Carolyn Rowlett

If he struggles with tests due to his disabilities and there are no supports in place to put him on an equal playing field with his peers, it would be discrimination. But I wouldn't recommend using that word right off the bat. I would ask for an IEP meeting to discuss (expedited - waive the 10 day notice requirement - due to the short basketball season) his accommodations and what needs to be put in place to help him with tests. If they refuse to or cannot convene a meeting in time, send an email to the IEP team (maybe copy director of spec ed) expressing your concern and the need to support your son as soon as possible. Suggest additional accommodations such as extended time, redirects, the ability to retake, take in non-distracting environment, etc. And stress that until these supports are put in place for his disabilities, he should not be punished (discriminated against) for failing tests.

Be prepared that they're going to talk in circles about the "one-on-one." They will argue that she has one-on-one support, and that's what they mean when it's mentioned in the goals. However, goals require INSTRUCTION and speak to INSTRUCTION, so don't let them talk their way out of that. Your order of operations looks pretty good. Not sure what you mean by "dismantle" the PWN, but I assume writing on it regarding with what you disagree. Also, I don't think they'll agree to your approach to "starting from scratch" regarding the IEP, especially if you don't have an advocate. A couple of other options are: 1. Request a facilitated IEP meeting if your state provides those. 2. Call your state department of education to see if they have any recommendations in this scenario and/or low-cost advocate referrals. 3. File a state complaint to get compensatory minutes for the one-on-one instruction she did not receive. (However, state complaints are tough to win because the state will bend over backwards to side with or accept the interpretation of the school district. So sometimes it's best NOT to get a formal answer, because then you're stuck with it. Mediation might prove more beneficial.) The reading scores are troublesome. She is "very low" in basic reading and and phonological processing, and "extremely low" in phonemic proficiency. She needs a basic reading goal! If these underlying foundational skills are not mastered, she will struggle even more in later grades. They only have a goal for reading comprehension and although this is a "higher level" skill and the assumption is often made that this means the lower level skills have already been mastered, students with learning differences often score higher in this area than in the phonological processing because they have memorized a lot of words and can figure out meanings and inferences from context. You need to make sure they go back and get the foundational skills mastered.

I'm a little confused about the math instruction. You call it Tier-3 math support in gen ed. This is NOT specialized instruction. Tier-3 is provided to gen ed students who qualify. Specialized instruction is provided to students who qualify for an IEP. It is a higher level of service/instruction. The IEP states that she is receiving the math instruction outside of the gen ed classroom with the spec ed teacher. If this is not occurring, you need to hold them to the IEP document. It is unbelievable and unacceptable that she has no minutes in the special education setting for all of her other deficits. As for the goals, they are also confusing (and very BAD, in my opinion). The math goal states she is to receive "one-on-one instruction with special education staff," yet the service is listed as "small group." As for reading, she only has a goal for comprehension, which is also supposed to be "one-on-one with special education staff," yet there are no one-on-one services minutes listed. They may be counting the co-taught minutes in the Language Arts class, but this is NOT one-on-one instruction. It's one-on-one SUPPORT. She needs instruction. Even though she only has a goal for reading comprehension, my guess is she is also low in both basic reading and reading fluency. Unfortunately, you don't show any data on these subcategories - only reading comprehension. I would ask for data on these very important underlying skills. Basic reading would include phonemic awareness and phonics. With the qualification that I haven't been in any meetings or reviewed any documents in full, this appears to be a very inadequate IEP.

