Special Education Services Ending

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

That isn’t true in DC. Signatures indicate attendance not agreement. They will find your child ineligible and issue a PWN. You then can file a due process complaint which will start your “stay put” rights.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for sharing advise. We ended up requesting an IEE. If anyone has gone through that process or can recommend a specific evaluator (we’re looking for a neuropsychologist) please let me know.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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?

The issue is he’s smart and does well and is well behaved at school. But he literally cannot get through an educational task without having a complete meltdown. He’s very anxious and is a bit of a perfectionist (has OCD like behavior) and will not attempt to do something (write his name, read a new word, try a math problem) unless he believes he can do it perfectly. We have to pre-teach everything so that he can function appropriately at school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks for sharing advise. We ended up requesting an IEE. If anyone has gone through that process or can recommend a specific evaluator (we’re looking for a neuropsychologist) please let me know.

https://kingsburywellness.org/team/ann-rowe/

[Anonymous]

Unfortunately social emotional needs do not require an IEP. Social workers/counselors cannot be the only service the child needs.
I believe this is not a legal policy but a DCPS one. You can only have a speech-only IEP. Any other needs must be accompanied by educational needs.

And to think they cannot change the IEP without you, you underestimate DCPS. They may keep it and just not really provide the services.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Unfortunately social emotional needs do not require an IEP. Social workers/counselors cannot be the only service the child needs.
I believe this is not a legal policy but a DCPS one. You can only have a speech-only IEP. Any other needs must be accompanied by educational needs.

And to think they cannot change the IEP without you, you underestimate DCPS. They may keep it and just not really provide the services.

They do they impact education. As long as education is impacted your child can get an IEP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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?

The issue is he’s smart and does well and is well behaved at school. But he literally cannot get through an educational task without having a complete meltdown. He’s very anxious and is a bit of a perfectionist (has OCD like behavior) and will not attempt to do something (write his name, read a new word, try a math problem) unless he believes he can do it perfectly. We have to pre-teach everything so that he can function appropriately at school.

From personal experience: seek an outside evaluation for autism.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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?

The issue is he’s smart and does well and is well behaved at school. But he literally cannot get through an educational task without having a complete meltdown. He’s very anxious and is a bit of a perfectionist (has OCD like behavior) and will not attempt to do something (write his name, read a new word, try a math problem) unless he believes he can do it perfectly. We have to pre-teach everything so that he can function appropriately at school.

This description reminds me of my son when he was in kindergarten. Also didn’t impact education, so never had an IEP. But his worry and stress about academic tasks or mistakes was impacting the classroom and at home .We did get an outside therapist who works with kids bc our external evaluation flagged anxiety. We never ended up even getting a 504, but the outside support helped and for the next few years would meet with the teachers ahead of the school year and bring the outside evaluation and strategies/context to come up with strategies for when he got worked up.