Weinfeld Education Group?

[Anonymous]

Has anyone worked with an advocate from Weinfeld Education Group about IEP/504 issues? If so, can you share ballpark costs and your experience?

[Anonymous]

Rich Weinfeld came with me to IEP meetings. He was able to be so calm. But, it wasn’t cheap - definitely more than $1000 because of the document review, meeting time and travel time. But, it meant being able to get/keep an IEP, so worth it.

TBH, he didn’t say anything I wasn’t saying at the meetings (I am a lawyer), but when I said it, it was unreliable emotional talk from a helicopter mom who couldn’t handle that her child wasn’t brilliant. When the same words came out of his mouth, they listened to him. It was infuriating really - which was not his fault at all. Just a combination of institutional sexism and his professional educational credentials.

After many years and a lot of $$$, I learned to do a lot of the work on my own by watching what he was doing in our meetings and reading up on the law.

Worth it.

[Anonymous]

We used Rich Weinfeld and had a different experience from the above poster. He was very passive and contributed little to meetings. We also had him do classroom observations which was ok but his rates are outrageous so if I had to do it again, I would get someone else less expensive.

I am also a lawyer and I learned more from our developmental pediatrician, Dr Dan Shapiro, and later neuropsychologist, David Black, who also attended DS’s IEP meetings. I was most impressed with Dr Black and so was our school.

Rich was not worth the money for us.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks, this is helpful. We had our IEP eligibility meeting today and the school determined that my son is ineligible, which is astounding. They will only do a 504. He has significant dyslexia (and ADHD). We had a through neuropsych report done in advance.

Now I realize we should have had an advocate at *this* meeting but there’s no turning back the clock, just moving forward.

[Anonymous]

I believe you can appeal. Go see Brian Gruber.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks, this is helpful. We had our IEP eligibility meeting today and the school determined that my son is ineligible, which is astounding. They will only do a 504. He has significant dyslexia (and ADHD). We had a through neuropsych report done in advance.

Now I realize we should have had an advocate at *this* meeting but there’s no turning back the clock, just moving forward.

You can still save this…. A few questions…..

What age is your DC?

Did you tape the meeting?

Did they give you a reason in writing why your DS did not get an IEP? This is called “prior written notice”. PWN is more than a booklet that they give to you explaining your options should you disagree with the decision. They must give you specific written explanation why they declined to evaluate or find eligible or they are ”out of compliance”. Check and see on your IEP paperwork what they checked as yes and no answers to questions on the form.

Some times teams decline IEPs because:

1) it is too early in the year and the teachers don’t know your kid well enough to say anything on the teacher reports that illustrates the 2nd prong of the IEP test - adverse educational impact and the parents haven’t brought any written evidence of adverse impact. This is lame but not technically illegal.

2) Sometimes teams (inappropriately) look at grades and say if a student is not failing then there is “no educational impact”. This is not legally correct. A student can be passing from grade to grade (even getting As and Bs) and still qualify for an IEP. There can be other evidence of adverse impact.

3) Sometimes the team (inappropriately) looks at the private neuropsychology and tries to say that because the student has a high IQ and isn’t in the “below average” achievement range (on reading, let’s say), that the student doesn’t qualify or because an overall average index is average even though the sub-indices are significantly different. These are qualification approaches that are not in compliance with the law. High IQ students can qualify for an IEP, and often do so on the “strengths and weaknesses” model - meaning they have areas of strength and significantly discrepancy areas of weakness. Look for differences of 1 and a half standard deviations or more between subscores (3 points on the two digit scale and 22 points on the 3 digit scale). For example - a student with a reading accuracy score in reading of 16 (98th percentile) but a reading rate score of 11 has a 5 point discrepancy which demonstably qualifies that student for an IEP if other prongs are met.

4) another common problem is that the parents do not ask for special instruction - just accommodation. If no special instruction is needed then the student doesn’t meet the third prong of the IEP test and a 504 plan may be offered instead. Obviously, a student with dyslexia needs special, dyslexia appropriate reading instruction, which the school is obligated to provide if the dyslexia is having an “adverse impact”. ADHD students can also qualify for an IEP - they often need “special instruction” in how to track and turn in assignments on time, how to breakdown assignments in parts and plan to complete all parts in allotted time, etc. aDHD often typically impacts writing, although that may not be easy to see in K and first grade.

