Assessment Questions
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Anonymous
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Hi,
I have a kid that has been behind in school (at the same school) for 3 years. The first year, we really supported with tutoring, etc. and scores improved. So the second year, we figured things would be able to proceed ok and backed off. Midyear, however, we started to wonder why we saw no progress. We were basically told we were being hyper and to get lost when we expressed concerns to the school. Fast forward to this year and *surprise* saw test results with zero growth over last year. So here we are in year 3, still trying to be taken seriously about needing an assessment and some services. Kid is nearing middle school and is starting to refuse to go to school. How can you get a school to conduct an assessment when they do not want to? Do I have any rights as a parent to insist upon it if I believe the kid is 2 years behind? Thanks for any insights y'all may have. |
Anonymous
Change schools. Ive heard this story from charter friends -- if you are in a charter elementary, move to your DCPS IB this week. DCPS has its flaws, but they take this stuff seriously. |
Anonymous
| Look at wrightslaw and advocates for justice in education websites. They have some good resources for how to get the assessment and IEP process started. Part of the issue is whether your kid isn't learning because of a disability or because the school just isn't teaching anything. If the school has a ton of kids far below grade level, major behavioral issues, or has an educational model like dual language or Montessori, I would look into your options to change schools now and do the lottery next year. |
Anonymous
That's not necessarily the answer. And all non-DCPS schools are NOT the same! What I would suggest is knowing your rights and letting the school know that you know. https://www.aje-dc.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/KYR.The-Special-Ed-Process-May-2019.pdf https://specialeducation.dc.gov/ |
Anonymous
Hi, OP here. This was a great quick sheet. To confirm, does this appear to state that IF I request an eval and consent to it, the school MUST do it? And within 60 days? If so, gobsmacked. A Parent must give his or her written consent before a child can be evaluated. • The attending or neighborhood school must provide the parent with the necessary form(s) to complete when the parent requests an evaluation. • Once the parent submits the written request and consent for evaluation, the public school agency has 60 days from that date to evaluate the child. |
Anonymous
| Yes. If you request an evaluation the school has an obligation to start the process. My (very possibly incorrect) understanding is that the first step is determining if the school thinks a full-scale evaluation is warranted. But that's a formal process that goes far beyond telling a parent they are being "hyper". |
Anonymous
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https://ldaamerica.org/advocacy/lda-position-papers/right-to-an-evaluation-of-a-child-for-special-education-services/#:~:text=What%20are%20your%20legal%20rights,gives%20you%20that%20legal%20right.
See this webpage for some helpful information. However, the question above is a good one and if you think the issue is not a learning disability but the school quality, an evaluation won't really help. |
Anonymous
Yes, the first step is to hold an “AED” (Analysis of Existing Data) meeting within 30 days of the written parent request. Before this meeting the team will likely talk to teachers and gather their input. At the AED meeting parents and teachers can share any data or information. Then a decision is made whether to test. Testing is not mandatory but the review of data is, so if the data doesn’t support testing the process is done. If testing is agreed upon, the school has 45 days to test and then another 45 days to hold an “eligibility” meeting to review the test results. Testing may show no disability but if it does, they then have 30 days to create the IEP. |
Anonymous
| Your first step is a written request for testing sent to the principal and special education coordinator (sometimes it’s an AP or school psychologist). It can be simple—“I have concerns about my child’s academic progress and am requesting they be tested for an IEP.” You can include additional details if you want to make a stronger case but they are not required. |
Anonymous
OP again. I did this a year ago (ask for an IEP eval.) I did not use specific testing language, but I mentioned needing to see if an IEP was needed. They never provided any testing data or any insight but gave me stuff to do with the student at home. Is that normal? On one of the above comments, they have 30 days to analyze data and then 45 days to test. So that's 65 days for just the testing AND THEN they determine whether to do an assessment? Then they have 60 days for the assessment? That's more than half the school year? |
Anonymous
| I highly recommend getting an evaluation at Children’s while simultaneously doing the process at school. Having a private eval always helps. |
Anonymous
I second this. From Children’s or any other reputable service, if you can afford it. The teachers at our school were as certain of the need for an IEP as I was, and having a private evaluation was still helpful. |
Anonymous
| Talk to your classroom teacher(s) in depth at conferences this fall. I suspect year 1 you had a strong teacher and year 2 you did not. Tons of upper elementary school kids are far behind from the pandemic. Zero growth on things like iReady in 3rd or 4th grade is unfortunately not all that uncommon. Be prepared that the IEP review process could take months and may even with an IEP plan and disability accommodations not fully resolve all of your academic concerns. |
Anonymous
| If your child is in 5th grade, I would probably stay/persist with the current school and research middle schools. |
Anonymous
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OP in my experience it’s not common for schools to simply ignore an evaluation request. The law is very clear on this.
I have seen it take more than 60 days but it’s been a while since I’ve seen it completely ignored. Personally I give a little grace on the 60 day thing as long as there is forward progress. But to ignore completely, I haven’t seen that in decades in DC. |