This might not address your specific issues, but there is a podcast called The Affirming Village Podcast with Lisa Baskin Wright and Dr. Destiny Huff, and their topic this week was Gaslighting at the IEP Table. If you find podcasts helpful, I highly recommend theirs - I always have takeaways and they're so relatable.

A student's essay on an assessment, any assessment, is not copyrighted - only the testing protocols. You absolutely have the right to see this. You can ask to view it during a meeting or schedule a time to come to the school to view it. Getting it included in the report could prove more difficult. When a school district does not use the appropriate tests, the next step is requesting an IEE. But you've already done that. You appear to be at an impasse with the school district which means due process. But as you correctly point out, I don't like your chances there. Have you gone up the chain of command to the director of special education? Have you called the state department of education for suggestions? Maybe others in PA will have some ideas.

Great advice for goal to be reached without accommodations!!!!! Thank you! Is a kiddos essay “Copyright Infringement”? My kiddos spontaneous writing sample from his TOWL4 assessment (subtest Essay Composition) was included in the IEE report, so it seems that the actual essay is not Cooyright Infringement. I do not know if this has to do specifically with the TOWL4 and that the WIAT 4 might have different Copyright Infringement interpretations? However, since the IEE psychologist included the TOWL4 essay sample in his report, if a district administers the TOWL 4, it seems they could also include essay sample in their report *Recently, our district wanted to administer the TOWL 4, but refused to confirm that they would administer the essay composition subtest. This was a huge red flag because it was ONLY the essay composition subtest that provided the results consistent with SLD written expression. Like many standardized tests, written expression doesn’t necessarily accurately reflect a kiddos writing ability in middle and high school. Districts WIAT4 showed “average” in the written composition Composite….because the composite is the average of a few subtest scores. District refused to look at separate subtests even though that is exactly what the independent evaluator did. Additionally, like AM, the district included a writing goal for this kiddo District would not provide the essay sample but did divulge that the scoring had strange rules in mechanics specifically with the use of commas. I am trying to drill down on this because in many tests, written expression is a composite score and it is the subtest of essay writing that clearly shows a student’s actual writing ability (in certain situations, of course). My kiddo was sending English assignments back to the teacher in 8th grade saying he didn’t learn this and needed help with grammar which was totally ignored. That was a year ago. We had the SLD in written expression documented with his actual essay in the report which we brought to PA when we arrived as they began their ER testing. At the same time, my son was self-advocating and asking for help in this area of need in writing on his assignments to his English teacher, and by June we had MAP scores with low growth and then the PSSA scores in ELA at the Basic level. *How do we get a district to provide real writing instruction in an SDI (that is more than just lip service) along with the one meager writing goal? *How can we make certain that the district is administering the proper subtests for written expression (for older students this should include the essay composition subtest) when they can choose to administer whichever subtests they want? I am really worried that about AM’s district using the TOWL4 “averaged” scores. This will create a paper trail where district listens to mom’s concerns but turns out student is scoring in the “average range” because district is not focusing on the area of need…the actual writing…but instead burying this important subtest. I have read many cases where hearing officers cite District’s “Average” scores by their qualified professionals.

Let me know if I am incorrect, but you appear to be asking if the team can we have access to the essays included in the IEE report? (By "access" do you mean included in the ER/IEP? I know you state that but I wasn't sure if that phrase was referring to the "spontaneous essay response," and I also wasn't sure if the "spontaneous essay response" was different from the essays included in the IEE, such as a spontaneous writing sample from classroom work.) For now until I receive clarification, I'm going to assume you are speaking to the essays in the IEE and wanting them included in the ER/IEP. The school's evaluation definitely needs to include the findings of the IEE - that can be copying and pasting the actual essays, but the school may fight you on that. At a minimum request the interpretation of the IEE regarding these essays - average, below average, or whatever scale it used. Unfortunately, school districts only have to "consider" IEEs - they don't have to go by them and are free to use their own evaluation results to drive goals and services. As far as getting the findings of the IEE into the IEP, you can do that by way of the present levels. The writing goal may be a joke without SDI, but here is the silver lining: They must collect data (writing samples) pursuant to this goal and must show them to you. Make sure the goal clearly states that it must be reached WITHOUT accommodations or teacher assistance/editing.

