Anonymous
01/06/2026 12:10
Subject: Non-consented IEP - SLD reading
Anonymous wrote:OP here - thanks for all the responses! I don't want to say my specific district for privacy, but we live in the Shenandoah Valley.
His school uses UFLI. I found a tutor and she is really nice, but can only come once a week and it is expensive. My parents have been assisting us with the cost of tutoring, but it is really insufficient. I have a ton of resources at my home to practice with him, lots of decodable books, magnetic dry erase board with magnetic letters, ect. and I am creating a new reading reward chart with what I am calling "book bucks" and "activity bucks" that he can choose and can be used for him to pick buy a new book of his choosing or an activity of his choosing. The problem is that he also has ADHD and is truly exhausted and just wants to rest and play when he gets home (which I understand). I am only asking him to work with us 10-15 minutes a day, but that is a HUGE struggle and he is super resistant. He takes medication (which is working great for him) and truly gives 100% each day in school and so requesting MORE from him results in huge meltdowns. I'm hoping our new visual reward system with physical printed out "book bucks/activity bucks" and earning things he wants and mixing in some fun decodables (pete the cat) will help.
I am going to explore what it would look like to get more intensive tutoring support at least 3x a week. My parents will help; my mother is a retired educator who did a lot of work with literacy. She helps where she can and did A LOT of work with my son over winter break, but she is getting to be elderly, has been out of the field for at least 15 years now (though she tutors and volunteers in northern va still) and cannot provide the daily intervention that he needs. We have tried weekly virtual support, but she is not tech saavy and it has not been real productive
I feel so dejected and this feels so deeply unfair to my child (and to others who have less knowledge and resources). Professionally, my work overlaps with my child's school and THAT has put me in an even more uncomfortable position. ANYONE who knows me, knows how passionate I am about our students, families, and broader community, and how much I value equity and social justice. I do my best to advocate for the families I work with and so for anyone in his school to think I would do anything less than that, is shocking. I expect better. I have done my best to maintain boundaries, so I have NOT gone directly to the sped director or school board members, but I can if I need to, I just don't want to go that route if I can avoid it. I will also share that MY experiences with my own children has definitely provided me even stronger insight on how to support other students AND their caregivers. I don't think I've really ever struggled to emphathize with families (that is a strength of mine) but has been helpful to help me be a better advocate. I don't want to say my exact role, since that would probably make it easy for me to be identified and this is publically searchable, but yeah, this has been.an.experience.
Your child has brain differences that make rewards very difficult to implement. My ADHD/ASD son with dyscalculia and low processing speed couldn't work towards rewards. It was actually cruel to dangle them in front of him.
You don't say whether you've confirmed dyslexia or not. This is key, because it will determine what type of reading support you give him. At this point, OP, he'd be better off not going to school and learning to read with a dyslexia tutor every day (if he's dyslexic), than getting exhausted at school and then being able to work with any tutor. However that works only if someone can stay home with him: your mother, perhaps? If you and your mother are in the education field, can one of you train as an Orton-Gillingham tutor, or at least get enough exposure so that you feel you can teach your son? It will cut down on costs down the road, because of course you need to hire one right away regardless. When my son was little and needed physical and occupation therapies, I would observe them all and then practice with him all the things they'd done on the days they weren't coming. They gave me manipulatives for me to use with him at home. Same for the speech therapist he had. We were his therapists for 6 days of the week. In elementary, he would come home from school exhausted, but I still re-taught all the concepts he had missed in school. We spent 6 years like this, and by middle school he was all caught up and started performing above his grade level, which made me so happy. He took 12 AP classes in high school and is attending a decent college.
Finally, your last paragraph is a whole lot of nonsense. This isn't about you, your professional integrity, equity or social justice, or who you know. The school cannot help you. If you complain to the higher-ups, you might get more services... but are they going to be the right ones to help your child? If he has dyslexia, I can assure you they won't help. Dyslexia is the learning disability that schools treat the worse, because they refuse to implement phonetic instruction in reading. I know it's crazy, but that's how it is. You need to pay for private services.