I'm sorry the meeting did not go well. I would strongly urge you to bring an advocate to your next meeting. (I can't remember what state you're in, but advocates can attend IEP meetings virtually from anywhere in the country. If you cannot afford one, I would ask your state department of education for information on low-cost or pro bono advocacy services.) In lieu of or in addition to getting an advocate, I would request a mediation. Before addressing your draft, some questions. I'm confused as to what special education instruction and minutes she is receiving in the special education setting for reading, math, and written expression. The school stated they have no "Tier 3 ELA Classroom." You're spot on when you state lack of a program, etc., is not a reason to deny services needed. However, your daughter needs specialized instruction in the spec ed classroom, not Tier 3 interventions - she's way too far behind in reading for that. The school offered Math180 and Reading180 classes in the gen ed setting, but what is she receiving in terms of specialized instruction in the spec ed setting, which is what she actually needs?!? Speaking of special education minutes, those minutes are more important than what is considered by i-Ready to be a lesson and that's what you look to for enforcement of the IEP. How many minutes does the IEP state are to be spent on specialized instruction in reading? If she is not getting those full minutes (regardless of what instruction they use), it is a violation of the IEP (and something for which a state complaint could be filed). [Another thing you could ask for is a log of minutes for all specialized instruction received in the spec ed room over the course of the IEP year. Then match that up with what the IEP requires.] I personally don't like i-Ready as a form of instruction. I assume it's online and no one is with her as she completes the lessons? She needs individualized, intensive instruction, which i-Ready cannot provide. Now to address your draft. Here are my suggested revisions/additions: 1. CONCERNS NOT RESOLVED. For their "IQ score does not fall within the range required for modified curriculum" argument, ask them to show you where this is stated in school policy, state law, or federal law. And how being in the first percentile for IQ doesn't meet this criteria?? 2. FORMAL REQUESTS. Regarding your request for progress monitoring, I would ask for all raw data collection and screeners/assessments used to monitor progress. But I think the best way to handle this is to make sure the goals are written that she is to achieve them independently without accommodations or support. Regarding the i-Ready math data, again, I would not focus on i-Ready specifically, but rather what the IEP (goals) states. If she has goals for all the deficits you list above, she has to meet those regardless of whether a particular instruction allows her to "move on." If she doesn't have these as goals, ask that they be added. Lastly, regarding your request for a copy of this email to be placed inside the IEP, I would ask that a copy be placed in your daughter's educational file. With respect to the IEP, I would review what is currently in the "parent concerns" section and ask that to be replaced with something you draft that is similar to the email, but does not include requests for documents, etc., that would not be appropriate for a "parents concerns" statement.

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.

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.

I don't know much about PA, but doesn't the district have a procedure in place for reporting bullying anonymously? Why does he have to tell the gen ed teachers? Does the district have a school board policy on bullying and what does it say and are they following it? I would suggest sending the school district a Gebser letter officially informing them of the bullying. See below from Lisa's website for info on Gebser letters and other tips for dealing with bullying: https://adayinourshoes.com/bullying-school-stop-bullying-happening/ As for placement, why is it not the correct placement? What placement do you want? You need to have data for a change in placement. Is he not making sufficient progress on his IEP goals? Can he not access the curriculum in the gen ed setting? If not, why not? The school district will probably want to try supports before a change in placement. Unfortunately, you're "not in California anymore, Dorothy." Welcome to the Rust Belt.

1. It really doesn't matter what the "mindset" was when the goals were created. It she is not making sufficient progress on them, something needs to change. Period. And that change can certainly be modifications or change in placement. 3. Try to reason with the team that at some point they are going to have to teach her time, money, etc. skills, as part of the transition process to post-secondary life, so why not start now? It's ridiculous that they can't "go back" and teach skills that were never acquired. If I child with dyslexia never learned how to read and is in 6th grade, the school would have to go back to teach 1st grade skills such as phonological awareness and phonics. (I would definitely ask your state department of education about this statement.) Also, modifying the curriculum does not equal "move out of gen ed." Should she have a lot of pull out minutes? Yes, absolutely. But she can still have access to gen ed students by way of lunch, recess, specials, , classroom parties, etc. You can't use "social needs" as an excuse not to provide FAPE. This school just doesn't want to deal with her. Another thing to keep in mind that I forgot to mention in my first reply. As soon as it is available, move her to a "life skills" math class (which may just mean having all math minutes in the spec ed room and none in gen ed). She will never be able to keep up with grade level math - nor does she need to; all she needs are "life skills," which honestly are all most people ever need in terms of math. Don't let her sit in a class in which she is not comprehending. It's SUCH a waste of time. She could be learning things like money value and time, which ARE worth spending time on.