SThis is for JSD… one of my 9th grade twins with late diagnosis ASD had speech services for years first for articulation, then pragmatics in 1st grade until 8th grade in this state due to their ER. Historically and still, he speaks very fast and loud and is difficult to understand. He stumbles over his words, is being called a “stuttering autistic freak”, and they continue to say he does not qualify for speech and language. When I ask him to read out loud, he struggles and is very self conscious. His difficulty reading out loud was documented previously but I never considered it could be tired to anything but his early articulation issues or his fast rate of speech. Because it is just so obvious and notable at this point, and he cannot be understood across settings and by different people (other than in the school where there is no problem at all), I am trying to figure out what I am missing. This kiddo likes to read, but says he “does not know grammar” which he wrote to his 8th grade English teacher with no response. He cannot spell at all and was found to have SLD in written expression in 7th based off spontaneous essay writing score 6%. His math scores were at college level in same 7th grade IEE, notably he could answer questions that were read to him… no follow up on this or the significant spelling issues per IEE evaluator just because I was focused on getting a writing goal, and alternative placement due to bullying which never happened:(. Any recommendations on what I should ask for or be looking for? He has IEE testing scheduled. There are so many issues and so much conflicting data that it is hard to start.

Hi AM:)!! If you didn’t see my questions in other posts: I have 2 9th graders in PA for past year with multiple similar issues: * one kiddo tested at 7% in essay composition subtest of WIAT4, with the average written expression composite scoring Average. His SLD in written expression are so obvious with multiple out of state IEEs and one in the works here forcing them to include “written expression” as an area of need. I continue to lose the SLD battle although I will not give up the fight because his SLD and ASD (late eligibility and diagnosis in 7th grade) are coequal driving forces at the heart of this kid unlike his OHI eligibility that all states and districts prefer to cling to. Other kiddo is better defined by his late eligibility and diagnosis of ASD, but also was diagnosed with SLD in written expression from his IEE TOWL4 essay composition which the IEE evaluator included in the report! In this PA district, I have found that they tested the WIAT 2 times in 2 months so scores are invalid and they also “decided” to score my kiddos using grade based norms instead of age based norms in their ERs which were completed a year ago. They also never even discussed eligibility with me at the IEP meetings we had 30 days after those ER reports…going through ERs and creating IEPs in 2 hours in a new state with 2 kids was really overwhelming. I found paperwork where 3 district members signed an eligibility for SLD cartegory sheet at the completion of the ERs (without me) and a month before we met to go over ERs and create IEPs:(. I kept saying I disagreed with so much but I was ignored and they signed my name electronically without my permission and even “held” IEP meetings without me. I use this loosely because I requested a parent training meeting with the school psych (WIAT 2 times, Grade based norms) who did not attend the ER/IEP meetings a month later and the school sent an email end of day Friday proposing a meeting for Monday morning. I never saw the email but answered a call which was from a Google Meets phone number. They asked me if I was coming to the meeting! To this day they have a meeting listed saying parent did not attend. That was the parent training meeting with school psych that took place 10 days later where school psych showed me the essay that my students wrote for her WIAT 4 essay composition…..but the ER uses the Writing Composite which shows up as Average. Since the IEE psychologist included my kiddos essay response to the TOWL4 essay in the report, I would really like to know if we can have access to these essays and if we can request that the students spontaneous essay response be included in the ER/IEP. This would cut out so many issues with trying to get the students work as well as what the student’s work looks like without accommodating or without others “doctoring it up”, passing it out at a meeting, and claiming student met the goal with this one example. Ugh. My 2e (only in previous state) kiddo’s writing was easily hidden from me, but his brother’s documented written expression needs are much harder to ignore….yet they are doing a good job! How do we get schools to teach writing? It is really hard to get them to acknowledge it! My heart breaks for the kiddos whose needs are ignored… But even when they acknowledge it, they are not teaching it. For one kiddo they created a writing goal “because I kept asking”! I laughed and said are you telling me you created a goal just to placate me? They had no response but the goal does not have an SDI to teach writing, only to accommodate, so that goal will be met shortly:(