How do you know if you kid needs to be tested for IEP?

[Anonymous]

DD seems to be really struggling in 3rd grade. She’s never been a stellar student but teachers always told me she was fine and didn’t need it. Now, That she has tests, she’s bring stuff home where half her work is wrong or in some cases the entire sheet is incorrect. Teacher conferences are next week so I plan to bring this up but if the teacher tells me she’s fine again, should I push for it regardless?

[Anonymous]

You have nothing to lose by requesting an eval. If you push for testing they have to do it. If the results come back that there is no learning disability, then you can approach it from a "work harder" standpoint vs. an accommodations standpoint.

[Anonymous]

What has she been diagnosed with that you think she needs an IEP for support?

[Anonymous]

Get specifics from the teacher. What is she doing wrong? Is she paying attention in class? Is she reading on grade level? Does she participate?

The more information you can get, the better. If you are not satisfied that she really is fine, ask for an IEP evaluation.

[Anonymous]

What's she getting wrong? Can you get a tutor or work with her at home?

[Anonymous]

Our experience has been that unless the child is failing, FCPS will do not do any testing. My recommend getting on the waiting lists for places that do the testing and take insurance (Inova Keller, Children's, KKI etc.). It took us about 8 months to get DC test. She has slow processing speeding and poor memory recall, no learning deficits, the report recommends an IEP but FCPS has deemed her illegible for an IEP because she's on grade (barely). she barely on grade with private tutoring, a teacher that's gives her a lot of attention at school, and with us helping her at home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our experience has been that unless the child is failing, FCPS will do not do any testing. My recommend getting on the waiting lists for places that do the testing and take insurance (Inova Keller, Children's, KKI etc.). It took us about 8 months to get DC test. She has slow processing speeding and poor memory recall, no learning deficits, the report recommends an IEP but FCPS has deemed her illegible for an IEP because she's on grade (barely). she barely on grade with private tutoring, a teacher that's gives her a lot of attention at school, and with us helping her at home.

I meant to say she has learning deficits but no learning disability.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You have nothing to lose by requesting an eval. If you push for testing they have to do it. If the results come back that there is no learning disability, then you can approach it from a "work harder" standpoint vs. an accommodations standpoint.

Schools are not required to test. By law, schools are required to evaluate whether additional data is needed to determine whether a student qualifies for special education services. Evaluation includes data collection (teacher reports, parent reports, grades, results of grade level evaluations like MAP-R, PARCC, et.), observations, and discussion during the screening meeting. Based on this evaluation, if the school suspects that a student may be a student with a disability for which they would require special education services, they must conduct formal assessments. This topic is often confused b/c people do not realize that assessment and evaluation are very different things. The school is required to evaluate, but they are NOT required to assess. The decision to test is a team decision that occurs at the screening meeting (which is part of the evaluation).

[Anonymous]

When they are 2 years below grade level in academic performance.

Having a disability does not mean there is an educational impact.

[Anonymous]

Yes, educational impact is also required (academic and educational). This impact must also require specialized instruction rather than just accommodations.

[Anonymous]

It is hard to "know" in some cases. But as a PP noted, you have nothing to lose by asking. If the school pushes back, you can get a private educational evaluation. I would if I were you.