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It's hard to comment without knowing the specific facts of each case (for instance, it might matter whether the private placement was by the parent or by the school), but if a parent can waive FAPE in a settlement agreement that includes a private placement, I would assume that would mean the entirety of FAPE - even the "free" part. Waiving FAPE in order to receive the services of the private school allowed the school district to use this as an argument to not cover at 100%. May not be the best result, but I can't think of a reason it would not be allowed in a situation involving a private school not subject to FAPE, and perhaps having 50% covered was the best the parents thought they could receive without spending more time and money. Unsure in Seattle (actually, Kansas City :))

I was reading a post in a Facebook group and I'm in a bit of shock about what I saw. This was about a school district in PA and out of district placements. An advocate posted that they've seen this district cover 50% of the tuition for private schools for several students. I thought that offers from a school needed to be FAPE - Free Appropriate Public Education. It's not 'Free' if only half is covered. I did ask the advocate how they are able to only offer 50% and it's OK. She said, because the parents were waiving FAPE, that the school wasn't obligated to pay for 100%. Settlement agreements, where the private school isn't going to follow an IEP, does require a parent to waive FAPE. I thought that this was waiving the right to having an IEP where the student would be getting special instruction to meet specific goals - in other words, the 'A' in FAPE - Appropriate. I didn't think they would also be waiving 'F' - Free. Does this sound right to you?

I have friends who live in the same school district (if it's the district with an East & West HS that sends students to TCHS) that I know and I was shocked what they did to my friend's child and attending the school they were zoned for. That said, what I would do is write a letter stating that the school's policy doesn't apply in your case because (1) it happened off campus, (2) you were told by the appropriate agency, CYF, to not report this to the police (3) but there was a legal settlement for your child to go to a different school from this child for 6 years. I would ask that they honor your request of having your child attend East rather than West which your neighborhood is zoned for. (You might need documentation from a MH professional that he should not be attending the same school as this other child due to PTSD.) You'll probably need to say you will transport as that tends to be the big ticket item with a student not going to their neighborhood school. He should be able to ride the bus to TCHS from East but you'd need to get him to/from East. On 2nd look, this part may apply: "A student victim (or his/her parent/guardian) may apply to the LEA to transfer to another school within thirty (30) calendar days after the incident is reported to school authorities." IMO, you are somewhere within this 30 day timeline as you recently told the SD about the assault. Use the points I outlined to make your formal request. You might want to call the superintendent and then follow up the call with an email so you have a paper trail. Or you might need to show up in person. I know the person in charge of school safety in my district and they might be someone to have involved with this process. Include the Title IX coordinator too.

Reading between the lines, I'm seeing the special ed director saying all the teacher needs to do is babysit the students and gaslight parents that they are getting FAPE. Some people say that IEP means I Expect Progress. This won't happen without special instruction shown to help mitigate issues from the disability. Depending on the student & the disability, I'd like to see ADLs worked on at a minimum.

If you have a reading eval done, most evals (same exact eval) cannot be redone within the next 12 months. The school's perspective is that outside evals are biased and school evals are not so they only have to consider your eval & not follow it. Given this, I would wait for the school's evaluation to be done. Also, ESY is not expected to cause a student to make progress - sometimes student do make progress. It's there so that a student who's learning a new skill doesn't backslide when there isn't any instruction over the summer. Compensatory things are generally decided by due process although schools will call something this when a student didn't get FAPE and they didn't need due process to determine this. I'm not familiar with "a specific OG READING EVALUATION". I'm thinking that their certified special ed teacher might have an eval they do to determine what the area of need in reading is that is specific to the protocol for the program. (Do ask to get a copy of their assessment results.) This way they can match remedial instruction to what the student needs rather than starting with step 1 which might be something a student already knows. (There are dozens of OG based programs that are out there and are research/evidence based. They are all a bit different which is why a student could make progress with one & not another. You can think of it like chocolate ice cream. Breyers is different from Turkey Hill or Friendly's or your store's brand but they all fill the requirement for chocolate ice cream.)

