Special Education Services Ending

[Anonymous]

Good afternoon, I was informed that my child may lose services because IEP team no longer think he is eligible because he is doing well in school. As background, part of the reason he came into service was bead social emotional delays that I believe still affects his ability to learn in school. These issues continue to exist especially at home, but he’s fairly well controlled at school.

Does anyone have any advice or recommendations for receiving an independent evaluation and whether I should seek out diagnosis? I suspect he has ADHD but he’s only 5 so I don’t know if he would be diagnosed at this age because he’s also just a young curious boy.

Any advice would be helpful. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

This is going to be a fight. You will need gather all documentation you can show on why he still needs this service. You can get an evaluation done and be diagnosed at 5.

You could also consult the AJE on what your next steps should be, they are helpful and FREE. Start by reaching out to them.

[Anonymous]

You can also look into getting him a 504 plan if you get an ADHD diagnosis. Then he would get accomodations without having to document academic delays.

[Anonymous]

Beyond early childhood, you are going to need a diagnosis to continue getting services. At 5, you can definitely get an ADHD evaluation. Some forms (ie inattentive) are more difficult to diagnose at 5, but you can always repeat it later if you need to.

[Anonymous]

Start with an IEP team meeting request, where you request a reevaluation. If they refuse or you aren’t happy with the results of their eval then request an IEE.

You might consider an eval for ASD too.

[Anonymous]

Wrighstlaw.com

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thank you for these suggestions and resources.

We did ask for the full evaluation but basically were told the same thing. His teacher does agree with us that it’s likely too early for him to end services, but the rest of the IEP team seems to be adamant that his ability to do well in class is enough of a basis to deem him ineligible. My concern is pk4 is mostly play-based and he could struggle with more rigorous curriculum in kindergarten and 1st grade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thank you for these suggestions and resources.

We did ask for the full evaluation but basically were told the same thing. His teacher does agree with us that it’s likely too early for him to end services, but the rest of the IEP team seems to be adamant that his ability to do well in class is enough of a basis to deem him ineligible. My concern is pk4 is mostly play-based and he could struggle with more rigorous curriculum in kindergarten and 1st grade.

Did you make the request in writing?

[Anonymous]

Sounds like the school did the full evaluation? I believe posters are recommending an external or third-party evaluation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like the school did the full evaluation? I believe posters are recommending an external or third-party evaluation.

Thanks for the clarification. Yes, we considered doing those next. We saw a DCPS list of recommended providers but wanted to know if that’s the right route to take or if we should look for someone on our own.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thank you for these suggestions and resources.

We did ask for the full evaluation but basically were told the same thing. His teacher does agree with us that it’s likely too early for him to end services, but the rest of the IEP team seems to be adamant that his ability to do well in class is enough of a basis to deem him ineligible. My concern is pk4 is mostly play-based and he could struggle with more rigorous curriculum in kindergarten and 1st grade.

Did you make the request in writing?

Not yet. We didn’t have the official follow up meeting. But psychologist verbally stated that based on her evaluation he’s no longer eligible.

[Anonymous]

Which school do they attend if you don’t mind sharing?

[Anonymous]

It is common for children with developmental delays who had services during Early Stages to close the gap and no longer need an IEP once they start school.

It sounds like the school did full testing to determine re-eligibility. This should have been:
A meeting called an AED (Analysis of Existing Data) to determine what testing was needed.
Agreement coming out of the AED what testing was going to be done.
The school conducting the testing and providing you the reports.

I assume you are at this stage and the next step is the eligibility (Re-evaluation meeting)

What I would do now is ask for a meeting with the psychologist to go over the report. They will talk in technical language so for any part you do not fully understand, ask them to repeat themselves. I record these meetings because I can not process all of the information and I forget things.
Collect work samples
Any emails you have from the teacher regarding behavior etc.
Just an FYI - ADHD typically gets accommodations and not an IEP in DCPS.
I have also had success in writing a letter of parent concerns and sending it to the psychologist doing the evaluation. What are your observations where the disability is impacting education? Not MAY impact future - but impacts current?

[Anonymous]

It sounds like you need a meeting about -- and are likely in the position to get -- a 504 instead of an IEP. In other words, accommodations rather than services.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thank you for these suggestions and resources.

We did ask for the full evaluation but basically were told the same thing. His teacher does agree with us that it’s likely too early for him to end services, but the rest of the IEP team seems to be adamant that his ability to do well in class is enough of a basis to deem him ineligible. My concern is pk4 is mostly play-based and he could struggle with more rigorous curriculum in kindergarten and 1st grade.

Did you make the request in writing?

Not yet. We didn’t have the official follow up meeting. But psychologist verbally stated that based on her evaluation he’s no longer eligible.

That would be pre-determination. The psychologist can tell you that based on her evaluation, your child does not meet eligibility criteria. But that final decision about eligibility has to be discussed as a team. And you do not have to agree with it and request an independent evaluation. Until you sign the IEP, the current services and IEP stay put.