Carolyn Rowlett

As always, Lisa has great suggestions. I'm only adding my two cents as my area of "expertise" is reading. From what you describe, it sounds like your son may need and probably didn't receive the necessary underlying reading skills - phonemic awareness, phonics/decoding, encoding, etc. Because students (especially very bright students) are able to mask by memorizing many words and figuring out words from context, deficiencies in these areas often go undetected in elementary school. But when the student hits the middle and high school years, they can no longer memorize all the words they need to know and they are reading about subjects for which they have no prior context - and the struggles begin. The school is saying he is on "grade level." But what do they mean by that? That he is able to get good grades? That doesn't necessarily mean he is on "grade level." Did the academic evaluation the school did dig down to all the necessary subtests such as phonemic awareness, phonics, nonsense words, fluency, etc.? If not, you need to request an IEE. It may be that he is NOT on grade level when it comes to these areas. Although it sounds strange, it is very possible (again, especially for a bright student) to score well in comprehension and not know how to decode, because they are very good at figuring out the passage from context and memorized words. But this inability to decode will catch up with them.

Is the "evaluation meeting" the first evaluation meeting and the one to determine eligibility for the first time? Also, what eligibility categories are you going to be looking at? If you're looking at specific learning disabilities, then an evaluation showing low scores in academics could definitely (and legally) take into consideration all the absences as a reason for the low scores. Especially if those absences have reached the point of non-compliance with state policy/regs. However, if the disability is something like ADHD, maybe that is the reason FOR the absences. What was the reason the parents chose an online school and is it through the school district?

Request a special education evaluation in the area of social/emotional/behavior. List all the reasons you state above. Attach the autism and anxiety diagnoses. Ask the teacher to report what he or she sees in the classroom, at lunch, at recess, and at specials in terms of her responding to questions, making conversations, having friends, etc. and attach that feedback. The school must already see a need in terms of social skills if she's seeing the counselor for that. Those skills can be addressed in an IEP with goals and specialized instruction.

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.

Emotional/Behavioral should include an executive functioning component. But you can ask this question to be sure. As far as the "oral testing" for special education, the school has to go by the testing protocols. If they allow for oral testing, then you shouldn't need to sign anything. I wouldn't sign anything that allows them to change the test protocols.

Ok. It seems we were confused and thought you were referring to the special education testing when you said "oral testing." But you mean the school wants to give her oral, rather than written, tests in the classroom because of her ADHD. I haven't heard of this being something to consider for students with ADHD, but maybe because it "forces" them to stay focused more than if they're sitting in front of paper or a computer taking a test? Whatever the reason, I would ask them to explain their thought process on this change - whether you ask for that in an email or during a meeting. You did say her grades are dropping, so it could be in response to that? Since you are wanting a behavioral plan, I would ask that the emotional/behavioral testing include an FBA (Functional Behavior Assessment).

What areas are checked on the consent form to be evaluated? That could make a difference. I would also ask what evaluations are being used for each area and then look up online to see if an oral version is appropriate.

In my opinion, they're exposing themselves to a different type of liability by preventing a child from accessing FAPE when there is not a documented medical reason for the child having to stay home. Yes, get everything in writing and the reasons behind the decision, as well as share everything JSD24 points out. But I would include the IEP on your emails (do they even know the nurse told you this?), and I would request an IEP meeting to figure out the educational plan moving forward (and if even needed) because the nurse doesn't seem to have a good one.

With respect to not receiving the progress monitoring reports timely, I would suggest reaching out to the director of spec ed and informing him/her about this. I would also inform him/her about the accommodations not being followed. If both of these continue to occur, they are grounds for filing a state complaint for not following the IEP. But give the spec ed department a chance to correct first. As far as the accommodations, I would look closely at how they are worded. Do they state student "will" be provided such and such accommodation. In that case, the gen ed teacher doesn't have the right to only give an accommodation if the student asks for it. That would be a team decision and the language in the IEP would need to be changed. Alternatively, do the accommodations state "as needed" or "if requested by student." If so, I would ask (first in an email, then request a team meeting if they won't change via email) that the language be changed to not putting the onus on the student in order to receive the accommodations because he lacks the self-advocacy skills. That is a skill the team will want the student to master, but if he hasn't mastered it yet, his accommodations should not be withheld from him because he lacks this skill. You can even ask for a goal for self-advocacy - but in the meantime, the skill should not be expected to magically be there. Regarding an IEE, all you have to do is state you disagree with the school's evaluation in the areas of x, y, z. Or you can state in all areas evaluated by the school. You can even list areas you think they should have evaluated in, but didn't. You can give reasons why you disagree, but it is not required. I would keep in very general. As far as the school district saying "no" to an IEE, that rarely happens because they have to either agree to it or take you to due process to show why an IEE is not needed. Because of this, school districts, practically without exception, choose to allow the IEE. The school district will give you a list of approved providers, but you are also free to choose your own. See more about IEEs by clicking on the link below. https://adayinourshoes.com/iee-independent-education-evaluation/