Not in Pennsylvania, so others might know more. But for me, it would help to see the language in the NOREP as to what was agreed to at the meeting. Regardless, however, it looks like you were given some bad advice during the meeting from individuals who did not understand the entire process or know all the facts in your case. Under the board policy, you appear to be out of luck. My suggestions are: 1. Ask for all policies regarding ability to transfer schools. There might be some other way to request a transfer. 2. Write a letter to the superintendent and school board members pleading your case. Since you don't have any policy or legal ground to stand on, appeal to their emotions to make an exception. However, there are a couple of legal issues you could allude to (but I would start out nice and not demanding in this initial letter/email). State how this would affect your son and his ability to access his education (he would be so traumatized he wouldn't be able to focus and learn - I would even suggest getting a letter from a psychologist/psychiatrist stating the environment would making learning difficult, if not impossible, and attach the letter). Hopefully they could connect the dots that they would be denying FAPE. Another legal angle would be adding something like "it would be be devastating to my son physically, mentally, and emotionally if another attack were to occur." Hopefully they could connect the dots in terms of their liability if an attack occurred and they were on notice of the previous one. 3. If they insist on knowing the other boy's name, keep in mind that the school district is required to keep this confidential.

We had an IEP meeting for my 19 year-old son to transition to TCHS in the afternoons and attend SD in mornings for which I signed a NOREP. The SD is now going back on what they said in the meeting regarding a change in high school building placement. Do I go to mediation? They haven't replied to my last email. We requested a transfer to East HS so that son will not have to see a student at West HS who sexually assaulted him years ago in our neighborhood. The attack did not take place at school and son was not a student in the SD at the time (we live in the same place, but he was in a charter school at that time so technically in a different district. Also, we settled with a lawyer for son to attend private school for 6 years, so son has not in SD). Both boys were under age 14 and both have special needs. It was reported to CYF who concluded that no other authorities should be notified, that there was no legal recourse, and I followed their policies on what to do afterwards. I have said and written this to the SD but they are changing my words around. In our IEP Meeting, SD said we only needed to submit a formal request for the change in HS buildings and gave me a link for the request letter and nothing else during the meeting. I was told it needed to be short and to the point- it was supposed to be just a formality and after I emailed the request, they emailed me the NOREP. They called to have me sign it while I was on the phone with them, which I did. They had an incorrect name on it, though, so they fixed it and resent it for me to sign again, which I did. The next day, SD emailed me many forms including Board Policy saying they would like all supporting documentation for the assault (there is none and we do not feel comfortable telling the SD the other boys name). The policy states: The Pennsylvania Department of Education, as required by the Unsafe School Choice Option provision of the No Child Left Behind Act (Section 9532), hereby adopts the following standards for a student who becomes a victim of a violent criminal offense while in or on the grounds of the public elementary or secondary school that s/he attends. Local Educational Agency or LEA - shall include a school district, an area vocational-technical school, an intermediate unit or a charter school. Victim or student victim - shall mean the student against whom a violent criminal offense has been perpetrated while the student was in or on the grounds of the public elementary or secondary school that s/he attends. Student Opportunity to Transfer Except as provided below, a student who becomes a victim of a violent criminal offense while in or on the grounds of the public elementary or secondary school that s/he attends, must be offered the opportunity to transfer to a safe public school within the LEA, including a charter school. In order for a student victim to be entitled to transfer to another school under these standards, the violent criminal offense first must be reported to law enforcement authorities by the student, the student’s parent/guardian, or school officials. A student victim (or his/her parent/guardian) may apply to the LEA to transfer to another school within thirty (30) calendar days after the incident is reported to school authorities. The assault did not take place at SD grounds or schools, we were told NOT to report it to law enforcement officials, and it's past 30 days so none of this is applicable to us. The forms they sent are attached below. My advocates advised not to fill them out and we restated our request, but SD has not replied. What could we do? Thank you! NO103-AG-4 Report Form for Complaints of Discrimination11.11.20.pdf NO103-AG-3 Discrimination Complaint Procedures11.11.20.docx.pdf NO103-AG-2 Title IX Sexual Harassment Procedures and Grievance Process for Formal Complaints11.11.20.pdf NO103-AG-1 Letter Documenting Objection to Child Participation in an Investigation11.11.20.pdf

You're absolutely right to feel frustrated. What that director said is incredibly telling and concerning. When a director frames the primary needs of an MSD (Moderate to Severe Disabilities) classroom as “showing up and communicating with parents,” it reveals how low their expectations are for both the students and the role of the teacher. Yes, reliability and communication are important; but those should be the minimum expectations for any teacher in any classroom, not the whole job description. Students in MSD classrooms deserve instruction, support, progress, goals, and dignity. They deserve teachers who believe in their potential and are trained to support them. Reducing the job to just “be there and talk to parents” doesn’t just undersell the position, it underserves the students. And it sends the message that they aren’t worth the time or effort it takes to actually teach them. It’s a red flag, not just about that director, but possibly about how the whole school or district views their high-needs population. I'd be asking follow-up questions, and if your daughter takes the job, document everything.

