Middle school Articulation meeting-trying to strip my child's IEP goals and pull outs

[stone]

We had our middle school articulation meeting as my child (ADHD & 2e, with poor executive function) is going into middle school next year. They said they will keep all my child's accommodations, but not the pull outs because the school "doesn't do that".  Is this legal? She has not met her most of her IEP goals. And has definitely the goals for spelling and executive function. She gets pulled out for spelling using Wilsons. Yet her spelling is below grade level and she can not write a 3 sentence paragraph independently on her own. I pointed out her spelling issues and they just replied they don't grade spelling in middle school, so it is not an issue. I disagreed and said that doesn't matter, she is not at grade level and can't write an essay on her own. They just repeat that they "don't do that" in middle school. What can I do to get her pull outs in middle school? Or do I need to advocate they pay for tutoring for spelling and writing skills? Or is there something else I can ask for here in CA? They don't offer up solutions.

[Carolyn Rowlett]

Many school districts want to stop pull out minutes in middle and high school.  Sometimes it is for good reasons, such as the student know longer wants to be seen by their peers as being pulled out for special education.  Sometimes it's for "bad" reasons such as they don't want to utilize resources for pull out minutes in middle and high school (not a valid reason if the student still needs pull out minutes).  But they usually at least offer "push in" minutes.  Did they do that here?  At a minimum, I would ask for those instead of just jumping from push in instruction to nothing, especially if she is not on grade level for writing.  If the data justifies it, ask for push in minutes to get help with writing.  This is not necessarily obvious to the rest of the class, as the person is often helping other students, as well.

Having said that, if the need is there for pull out minutes, you can definitely fight for that.  "We don't do that" is not a valid reason.  But you do need data.  It sounds like your daughter only has a goal for spelling within the "specialized instruction for writing" category.  This is a tough one to keep as it's not a well defined sub-category of written expression.  So you will have to show a need.  Does she spell well enough for spell check to know what she's trying to spell and does she have this accommodation?  If so, that may be all you can get.  However, if she is so poor at spelling that the accommodation is useless OR the teacher cannot understand what she is trying to say in a sentence/paragraph/essay, that is an argument for a spelling goal. due to her spelling deficit affecting her ability to access FAPE.  Moving forward make sure to have all written work sent home so that you can see her output and start collecting data to make your argument.

But it sounds like your daughter needs more than a spelling goal if she cannot write a 3 sentence paragraph on her own (start collecting the data on this, as well).  To get that you will need to ask for an evaluation in the area of academics, specifically, written expression.  If the evaluation comes back with low enough scores to find eligibility in written expression, there's the data you need to either get pull out or push in minutes.  If they still refuse, ask for an IEE.

Finally, is there any concern about dyslexia or dyslexic tendencies here?  With her being 2e, she may very well have been masking this throughout elementary school (by memorizing and figuring out words from context) and may present as reading on grade level.  If you have any concerns at all about this, also ask for an evaluation in the area of reading.  Make sure they do subtests that dig into phonological awareness and phonics (the very basics of reading foundation) because that's where these type of students usually slip through the cracks.  But not having the foundational skills in place usually catches up with them at some point.

[JSD24]

If they are ending IEP supports, they need to be doing a reevaluation showing there is no longer a need for these services.  And if you don't agree with the school's eval because you feel a student in MS should be able to write a paragraph w/o help, you can ask for an IEE at school expense.  Also, if this MS doesn't have what your child needs, your school can pay for another school that does provide what's needed.  This is the right option if they don't have what's needed.

This happens a lot:  https://adayinourshoes.com/what-to-do-when-school-says-we-dont-do-that-here/

Gifted students like yours do tend to mask their disability.  This could be why the teacher isn't seeing the need.  IEP evals are normed and should be able to detect if a student is masking...which is why you end IEPs with an eval and not a progress report showing there is no longer a need for services.

[stone]

Hi Carolyn,

 

Thank you for your insight and help.

It wasn't clear if they were offering "push-in minutes"., but I can ask for that now that I know the term. They said she would be placed in something called "Co-lab" which has a general education teacher + a special education teacher who would help if needed. I don't know how many kids would be in the class and how many would be assigned to the special educaiton teacher in the class either. I emailed them asking for the info and they want to do a phone call instead. I wish they would just answer my questions in writing via email.
My child is horrible at asking for help in class (I suspect she doesn't want others to see she needs help and seen as weak possibly). She has ADHD, so she needs an adult to keep her on task and to help her start boring tasks. I have to sit next to her and keep her on task and direct her a lot at home to help catch her up on her in-class school work that she did not finish in class, + the homework that needs to be completed at home. Her written expression is extremely low on the state testing. In class, her in class school work is barely done. Her IEP has goals for starting a writing task, sustaining a writing task, Wilson's pull out for spelling, and has pull out for written expression with goal to write a short paragraph. She has trouble memorizing phonics and blending sounds when reading as she has a poor working memory for these, but has no problem memorizing facts about her favorite tv shows.  Maybe they can give push or pull in/out  minutes and typing class? She does not like using speech to text in school as I suspect it makes her stand out and makes others aware she can not type well. At home she if comfortable using speech to text, but it doesn't always understand her or work well (not sure which is the issue). 

[Carolyn Rowlett]

Co-lab is probably the same thing, EXCEPT make sure that you get the push-in minutes defined as to how many and in what classes and that they are documented in the IEP.

As far as phone calls, yes, it's very difficult to get a school district to only converse by way of email.  The solution to that is to take good notes during the phone call (you can ask them to slow down or repeat something if you're having trouble keeping up with your note-taking).  Then send the important parts (what was agreed to, what was denied, etc.) of the discussion in an email to whoever you spoke with stating "this is what I took away from our conversation" or something to that effect.  Another option is to request another IEP meeting.  Then you can get whatever was agreed to or denied in a PWN.  Did you receive a PWN after this most recent meeting stating they are taking away all her instructional minutes?  JSD is correct that they must evaluate to show she no longer has this need - if she didn't meet her goals, I don't know how they can argue that.

If she cannot yet advocate for herself, the accommodations should not be on her.  For instance, they should read that the teacher will check it to make sure she is on task, understands the assignment, etc.  Ideally, she should have a goal for self-advocacy, especially since she has documented poor executive functioning, 

They definitely need to keep minutes in some form whether that be push-in or pull-out.

As far as typing, that is no longer taught in most school districts (which is weird given everyone needs to have that skill).  You will need to enroll her in an online course (or two) for that.  Because you are correct, she needs to learn that skill.

If it has been a year since her last evaluation, you need to request one and make sure it is done in all areas with which you are concerned.  After that, you can request an IEE if the school district is still not doing the right thing.