Definitely send a follow up email setting forth what you don't agree with in the IEP and your reasons why. Also ask for a PWN for all the changes they made to the IEP and anything you requested that they denied (and outline each change/denial specifically - that way you document it without having a PWN, in case they refuse to give you one). Also state that you expect the IEP to be followed in the area of progress monitoring so that you receive these reports concurrent with grade cards (if that is what the IEP states). If you don't like the data in the progress monitoring, reach out and ask for clarification or more data. You could even request an IEP meeting to go over it. It sounds to me like you need an IEE (Independent Educational Evaluation). I would request one in a separate email from the one I reference above. If you are unfamiliar with and/or need more information about IEEs, reply back.

I had trouble finding 300.347(a)(7), as well. But Section 1414 Part B (d) of the IDEA is alive and well and has similar language. It does not specifically state "at least as often as parents are informed of their nondisabled children's progress," but leaves it to the team to describe in the IEP document when reports on progress will be provided and gives the example of concurring with the issuance of report cards. Since the IEP states the first one will be provided in June, the school is in compliance. Here is my advice from a practical (not legal) standpoint. Depending on what date in February the IEP was implemented, there may not be a lot of data to provide. Often progress monitoring reports that cover only a portion of a quarter say something to the effect of "IEP just implemented on such and such a date, no data available." However, depending on the disability and goals, there very well could be some data available for the month of March (and maybe some in February depending on implementation date). Even though the IEP states the first progress monitoring will be provided in June, nothing keeps you from reaching out to the case manager and asking for some data points now (say something like you don't want to wait until school is out to see if progress is being made, even though you do understand that it hasn't been implemented for that long). Don't throw any law at them just yet. See if they will respond to a friendly email first. If they refuse, you could ask for an amendment to the IEP that progress monitoring will be provided concurrent with grade cards starting with the end of third quarter of school year 2024-2025. They could make this amendment without or with a meeting. But if they were unwilling to voluntarily provide some data points (your first step), it is unlikely the team will agree to amend the IEP, in which case you're probably stuck. I don't know what the disability or goals are, but in general, I would say this isn't a battle to take on. You will likely have other more important battles to fight in the future. But it doesn't hurt and isn't unreasonable to ask for some informal data now.

Can you just reach out and ask the team or IEP coordinator (or whoever sent the Notice of Meeting) what a Due Process Specialist is and what the role of this person will be at this meeting? Seems like a valid question.

What is the eligibility category in the IEP (or categories)? You mention both a diagnosis of a speech and language disorder and a reading disability. Although there could be some overlap of the types of services used for each, I think it's important to distinguish between the two. If his reading struggles are the result of his severe phonological speech and language disorder and not a specific learning disability (reading disability), the approach could be different and the teacher would need different training and skill sets for each. I don't know all the facts, but it appears that he might need additional minutes with a speech language pathologist rather than a reading specialist to address his specific disorder. I would suggest requesting an IEE (Independent Educational Evaluation) from the school, which would be at no cost to you. An outside provider would probably be able to delve into the complexity of these issues better than the school district and would provide recommendations for both treatment/services and accommodations. You are entitled to request an IEE when disagree with or feel the school evaluation is not sufficient. The school district must agree to this or else take you to a due process hearing to prove an IEE is not necessary. This is very inconvenient for school districts, so they usually just agree to the IEE. And you're definitely on to something in wanting to request pull-out services. If he is not making significant progress according to the progress monitoring reports, something needs to change.

Text me and we'll schedule something offline.

What areas of disability are missing from the above testing? You'll need to point that out specifically.