Montgomery county public school dragging feet about re-testing dyslexic son

[Anonymous]

OP, can you be more clear about what kind of "testing" you are seeking? Are you worried that your DC isn't actually making progress? Do you think that the support your DC currently has isn't enough? Are there problems your DC is experiencing at school?

Give her the "good reason" and "questions that need to be answered".

If they still object, follow PPs advice and ask for independent educational evaluation.

[Anonymous]

A reevaluation takes place every 3 years. However, if you and the school team agree on the disability and there is a continued educational impact, then the school does not have to retest.

If you think retesting is necessary to identify a disability not previously detected, you can ask the school team to test and if they say no ask at the meeting on how you file for private testing at public expense. They may back track and do the testing or stonewall some more. If they stonewall, after you get the documents from the meeting, send a letter to the Principal stating sense the IEP team denied your request for further testing that you wish for the school system to pay for private testing.

Yes, this is correct. Long time sped teacher and screening chair in FCPS. The primary reason IEP teams meet to consider testing every three years is to make sure the student is still eligible for services and whether the eligibility category is still the same (as in--are there new concerns?). There are situations where there is really no clear need for new or updated testing in or to make this determination--everyone is in agreement that the student still meets the criteria for LD or Autism or whatever, and that he/she still REQUIRES specialized instruction to access and participate in the gen. ed. program.

However, best practice in my county usually dictates that students should not go longer than 6 years (or two cycles) without updated assessments--especially as they transition into high school. It's usually considered most effective to have the team who knows the student best to conduct the evaluations, meaning if we have a sixth grader who is up for reeval, we will do the testing and conduct the eligibility at our school rather than send that child on to middle school to let them do it. These processes are complicated and do take a lot of teacher time, but that's part of our job! In our county, eligibility committees are required to reach a consensus, not a unaminous decision. Those who disagree are allowed to state their disagreement on the paperwork. Parent consent is required for additional testing, but not for a continued eligibility designation unless there is change in the label.

Also, we have a designation on our reevalutaion paperwork that allows for updated testing for IEP purposes only--we may want or need to know the current functioning or grade level in the different content areas in order to draft new IEP goals, or to make decisions about standardized testing or special education services, all of which are part of the IEP process.

Parents are part of the eligibility committee and the IEP team, so they have a right to make their case for new testing, but there would need to be a clear reason beyond "it's been 3 years." For OP who says it's been 6 years, I would definitely push if you really want to know his most current levels and scores. As others have said, you should be ready for the outcome that the scores would no longer support his/her need for special ed. services. Which could be looked at as a success, but in other cases is a concern for those kids right on the edge of grade level competency.

You may want to investigate the MoCo procedural regs that relate to a schools proposal or decision to terminate services--they may or may not need your consent.