My daughter will be a first year sped teacher. I’m a veteran sped teacher. I went to an interview for and MSD job. Discussed all the ways I would work with the students and teach them. My daughter was called for a MSD position interview same school different position. They told her what they wanted a someone to show up everyday and have parent communication. She got the position. To me this is a downgrade to this population of students and their parents. How do you feel about the sped director saying this?

I may have missed something, but when did the "compensatory reading" come into play? Also, I may not be following all the timelines, but if it's been one year since the school evaluation in academics, ask for one. If denied (or if given and you disagree), ask for another IEE. You mentioned when summer instruction starts. I don't think you'll likely be able to get a private evaluation in time for it to make a difference this summer. I would just wait out the year so you don't have to pay. But, of course, that's totally up to you. I'm a little confused about the "specific OG reading evaluation." That isn't a thing in special education, so it must be something used for their general education intervention. Make sure you understand the difference. Reach out and ask for the policy, steps, qualifications, etc., for the "specific OG reading evaluation." I don't understand how they're tying that to "compensatory reading for the summer." Compensatory minutes are minutes missed in the special education setting.

Thank you JSD24 and Carolyn Rowlett. I appreciate the help. Fortunately, my child completed a full IEE with a Neuropsychologist in 2024 paid for by the district. They used this data to place him for summer reading instead of a reading evaluation specific to Orton Gillingham. At the CSE meeting they were saying a specific OG READING EVALUATION was required before they could award compensatory reading for the summer and that I was too late to get one so he'd have to wait until fall for OG Reading Eval. When I used the other Advocate's script, they awarded summer reading and speech. However, I was concerned that they said the OG Eval was necessary then said they would skip it. That's why I was thinking of getting a private one anyway. What do you think? Should I get this step on my own since they are skipping it and using IEE that is almost a year old? Summer instruction starts Tuesday.

If the school "skipped" the step of doing a reading evaluation, you shouldn't have to pay for one yourself. Ask for an Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE) at school/public expense. They have to give you this or take you to court to prove why they shouldn't have to. Or they might just go ahead and do the evaluation themselves. If you disagree with their evaluation, you can still request an IEE after its completion.

For Mich- RTI is Response to Intervention and MTSS is Multi Tiered System of Support. Both are part of general ed assistance for struggling students. (Schools generally call it one or the other with RTI being the 'old' way of doing things.)

Hi. You replied to me too about reading recently. You give very thoughtful and thorough replies. Thank you. Would you let me know what RTI/MTSS is? Forgive my ignorance. TY. Mich

I want to thank you both for your thoughtful replies. I am happy to report that I posted a similar post on another Special Education Advocates forum and she gave me a script for my CSE meeting. The IEE that was done in the fall got reviewed by the Reading Support department. He was given 3 sessions per week of OG Reading Comprehension and 2 speech therapy sessions for the summer. Crossing my fingers and saying my prayers that he makes meaningful progress!! I am trying to decide if I should invest in an individual reading eval since they skipped that step.

For Mich- The specially designed instruction in the IEP should target the area of need specified in the evaluation report. If he hasn't been assessed or doesn't show that O-G instruction is needed, it's not going to happen. You need to advocate for the evaluation to be sufficiently comprehensive so the area of need with reading is defined to a point where it can be matched to a research/evidenced based program. If the school recently did an eval, an IEE at school expense might be what to ask for. Education advocates and special ed attorneys can read over the eval to see what was done/what might have been missed. What is taught in a self contained class should be the general ed curriculum as well as there being special instruction that addresses the student's areas of need. They might also be pulled for special instruction. Ex: Speech therapy is hard to do in a classroom with background noise. You'd want it done in the SLP's office/classroom.

I remember hearing about a dyslexia camp from a parent. From what I remember, it was in NH; we're in PA. Like you said, it was expensive but from, what was said, the child made significant progress in one summer. I'm sure there are a few where the results are being oversold or the instruction isn't a good match with what the student needs. Students make progress when the remedial program works to fill the student's area of need. If you have a 40 minute session and 5 students, this could translate into 8 minutes of helpful small group instruction for a student which isn't a whole lot. (I'm thinking this is daily during the school year.) This may be why IEP services aren't helping all that much. Given your meeting tomorrow, I would ask the school: If my child meets the goals in the IEP, when will they be at the level of their classmates? (You might want to break this out by asking this for each goal.) If a student is 2 years behind & makes 1.3 years of progress every year where typical classmates make a year of progress in a school year, it will take them 6 years to catch up. With 1.5 years of progress, it takes 4 years. With one year of progress, they will never catch up - they will remain 2 years behind forever. If this is what the school expects given the IEP goals, it sounds like this isn't meaningful progress. If the school's offer of FAPE isn't meaningful progress, it definitely provides information (data) that would support them paying for an outside program where your child will make meaningful progress. Asking the school to provide info on their remedial protocol so you can see how well it matches your child's area of need is another thing you can request. I've seen where schools are not using IEP level remedial programs. (There is general ed support like MTSS where these programs are appropriate.) Definitely ask if the school feels the IEP goals from a year ago were met & if they weren't, ask why. I've seen where schools don't have a well trained teacher who can provide the IEP level instruction so many students need. (I think there's a post on Adayinourshoes about gaslighting that covers this.)