Wow. Sounds like you have your ducks in a row, but the school refused to look at the ducks. One question: If you homeschooled for 5 years, how long has she been in the public school system? Around 2 years? Given that you seem to have the data, here are my suggestions: 1. When you state "lack of meaningful progress" are you talking about IEP goals or gen ed? If you can point to lack of progress on IEP goals, that is an argument for change - placement, modifications, etc. (Of course, IEP goals can speak to gen ed progress, such as reading level, but having them in the IEP is best for enforcement of change.) 2. Is the director of special education involved yet? A lot of times just going up the chain of command will get things addressed. Send an email to him/her with all background information. "Up the chain of command" could mean going all the way to the superintendent and school board. 3. When are post-secondary transition services required (or allowed - sometimes the requirement is 16, but can start as young as 14) in your state? I would calendar to request a transition evaluation as soon as you can. That will help to point out all the ways in which she is not prepared for post-secondary life. If the school does an insufficient one, request an IEE. 4. Reach out to your state department of education (special education division) to see if they have any suggestions. Also ask when you can request a transition evaluation. Finally, see if they can refer you to any agencies who do pro bono advocacy. 5. If your state offers mediation or facilitated IEP meetings, request one or both of those. 6. If you can afford one, if the school district keeps dragging their feet, you may need to hire an advocate and/or attorney to force this issue by filing a due process complaint. Sometimes just the filing brings the school to the table with more flexibility.

Let's initially assume you have no choice but to go with their 29 miles away contractor. First, the school district is responsible for transportation - not the parents. If they have to pay for a cab or an Uber, so be it. (Not sure how old the student is - they might also have to provide an adult to go with the student.) Second, when are they proposing that you take the student? Services should be provided, to the extent possible, during the school day. But in this scenario, the student could be missing up to 3 hours of instruction time - 2 hours of travel time and 1 hour of therapy. On the other hand, requiring the student to spend three hours of their own time attending therapy is unreasonable, as well, considering there is a viable option that doesn't require the drive time. Which leads me to the argument that you SHOULD have another choice based on the above conundrum of either missing instruction or having to do outside of school hours, as well as the fact that one hour away is not the LRE when there are closer providers available. Services should be provided as close to the home school as possible. The problem will be getting the school district to agree to this short of filing for due process (which I do think you would win, but could be very cumbersome). Here is what I suggest: 1. Even though LRE is a substantive issue and not procedural and therefore not appropriate for a state complaint, I would still call your state department of education, special education division, and ask for their advice on this situation. 2. Who are you dealing with at the school? It might be time to go up the chain of command and get the special education director involved. Maybe he/she will understand LRE better than who you have been working with and try to get the school board to contract with a local provider. If not, send an email to the school board members and the superintendent outlining your (student need therapy, should not be forced to miss 3 hours of school) and the school district's (not providing FAPE or LRE) predicaments and asking for the simple solution of contracting with a local provider. 3. Request a mediation on this issue. 4. Get an attorney (there might be some agencies with the state that could do this, also) involved to write a letter and/or file for due process. 5. If all else fails or is not doable, file for due process yourself. The school might just back down before it even gets to due process. But if not, speak with an advocate (again, you might be able to find some state agency that provides these free of charge) to walk you through the process and highlight the arguments you need to make. It's just one issue, so shouldn't be too difficult. Plus, seems like a slam dunk to me, but I'm not familiar with how ALJ's rule in California. 6. If after all this you find yourself left with only the 29 miles away option, stick to your guns on the transportation issue - the school district must provide this OR reimburse you for mileage and time spent driving.

Has he been found eligible in autism only? Any other categories of eligibility, such as anxiety or SLD? Based on the information provided in your post (not knowing if other disabilities are relevant - it's doubtful that "below average" scores in math, writing, and reading would be enough for eligibility), it sounds like any accommodation for providing below grade level material and a slower pace will need to be tied to his autism. So focus on that. Point out that the faster pace and above his level instruction it too much for him to be able to access FAPE because he shuts down, starts having behavioral issues, and therefore is missing instruction and learning. If the school "isn't seeing this," ask the aide/teacher to start documenting when this occurs. If they refuse, you may need to ask for an FBA if all else fails. One question: Why isn't the 1:1 aide taking care of this issue? Seems like this could at least partially be addressed this way.