Did any of these common things happen to you? If so, there are ways to fix it. If not, feel free to share why they turned you down. I don’t want to derail this thread any further but am happy to help you figure out what to do. Maybe copy/paste this into a new thread for more help?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks, this is helpful. We had our IEP eligibility meeting today and the school determined that my son is ineligible, which is astounding. They will only do a 504. He has significant dyslexia (and ADHD). We had a through neuropsych report done in advance.

Now I realize we should have had an advocate at *this* meeting but there’s no turning back the clock, just moving forward.

What school system are you in? Our DC has dyslexia and dysgraphia- and even with tons of documentation and experts and so forth, the only course of action has been hiring a lawyer. Much of DCPS routinely just says they turn down eligibility or offer pathetic support levels which is functionally no help. Some of the officials talk a good game and the worst is some in the central office clearly know what they should be doing to support and teach kids with dyslexia but nothing has changed. We also do have a consultant from the Weinfeld Group who is part of our expensive team. But in the process of suing for private placement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks, this is helpful. We had our IEP eligibility meeting today and the school determined that my son is ineligible, which is astounding. They will only do a 504. He has significant dyslexia (and ADHD). We had a through neuropsych report done in advance.

Now I realize we should have had an advocate at *this* meeting but there’s no turning back the clock, just moving forward.

You can still save this…. A few questions…..

What age is your DC?

Did you tape the meeting?

Did they give you a reason in writing why your DS did not get an IEP? This is called “prior written notice”. PWN is more than a booklet that they give to you explaining your options should you disagree with the decision. They must give you specific written explanation why they declined to evaluate or find eligible or they are ”out of compliance”. Check and see on your IEP paperwork what they checked as yes and no answers to questions on the form.

Some times teams decline IEPs because:

1) it is too early in the year and the teachers don’t know your kid well enough to say anything on the teacher reports that illustrates the 2nd prong of the IEP test - adverse educational impact and the parents haven’t brought any written evidence of adverse impact. This is lame but not technically illegal.

2) Sometimes teams (inappropriately) look at grades and say if a student is not failing then there is “no educational impact”. This is not legally correct. A student can be passing from grade to grade (even getting As and Bs) and still qualify for an IEP. There can be other evidence of adverse impact.

3) Sometimes the team (inappropriately) looks at the private neuropsychology and tries to say that because the student has a high IQ and isn’t in the “below average” achievement range (on reading, let’s say), that the student doesn’t qualify or because an overall average index is average even though the sub-indices are significantly different. These are qualification approaches that are not in compliance with the law. High IQ students can qualify for an IEP, and often do so on the “strengths and weaknesses” model - meaning they have areas of strength and significantly discrepancy areas of weakness. Look for differences of 1 and a half standard deviations or more between subscores (3 points on the two digit scale and 22 points on the 3 digit scale). For example - a student with a reading accuracy score in reading of 16 (98th percentile) but a reading rate score of 11 has a 5 point discrepancy which demonstably qualifies that student for an IEP if other prongs are met.

4) another common problem is that the parents do not ask for special instruction - just accommodation. If no special instruction is needed then the student doesn’t meet the third prong of the IEP test and a 504 plan may be offered instead. Obviously, a student with dyslexia needs special, dyslexia appropriate reading instruction, which the school is obligated to provide if the dyslexia is having an “adverse impact”. ADHD students can also qualify for an IEP - they often need “special instruction” in how to track and turn in assignments on time, how to breakdown assignments in parts and plan to complete all parts in allotted time, etc. aDHD often typically impacts writing, although that may not be easy to see in K and first grade.

Did any of these common things happen to you? If so, there are ways to fix it. If not, feel free to share why they turned you down. I don’t want to derail this thread any further but am happy to help you figure out what to do. Maybe copy/paste this into a new thread for more help?

This is very helpful! Are you an advocate?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks, this is helpful. We had our IEP eligibility meeting today and the school determined that my son is ineligible, which is astounding. They will only do a 504. He has significant dyslexia (and ADHD). We had a through neuropsych report done in advance.

Now I realize we should have had an advocate at *this* meeting but there’s no turning back the clock, just moving forward.

You can still save this…. A few questions…..

What age is your DC?

Did you tape the meeting?

Did they give you a reason in writing why your DS did not get an IEP? This is called “prior written notice”. PWN is more than a booklet that they give to you explaining your options should you disagree with the decision. They must give you specific written explanation why they declined to evaluate or find eligible or they are ”out of compliance”. Check and see on your IEP paperwork what they checked as yes and no answers to questions on the form.