First I would want to know what "can read the words" means. Sometimes students can "read," but that is only because they have memorized the words. The real question is whether he can DECODE. To determine that, you need an evaluation that tests nonsense word reading and also digs down into phonics and phonological awareness. Have you had any evaluations that have done this? If you don't have an evaluation that did this, request one. It will be easier to "fight" for OG if you can show a phonological and/or phonics deficit. But OG is also appropriate for the areas you mention - comprehension, vocabulary, and fluency. It depends on how low his scores are in these areas (and thus what the present levels show). You can fight for anything - but you need the data to support it. If you have the data, also ask for goals in reading to be added to the IEP (comprehension, vocabulary, fluency, and any phonics/phonological awareness deficits). That way it will have to be addressed with specialized instruction as opposed to remediation, which I assume is general ed instruction/remediation that takes place in spec ed only because he is in a self-contained class - not because it is specialized instruction.

those summer program ads are tempting, especially when you feel like your kid has been passed along with no real progress. But here’s the thing: flashy claims like “gain 1 school year in 6 weeks” are usually too good to be true. Some of these programs can help, but many aren’t backed by solid research, and they are expensive. I would look online for reviews, keeping in mind that some places actually pay for reviews. You can also look in the "what works" database, if it's still online. Linda McMahon may have pulled it down, I actually haven't used it myelf in several weeks. If the school has acknowledged that your child hasn’t made meaningful progress, you can ask for compensatory education services. This is different from summer school. It’s about making up for services or instruction your child should have already received. Bring this up in your CSE meeting. If you have data (or lack thereof), point to it. Ask what evidence-based programs they can offer or fund. Also, don’t let them skate by with “he can use a calculator” if he still hasn’t been taught the foundational math skills. That’s an accommodation, not instruction.

This interests me too. My son is in a 12:1 self contained here in NY. The Special Education department says reading and math remediation takes place in the self contained class. I happen to know that two of his classmates get pull outs for Orton Gillingham reading 5 x out of 10 days for 40 minutes each. My son's biggest reading problems are comprehension, vocabulary and fluency. He can read the words but had very little idea what he is reading. Is OG right for him? Should I fight for it?

My child has been passed along through each grade with huge learning gaps in reading comprehension, fluency and vocabulary. He also still counts on his fingers to do basic math so they added 'may use a calculator to his IEP'. I WOULD LOVE to see him close some of these gaps over the summer. I am drawn to all the ads on FB. "Gain 1 school year of progress this summer." Etc. Has anyone found one of these programs to actually work? They are so expensive. I can't afford to invest if they are frauds. Is there anyway the school district will help pay for them? CSE MEETING tomorrow (Tuesday) ugh!

I've been an educational advocate in SW PA for years. I don't recall this being something I've seen anywhere. My best guess is this doesn't exist. You might be able to find a 1:1 SAT tutor who can do this. My thought is (1) there are dozens of different accommodations and (2) students who need accommodations will often not go to college so it's not very feasible to offer a class. My child had 100% extra time from the College Board. Our plan was for them to take the SAT & see how things went. If they needed a prep class, we'd go with the one the local PTA sponsored because it has a good reputation. I hadn't thought about the fact that there wouldn't be extra time with a practice test. BTW, with a class size of ~275, my child was the only person who took the SAT w/ extra time when they took the test. They did it at school over 2 days and they missed classes.

Hi! My 10th grader has accommodations approved by the college board for 100% extra time and screen reader. I wanted to enroll her in an SAT prep class but then realized that most of the classes start by taking practice tests. These test during the class would not allow for these accommodations. Some will allow her to come early or take the practice test at home the night before but don't have the screen read function. Does anyone know of a test prep class that specializes in working with students who have approved accommodations? We are in PA the suburbs of Philadelphia. Would love any guidance anyone can offer. Also wondering between the ACT and SAT what has been your experience with your child? Is one proven better for certain learning disabilities or strengths? Thank you.

I'll check into how and when accommodations are being implemented. I hear you that filing a State complaint can change things with the school IEP team.