You could try the COPAA website. There is also "Yellow Pages for Kids" on the Wright's Law website (unfortunately, that site is not updated very often and even deceased advocates could be on there). If no one responds and you can't find anyone, I give a free hour consultation and might be able to at least point him in the right direction (816-547-5467). Or you could post on here with more facts such as what evaluations have been done, what disabilities does the student have, what are the goals in his IEP, what data is there to warrant private placement (behavior is still affecting his or other students' right to FAPE after accommodations have been implemented with fidelity, etc.), has an FBA been done and is a BIP in place? It is being followed? He will have to show things have been tried and nothing in the current environment is working. He will also have to show that his son is being denied access to his education without this placement.

I will preface this with the fact that I am not in Pennsylvania (although in general, my expertise is dyslexia), but I know of many others on this site who are in PA and may have better info. However, I did some cursory research and here are my responses based on my limited knowledge of PA law and my knowledge of special education law in general: 1. It appears that it the current law in PA requires school district to provide parents the results of literacy screenings, but I would assume it was at least the expectation 6 or 7 years ago. Those early results would be helpful in making a "child find" complaint and arguing something should have been done years ago. If the deficits in phonemic and phonological awareness and decoding are, as you state, still there, has he been given a special education evaluation in the area of academics? If so, what were the reasons for denying eligibility? If not, I would request one so that you have clear evidence of this gap in underlying skills which would hopefully lead to eligibility in reading (and perhaps writing) and the receipt of specialized instruction. 2. If he was being progress monitored, that means he was in tiered intervention, correct? If so, yes, you should have received the results of his progress monitoring pursuant to any interventions he was in. 3. If you are referring to "old" data from 1st and 2nd grade, this data is good for making a complaint that the school district violated "child find" (see #1 above). It is also data, as you point out, that he has had a history of reading struggles. However, you may need some recent data to get an evaluation. If they are denying your request for an evaluation in the area of academics, could you ask them to do a brief screener in phonological awareness and phonics to see if deficits show up in underlying skills that would warrant an evaluation? That's a reasonable request and it's easy to do. If they won't, could your pediatrician do one? Another option is to request an IEE because the school district didn't evaluate in all areas of suspected disabilities during the last evaluation. This could prompt them to do their own.

I have a few questions. If you have had 3 school evaluations/re-evaluations that included the WIAT and KTEA, these must have been in response to a request for a special education evaluation, correct? If so, did the school district hold a Review of Existing Data meeting prior to your consent to the evaluations? Once the evaluations were complete, did the school district hold an evaluation/eligibility meeting to go over the results and did you receive a copy of the final evaluation after the meeting with a PWN stating that your son was denied eligibility? This is all required (although sometimes school districts get by with reviewing existing data without a meeting, but you should have received a document entitled Review of Existing Data that showed what areas the school district determined needed additional data). The reason I ask these questions is because the evaluation/eligibility meeting should have been the time to have your questions answered and show you any of your son's answers you were curious about. The school district has 60 days from the time you consented to the evaluation to hold this meeting. And an Evaluation Report should have been provided to you with a detailed summary of the report (minus test protocols). You should not have had to do a FERPA request. The federal law I would be holding them to is not the law surrounding FERPA but rather the law surrounding special education evaluations. To answer your questions: 1. The school may be being difficult, but if they are allowing you one hour to review and another time if an hour is not enough, there is nothing in the law you can point to to make them do more than that. They're not really limiting your time as much as they are (supposedly, but you can't prove otherwise) working around schedules and breaking up your time into two or more sessions. 2. As stated above, I would be looking at this through special education law rather than FERPA. They should have held an eligibility meeting within 60 days of the evaluation with the school psychologist present to answer all your questions (so another 45 days for FERPA wouldn't apply), and there is no requirement that they receive your questions ahead of time. 3. When you have the eligibility meeting (long overdue, so reach out soon about this), yes, you could take a magnifying glass. A better option (and one that would maybe make them provide materials in a readable format) would be to have the school psychologist tell you during the meeting what each protocol says that you can't read. Bottom line: You are entitled to see all protocols at the eligibility meeting. You do not have to delineate which ones and which ones you have trouble reading. You also do not have to provide questions ahead of time. There will be questions that come up as the evaluation is explained to you during the meeting, which is one of the main reasons for having the meeting - the evaluation is explained to you, then you ask questions based on that explanation. How would you know what questions to ask until you receive the (legally required) explanation of the evaluation?