Some times teams decline IEPs because:

1) it is too early in the year and the teachers don’t know your kid well enough to say anything on the teacher reports that illustrates the 2nd prong of the IEP test - adverse educational impact and the parents haven’t brought any written evidence of adverse impact. This is lame but not technically illegal.

2) Sometimes teams (inappropriately) look at grades and say if a student is not failing then there is “no educational impact”. This is not legally correct. A student can be passing from grade to grade (even getting As and Bs) and still qualify for an IEP. There can be other evidence of adverse impact.

3) Sometimes the team (inappropriately) looks at the private neuropsychology and tries to say that because the student has a high IQ and isn’t in the “below average” achievement range (on reading, let’s say), that the student doesn’t qualify or because an overall average index is average even though the sub-indices are significantly different. These are qualification approaches that are not in compliance with the law. High IQ students can qualify for an IEP, and often do so on the “strengths and weaknesses” model - meaning they have areas of strength and significantly discrepancy areas of weakness. Look for differences of 1 and a half standard deviations or more between subscores (3 points on the two digit scale and 22 points on the 3 digit scale). For example - a student with a reading accuracy score in reading of 16 (98th percentile) but a reading rate score of 11 has a 5 point discrepancy which demonstably qualifies that student for an IEP if other prongs are met.

4) another common problem is that the parents do not ask for special instruction - just accommodation. If no special instruction is needed then the student doesn’t meet the third prong of the IEP test and a 504 plan may be offered instead. Obviously, a student with dyslexia needs special, dyslexia appropriate reading instruction, which the school is obligated to provide if the dyslexia is having an “adverse impact”. ADHD students can also qualify for an IEP - they often need “special instruction” in how to track and turn in assignments on time, how to breakdown assignments in parts and plan to complete all parts in allotted time, etc. aDHD often typically impacts writing, although that may not be easy to see in K and first grade.

Did any of these common things happen to you? If so, there are ways to fix it. If not, feel free to share why they turned you down. I don’t want to derail this thread any further but am happy to help you figure out what to do. Maybe copy/paste this into a new thread for more help?

This is very helpful! Are you an advocate?

No, just a parent who has been through the wringer in the last 15 years and has finally learned how to deal with the system and wants to share so others don’t have to get stuck like I did.

[Anonymous]

There are some advocates who will offer a free consultation and can help guide you without hiring them or can give you specific questions to ask or next steps to take. I'm not sure whether Weinfeld does that or not. Have you reached out to Disability Rights Maryland? They are a good resource. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

It was about $3000 each time we used them and each time more useless than in the past. I don't think the advocates are very good unless you're completely ignorant about MCPS and just starting out. They might also help if you're looking for a specific placement but otherwise their assistance with IEPs and talking with the school was just really not there at all.

They showed up to meetings unprepared and barely knowing my child's name much less his disability.

The reason we tried a few times was because we thought switching advocates would be better but it wasn't. Wasted a lot of money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are some advocates who will offer a free consultation and can help guide you without hiring them or can give you specific questions to ask or next steps to take. I'm not sure whether Weinfeld does that or not. Have you reached out to Disability Rights Maryland? They are a good resource. Good luck!

I have called them 3-4 times over the years and have never, not once, received a call back. It always goes to voicemail. I always thought it was a scam to get funding because they don't do work.

[Anonymous]

Sorry OP-this happened to us. It is often the principal.

You need to call the MCPS compliance office and ask for mediation or call a supervisor in the central office. The principal in our case was known for violating students' rights left and right and got away with it for many years but at some point multiple complaints were filed and the issue came to light.

[Anonymous]

Used someone else on the team. Our experience - their timeline is their timeline. We had a deadline for getting comments after an IEP meeting - it went by without input.

On the standing during a hearing, they had a lot of credibility and this is the only reason we use them. Everything else, there is a lot of stress getting responses.

[Anonymous]

Hello,
If I may, I wanted to pop in and offer my viewpoints on a few things relating to qualifying for special ed.
In my experience, the law actually does require educational impact as one of the criteria that must be met in order for a student with an educational disability to qualify for special education services.
Also, I think the poster meant to say "specialized instruction" and not "special instruction."
Finally, a PWN is required after any action the school system takes in an IEP meeting. It is simply the name of the document. A PWN can be sent after an annual review, after a meeting to determine qualification for ESY, etc. The law requires before any action is taken that a PWN is sent. So the prior written notice often does not contain a lot of detail but rather is a summary. It usually contains what other options the team considered and why those other options were not chosen. I hope that helps.