moved & FCS wants to change current IEP to 504 Why? Help? Advice

[Anonymous]

She's a kindergartener? I can understand a lot of the problem. It is going to be hard to do testing on her since she can't read which is going to make it hard to get an IEP. How did you get your IEP? We have a child who did get an IEP during kindergarten, but it is very, very hard to test them since reading is an issue. The main deciding factor for our child was she was so far behind her classmates in learning to read/write/count/etc. She did not have her IEP in place until the end of kindergarten.

Personally before hiring a consultant, I'd try and work with the school.

I don't mean to be unkind but it sounds like you have very limited experience with IEPs even though your DD received one in K. Two of my kids have IEPs. The first received his in K and the second received his before his third birthday. The second DS started in early intervention then transitioned to Child Find and a FCPS non-categorical special ed classroom (non-autism). Kids don't have to read in order to be tested. In fact, reading isn't even my youngest childs IEP and he's in kindergarten. Testing them at this age is not at all hard and a child does NOT have to be below grade expectations in order to have an IEP.

I second the advice for engaging a consultant. We use one and I firmly believe it has helped us maintain a very positive relationship with the school as well as get good IEPs. There may be some initial tension but ours works very well with the school and has brought us incredible peace of mind. We did try working with the school but despite numerous reports from 4 different specialists, FCPS declined to accept the reports or to do their own testing of our DS. We wasted an incredible amount of time and DS had a really rough time of it. Education is not our expertise and there is plenty of anecdotal evidence on the SN forum and all the interactions I've had with special ed parents that there is incredible variation in the ability and willingess of school staff to adequately serve SN kids. I also recommend you move this discussion to the Special Needs Forum.

[Anonymous]

22:14: You are right, I don't know everything. An IEP can be given for medical reasons, but honestly, the OP gives so little detail and has no mention of her child being on the spectrum, it is really hard to speculate or give advice. The OP has never even returned to the discussion so she's probably already gotten her questions answered or is seeking outside advice from people who know her situation and can give much better advice.