Regarding your first paragraph, goals should not include accommodations for the skills you are working to master. The accommodations are for the general education setting to allow the student to access FAPE while the student is mastering the skill in the special education setting. The goal should be written and measured without accommodations. However, if every student is allowed the accommodations, the school district might push back. In that case, I would suggest looking at your state standards (on your department of education website) to see if he has met them and use that argument. Also, why was the goal to address writing without using autocorrect agreed to but never added? Did you send an email? What was the response? You may need to go up the chain up command to address this (director of special education). If they still refuse, ask for a PWN on that since it was agreed to in a team meeting but never added. Regarding your second paragraph, you need to get any accommodations he is using or needs (autocorrect) documented in the IEP. Unless, as I state above, every student is allowed access to them (in that case, they are not accommodations and do not need to be put in the IEP). Also regarding second paragraph... Is he only receiving specialized instruction for written expression? In other words, he was not found eligible in reading? If phonemic awareness and segmenting are still deficits in 8th grade, it sounds like he could be found eligible - especially if your state allows the discrepancy method and he has a high IQ. Depending on when the last evaluation was done, I would request an academic evaluation that delves down into those subtests, because you are correct: A highly intelligent student with dyslexia or dyslexic tendencies is going to appear "okay" due to his abilities to memorize and figure out words from context. But it will eventually catch up with him in the higher grades when he encounters words and subjects he has never come across before. What state are you in and does your state have any dyslexia screening requirements/laws? It might behoove you to obtain a dyslexia diagnosis to help with the accommodations needed for Spanish. With respect to the Spanish class issue, it is highly recommended that students with dyslexia do not take a foreign language - if you are dyslexia in English, you are dyslexic in all languages. (That accommodation would likely require an outside diagnosis.) I understand that sometimes these students want to try and do enjoy foreign language classes, but it is something to think about in terms of taking another one if you are unsuccessful in obtaining needed accommodations. When the school says something like "in general, spelling SDIs are not applied in Spanish...," ask where it says that. I don't like the "addressed on a case-by-case basis" for the extended writing assignments. You need something specific in the IEP such as "if writing requires two or more sentences, student is allowed the accommodation of xyz." To answer (or try to) your questions: 1. I completely agree with you questioning their logic. Spelling (especially for students with dyslexia) is an integral part of learning how to READ the English language, among other things. Regardless, I would make them show you (not just a statement "in general, spelling SDIs are not applied in Spanish") what they are basing this distinction on. 2. There can be reasons why certain accommodations should not apply in certain classes. However, as I state above, I would make them show you why Spanish class should be treated differently. Remember, when you are making your arguments, attach them to the standard of being able to "access the educational environment" to show a need for accommodations. If his disability of dysgraphia puts him on an uneven playing field with his peers, he need accommodations for this - even in Spanish. 3. I am not very familiar with what accommodations students usually have for foreign languages because I advise my clients not to have their student take these classes. But my thought is that it should be the same as they have for English class - again, if you are dyslexia (or have dysgraphia) in English, you have it in all languages. Similar to if you need a wheelchair to access school in America, you need one to access school in Spain. The disability doesn't go away based on location or language. One accommodation I would suggest is alternative ways to show he understands what word should be used besides spelling it correctly - oral responses, etc., that show he understands the meaning of the word even if he spells it incorrectly. 4. Yes, based on what I have stated above in terms of the disability being present regardless of language, class, etc. If the school does not appear supportive, ask for a re-evaluation in the area of academics (you are entitled to one every year). If you don't agree with the school eval, then request an IEE.