been able to get the needed clearances so he would have been able to work, unsupervised, in the same situation giving him access to children if this situation happened today. I guess the hope is that if you see something, you say something - this is what will prevent this from happening again. Maybe the school policy should state that in the case of a person known to the school and that person not having ID and being supervised while in the building, that person can be admitted to the building at the discretion of staff. (Add common sense to the policy.)

(Accidentally hit post.) I was wondering how they have this incident in your son's school records - records that, under FERPA, you are allowed to view - and this has the names of other students on it where an admin is saying you can't have a copy because of the other students' names. If they will not send you a copy, make an appointment to go in and see the records. They can charge you for copies under FERPA but you should be allowed to take photos with your phone. As far as diagnoses go, there is medical autism and educational autism. If he was diagnosed outside of school, he has medical autism. Did the school do an autism eval? Sometimes students don't meet the criteria for educational autism and the school says they have ED. You can ask for an IEE at school expense to verify that he doesn't have educational autism and that ED is the right category in IDEA. https://adayinourshoes.com/autism-whats-the-difference-between-medical-and-educational-diagnoses/

They can do a trial of adding an aide - it sounds like a reasonable next step. I'm assuming there was an IEP meeting where this happened and you were present at the meeting. Also assuming that this IEP meeting is where you were told that his behavior disrupted the classroom, etc. There is a nice paper trail of what led to him having an aide. Are the duties of the aide well defined in the revised IEP? How long has it been since you requested a copy of the incident report? Was your request in writing or verbally at the IEP meeting? I'd ask again and keep adding a higher level admin to the cc with every email you send them. Weekly isn't too often to be making a request like this.

Was it the school neuropsych who did the diagnosing or did you bring him to someone outside of school? If this was done outside of school, the school will only have that as part of his records if you provided paperwork from the diagnostician. It's possible that the school records are sloppy or are missing the fact that his doctor tweaked meds to help him have better behavior. (Maybe they only looked at school records & not things you provided.) Under FERPA, you are allowed to clarify school records. You might want to see these records to determine if you should add something so they know he's taking meds for behavior and as long as they are right, he should be OK to be in his neighborhood school & not an alt placement. (Not sure if you should email them as to why they feel he might need an alt placement as you have not been informed of any issues he's having at school. I've seen where parents are not in the loop so the school can have data where they should be keeping parents in the loop so meds can be tweaked. I know as kids grow, dosing can often need to change.) If the person is new, they might not know your son and the fact that things settled down. Has the school requested parent input with doing the triennial eval? You could mention that he's taking meds to help with behavior and you want to know of any issue the school is having with him so meds can be tweaked when needed. I know that my son who has ADHD needed meds for both focus and to cut down on impulsive outbursts. Luckily he was OK at school. I think video games were a trigger for him. We did adjust how much he was getting from time to time.

CSE seems to be a NY thing. I (and Google) didn't see this associated with any other state. I'm not familiar with what the position entails. To answer your question. If I was looking to evaluate a student and knowing that IDEA is looking for students to be assessed in all areas of suspected disability, I'd look at the school records & put on my detective hat. If I saw low math grades, I'd suspect a math disability. If I saw many referrals for behavior, I'd suspect a behavior disability. This would be the guide to use for whomever was coming up with the disabilities I'd suspect in a student and the direction for a triennial evaluation to head in. I'm not sure if this is normal or not but it is not a conflict of interest to review records in order to plan what's needed to go forward. Also, in very small school districts you'll find that one admin will wear many hats.