Is EBLI reading intervention a "content area course" in MCPS?

[Anonymous]

My child has dyslexia and needs a reading intervention class (EBLI). MCPS has agreed to provide it through IEP services, but they are saying that the class must happen as an elective. My child is in a language immersion middle school. In order to stay in the program they've been in since kindergarten, they must remain in an immersion language class (which is the elective). So, the school has proposed that our only options are to a) agree to the IEP and reading intervention as an elective, which will then require my child to go back to their home school. Or, b) decline the IEP and ALL of the other services in the IEP to keep my child in their current school.

I proposed having my child temporarily miss Physical Education and instead take the reading intervention class at that time. They said intervention can only happen during electives. Maryland’s COMAR 13A.04.13 Program in Physical Education allows schools to develop an individualized action plan for students who are temporarily unable to participate in the standards-based physical education program.

But, COMAR 13A.04.13.01 also states that "local school systems may not . . . excuse students from standards-based physical education to participate in other content area classes or to complete classwork assignments in other content areas".

Special education services can legally be provided during any part of the school day if that is what the IEP team determines is necessary for the student to receive FAPE. There is no federal law, no Maryland regulation, and no MCPS policy that restricts special education or reading intervention to elective periods only.

I am working on a long response/rebuttal based on many other factors that I haven't mentioned here.

But, my questions for the moment are:

Is an IEP-required reading intervention class is considered a "content area" class?

Has anyone ever successfully had an intervention class happen in place of physical education, temporarily?

[Anonymous]

My son's reading intervention program was done as an elective. It was not considered a content area class as it was restricted to only those kids who had IEPs and whose IEPs included the program. There were not other options for it except for using an elective. I don't think you'll be successful in having it happen during PE. Your child isn't temporarily unable to take PE. You want a permanent exemption. I think if you want the immersion program you are likely going to have to find an out of school private intervention that you pay for. FAPE does not require that your child be in an immersion program.

[Anonymous]

Do you still *want* the immersion class, or do you want to stay in the same school you started before the diagnosis, and maybe return to immersion later?

Can you push for staying at the school but temporarily dropping immersion due to the EBLI class?

[Anonymous]

Is this for middle school? Typically, a middle school operates on a 7 period day schedule. English, Science, Math and Social Studies are core required classes (4 class periods). Then PE/health would be 5, then there is room for two "electives". So, one elective would be the immersion class and the reading intervention could be the other elective.

[Anonymous]

They want two interventions: reading and resource. So, that would bump my child's ability to stay in immersion.

They are saying that the IEP is all or nothing-- that we cannot decline some parts of the IEP and keep others.

So, we cannot keep Spanish and having reading intervention only, or Spanish and resource only.

[Anonymous]

Is the school providing EBLI? I’ve never heard of that - it isn’t one of the remediation programs schools generally provide. Or are you bringing in a tutor during an elective time? It does sound like it is school-provided, which surprises me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They want two interventions: reading and resource. So, that would bump my child's ability to stay in immersion.

They are saying that the IEP is all or nothing-- that we cannot decline some parts of the IEP and keep others.

So, we cannot keep Spanish and having reading intervention only, or Spanish and resource only.

If it’s not his initial IEP they may be right that it’s all or nothing. But would you give up Resource? They might work with you on that.

[Anonymous]

I’ve been reading about EBLI and it sounds really promising for severely dyslexic kids. My daughter is an OG private school so we have not tried EBLI. Are you seeing any improvement in your child’s reading?

[Anonymous]

I would ask what EBLI intervention they are using - not all of the interventions are effective. You can also hold another IEP meeting to discuss changes to the IEP which would include changing hours so that your child has the reading intervention or the resource class. They don't necessarily need to do both.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would ask what EBLI intervention they are using - not all of the interventions are effective. You can also hold another IEP meeting to discuss changes to the IEP which would include changing hours so that your child has the reading intervention or the resource class. They don't necessarily need to do both.

Unfortunately, they have taken a strong stand that it is all or nothing. I am now in the dispute resolution process with MCPS.

EBLI is the reading intervention program that MCPS will be providing. They use OG in some schools and are now using EBLI.

I cannot respond to the PP who asked about how my child is doing with EBLI....because I have yet to have any reading intervention, months after telling them about the diagnosis. All or nothing means we are waiting for administrative review, then mediation, then maybe hearing?

[Anonymous]

If your child has dyslexia, are thry struggling in both english and the second language? This may not be a great fit for them. How far behind grade level are they? I also wonder if the reading intervention is a high quality one--this is mcps and fidelity and quality with interventions are not always great.

[Anonymous]

I’m really shocked that MCPS is using EBLI as a curriculum for dyslexia. There is preliminary evidence (mostly by the company itself) that it is effective but it isn’t yet clear if it works as well as other interventions designed for people with dyslexia. From what I understand it may work better in getting kids reading, but then more remediation is needed from another program later because it leaves holes. I’m not knocking EBLI - I’m a dyslexia therapist and I’m intrigued by it. But I’m not sure it’s ready for rolling out in schools, either.

Does anyone have any more info about what MCPS is doing? How about the frequency, length of session, and number of kids in a group?

[Anonymous]

EBLI aside, if your child was accepted to a language immersion school and is doing OK there, he has a right to continue and can't be forced to give up immersion in order to receive IEP services.

We encountered a similar problem when my DC was injured in MS and needed a 504 plan and significant changes to her program for about a year. The school initially refused to provide 504 accommodations because it meant she couldn't do something related to her MS magnet program. They kept threatening to send her back to her homeschool. It was so wrong legally that the pupil personnel worker at one 504 meeting pulled me aside afterwards and advised me to contact the Superintendent.

There's a DOE letter on the prohibition against forcing gifted students to choose between accelerated programing and IEP services. While not exactly on point for your situation, you can make an analogous argument - the school offers language immersion which your kid is qualified for and has performed adequately and to force him to choose between that program and the proposed IEP service is tantamount to disability discrimination because it denies him access to programming for which he is otherwise qualified. You could probably also argue that it is not a Least Restrictive Placement if he is pulled out of the immersion general education in all areas to receive general education for one component - reading.

The school does have another option if they want to insist he give up an elective -- they can pay you for compensatory hours for the hours they are unwilling to provide to him within his current educational placement.

https://web.archive.org/web/20210211025750/https://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/letters/colleague-20071226.html