Changes / new info on FCPS and dyslexia?

[Anonymous]

Sorry for the typos. ^^^^

Hope this helps.

[Anonymous]

I think you have to be very careful when you get information from the school. Some schools and principals don't want you to get an IEP so they say "oh well he's performing at grade level" thereby implying but not stating you are out of luck. If you don't follow up with "well, does that preclude an IEP or does his potential versus his performance earn an IEP?" you don't get the right answer.

[Anonymous]

Yes, in the near term, I doubt if recognizing dyslexia is a 'real' change, but perhaps it is a step forward. Any parent who suspects their child might have a reading disability must research the issue and be prepared to advocate ... or choose just to hire their own Academic Therapists or Dyslexia Specialist (which the county still doesn't specifically hire).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not in my experience. The bolded part is my experience. We were told point blank that DS HAD to be performing BELOW grade level to initially qualify and receive services. In their opinion, if a child is performing at grade level without services/accommodation, then he/she does not have a problem accessing the curricula regardless of if he/she is performing at his/her intellectual potential. A child that is performing at or above grade level with additional services/ accommodations should already have an IEP or 504.

It's not unusual to be told that a child doesn't qualify for an IEP because the child is working at/above grade level but there's nothing in the law that indicates that would be a disqualifying factor. The determining factors regarding eligibility are limited to disability and educational impact. A child must be considered to have a disability in two areas which negatively impacts his/her education. It's critical for parents to take the time to read and understand the law and be able to point out this falsehood.

http://www.wrightslaw.com/info/elig.sld.osep.felton.htm
http://idea.ed.gov/explore/home
http://www.wrightslaw.com/info/elig.add.grades.htm

This is good information. And, I, too, recommend Wrightslaw. My kid is not dyslexic but has high-functioning ASD. So high, in fact, that she repeatedly scores as doing college level English and verbal abilities and got a 32 composite score on the ACT so qualifies for gifted children of MENSA if you are into that sort of thing. But clearly an Aspie with cormorbidities of ADHD and Anxiety. She got the IEP for FCPS and really needed it. I can't speak to dyslexia but there are many gifted kids in FCPS with IEPs. Academic performance often has nothing to do with the difficulty of processing, executive functioning, organizational problems, etc.

[Anonymous]

Hello all, just a heads up that the Specific Learning Disability Basis for Committee Decision has been recently updated. FCPS did a study last year and acknowledged the big gap in serving 2E students. This revised version removes the previous limit that has been discussed here - the student needs to perform below state levels (old wording: "C. The student does not achieve adequately for the student's age or to meet Virginia approved grade-level standards.") The new version now has "processing disorder" added to the requirements - many 2E kids don't really fall in that category. So while removing one impediment for 2E kids to get IEP help, they created a new hurdle that will be difficult to overcome for many.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hello all, just a heads up that the Specific Learning Disability Basis for Committee Decision has been recently updated. FCPS did a study last year and acknowledged the big gap in serving 2E students. This revised version removes the previous limit that has been discussed here - the student needs to perform below state levels (old wording: "C. The student does not achieve adequately for the student's age or to meet Virginia approved grade-level standards.") The new version now has "processing disorder" added to the requirements - many 2E kids don't really fall in that category. So while removing one impediment for 2E kids to get IEP help, they created a new hurdle that will be difficult to overcome for many.

Do you have a link where we can find additional information? Thanks.