Can an on-grade level kid with a SLD get an IEP and special ed instruction?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Rowley is no longer good law. Read Endrew.

What is Rowley? The above is verbatim from the IDEA https://sites.ed.gov/idea/regs/b/b/300.101/c/1

[Anonymous]

So how are we defining “ accessing the curriculum”

[Anonymous]

If a child’s decoding, fluency and I’ll assume comprehension are 1st grade level and they are in 3rd, are they able to access a third grade curriculum? I’m interested in learning how this is determined in school systems.

[Anonymous]

a few things.
School testing: Make sure they are doing the rest set of tests for dyslexia including a spelling test.
Schools can say they are grade level when they aren't. We had this happen when we switched public schools. They were "on grade level" at one and "two grade levels behind" within the same system (aps).
Yes, have school do OG if possible and remediate as much as you and she can afford. No kidding. You don't want to hear this but you have to.

When I was in this situation I pulled the standards from the VA website and clearly illustrated that my kid couldn't do things like spell or write.

https://vdoe.prod.govaccess.org/home/showdocument?id=34934&t=638054100935809852

Read the list. What can't your kid do? Can you prove it with a work sample? Bingo. IEP with SpEd for dysleixa or whatever they are calling it today.

[Anonymous]

Also, fun fact, by 4th your kid should know math facts and not knowing them = low processing speed = a feature of dyslexia. If that comes to be true, IEP SpEd with a goal for math facts. They'll give you reflex. ALso ask for a goal about word problems.

If you have goals, you need an IEP. Good luck and God speed.

[Anonymous]

Here is the quoted FAPE law about good grades and IEPs
“ §300.101(c)(1): FAPE [must be] available to any individual child with a disability who needs
special education and related services, even though the child has not failed or been retained in a course or grade, and is advancing from grade to grade.”

Also case law Endrew F v. Douglas states:
A school must offer an IEP that is reasonably calculated to enable a child to make progress appropriate in light of the child’s circumstances Educational opportunities should be appropriately ambitious.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Here is the quoted FAPE law about good grades and IEPs
“ §300.101(c)(1): FAPE [must be] available to any individual child with a disability who needs
special education and related services, even though the child has not failed or been retained in a course or grade, and is advancing from grade to grade.”

Also case law Endrew F v. Douglas states:
A school must offer an IEP that is reasonably calculated to enable a child to make progress appropriate in light of the child’s circumstances Educational opportunities should be appropriately ambitious.

Yaaassss. Thank you PP. Parents should have the facts so they can counter school gaslighting!

[Anonymous]

Here's what IDEA requires to qualify for special education via an IEP:
1. A disability
2. An educational impact (what's your evidence that low reading fluency is having an impact if her grades are good?)
3. The need for specialized instruction.

So, a disability is not enough, OP. It is possible to have low reading fluency, but good decoding and good comprehension, especially in a child who is bright. Also, there are other factors that affect reading fluency measures like performance anxiety, attention, motor speech patterns, etc. The main outcome of importance when consider access to the curriculum is reading comprehension which is the goal of decoding and fluency.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It can't hurt to request an eval through the school. The key question is if her decoding/fluency challenges are preventing her from accessing the gen ed curriculum. Being below grade level in a specific area is not the same as not being able to access the curriculum (but it could be!).

You say you are confused because you see the comments of others - but those are all based on your description of your daughter as being on/above grade level but also at a 1st grade level for reading. Which is it?

She’s actually not first grade level for “reading”. Per the neuropsych testing, she’s first grade level for the specific orthographic areas that were tested (orthographic fluency, orthographic choice) and also for oral reading. And same for reading speed (1st grade level and 5th percentile). In the neuropsych testing she was 5th grade for decoding, 4th grade level for word reading, and 8th grade for phonemic awareness. That all squares away with what we had observed. For school, they consider her on grade level for reading (which is maybe what the combo of all of that above translates into).

She was 3rd grade level (so on grade) for spelling and writing, but I wonder if she may fall behind for that as she gets older.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If a child’s decoding, fluency and I’ll assume comprehension are 1st grade level and they are in 3rd, are they able to access a third grade curriculum? I’m interested in learning how this is determined in school systems.

Sorry everyone, OP here, I realize I left out that she has surface/orthographic dyslexia (not so common). Her decoding/phonemic awareness are strong, but her orthographic areas were incredibly weak. And the result is poor reading speed and poor fluency/automaticity. Those pieces are on the 1st grade level. And you can imagine the impact of that. She reported she was the slowest reader in her class, and the neuropsych testing says yep she was right (5th percentile).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:a few things.
School testing: Make sure they are doing the rest set of tests for dyslexia including a spelling test.
Schools can say they are grade level when they aren't. We had this happen when we switched public schools. They were "on grade level" at one and "two grade levels behind" within the same system (aps).
Yes, have school do OG if possible and remediate as much as you and she can afford. No kidding. You don't want to hear this but you have to.

When I was in this situation I pulled the standards from the VA website and clearly illustrated that my kid couldn't do things like spell or write.

https://vdoe.prod.govaccess.org/home/showdocument?id=34934&t=638054100935809852

Read the list. What can't your kid do? Can you prove it with a work sample? Bingo. IEP with SpEd for dysleixa or whatever they are calling it today.

Of all of that, she can’t read with fluency (and maybe with meaningful expression). I believe she can do the rest.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Here is the quoted FAPE law about good grades and IEPs
“ §300.101(c)(1): FAPE [must be] available to any individual child with a disability who needs
special education and related services, even though the child has not failed or been retained in a course or grade, and is advancing from grade to grade.”

Also case law Endrew F v. Douglas states:
A school must offer an IEP that is reasonably calculated to enable a child to make progress appropriate in light of the child’s circumstances Educational opportunities should be appropriately ambitious.

OP here. I just read the Endrew case and did not think it offered great support for the proposition that more than keeping a kid on grade level and advancing from grade to grade was required. It said in most cases, and where the kid is in the general education program, that is what is required. It did leave open the idea that in rare cases, more might be required when meeting the obligation to have the IEP tailored to the child’s specific circumstances.

I’ll have to read Rowley to see if it is better. Not sure it was entirely overruled. Endrew seemed to hold that for a kid that cannot meet grade level and be in the general education program, then you’ve got to tailor a plan so that the child is making as much progress as possible.

Side note that I’ve read everyone’s comments carefully and really appreciate everything shared. It’s clear I need to prioritize the tutor and 504 accommodations, and place my energies there primarily. Also clear, and I knew this, that when we get to middle school, it could be a game changer. My thought is to get some “practice” using the accommodations and set things up as best we can to otherwise be ready when things escalate (more homework, way more reading in class and at home, faster pace and less personalized experience with multiple teachers vs. one, etc.). Anyway, thanks so much everyone!

[Anonymous]

OP, what did the testing find regarding working memory, processing speed, and attention?

[Anonymous]

OP, what prompted you to get this testing done? What specific reading assessments were administered? Tell me more about the orthographic testing. Does your child have any anxiety?

[Anonymous]

What is an SLD?