Anonymous
01/06/2026 11:49
Subject: Non-consented IEP - SLD reading
OP,
Your child needs a dyslexia eval urgently. Pay for one yourself, ASAP, because by 3rd grade, the kids read to learn, instead of learn to read, and then your child will fall further and further behind, and it will be catastrophic.
If the dyslexia is confirmed, get them an Orton-Gillingham tutor, for intensive practicing. It will be expensive but there is literally no other way, unless you want your kid shut out of higher education and a higher earning potential as an adult.
There is a very specific way to address reading issues due to dyslexia and the typical way of teaching reading in school does not work, so it's quite likely that whatever the school is ready to offer won't work anyway. Drop them. They know they can't help, which is why they're not even trying.
Your child needs a dyslexia eval urgently. Pay for one yourself, ASAP, because by 3rd grade, the kids read to learn, instead of learn to read, and then your child will fall further and further behind, and it will be catastrophic.
If the dyslexia is confirmed, get them an Orton-Gillingham tutor, for intensive practicing. It will be expensive but there is literally no other way, unless you want your kid shut out of higher education and a higher earning potential as an adult.
There is a very specific way to address reading issues due to dyslexia and the typical way of teaching reading in school does not work, so it's quite likely that whatever the school is ready to offer won't work anyway. Drop them. They know they can't help, which is why they're not even trying.
Anonymous
01/06/2026 11:41
Subject: Non-consented IEP - SLD reading
Is the ADHD medicine working after school? Could he benefit from a different extended release dosage or medication? Obviously that's not the thrust of the problems here, but I wonder if revisiting that issue might help you squeak out more reading time after school.
Anonymous
01/06/2026 10:49
Subject: Non-consented IEP - SLD reading
OP here - thanks for all the responses! I don't want to say my specific district for privacy, but we live in the Shenandoah Valley.
His school uses UFLI. I found a tutor and she is really nice, but can only come once a week and it is expensive. My parents have been assisting us with the cost of tutoring, but it is really insufficient. I have a ton of resources at my home to practice with him, lots of decodable books, magnetic dry erase board with magnetic letters, ect. and I am creating a new reading reward chart with what I am calling "book bucks" and "activity bucks" that he can choose and can be used for him to pick buy a new book of his choosing or an activity of his choosing. The problem is that he also has ADHD and is truly exhausted and just wants to rest and play when he gets home (which I understand). I am only asking him to work with us 10-15 minutes a day, but that is a HUGE struggle and he is super resistant. He takes medication (which is working great for him) and truly gives 100% each day in school and so requesting MORE from him results in huge meltdowns. I'm hoping our new visual reward system with physical printed out "book bucks/activity bucks" and earning things he wants and mixing in some fun decodables (pete the cat) will help.
I am going to explore what it would look like to get more intensive tutoring support at least 3x a week. My parents will help; my mother is a retired educator who did a lot of work with literacy. She helps where she can and did A LOT of work with my son over winter break, but she is getting to be elderly, has been out of the field for at least 15 years now (though she tutors and volunteers in northern va still) and cannot provide the daily intervention that he needs. We have tried weekly virtual support, but she is not tech saavy and it has not been real productive
I feel so dejected and this feels so deeply unfair to my child (and to others who have less knowledge and resources). Professionally, my work overlaps with my child's school and THAT has put me in an even more uncomfortable position. ANYONE who knows me, knows how passionate I am about our students, families, and broader community, and how much I value equity and social justice. I do my best to advocate for the families I work with and so for anyone in his school to think I would do anything less than that, is shocking. I expect better. I have done my best to maintain boundaries, so I have NOT gone directly to the sped director or school board members, but I can if I need to, I just don't want to go that route if I can avoid it. I will also share that MY experiences with my own children has definitely provided me even stronger insight on how to support other students AND their caregivers. I don't think I've really ever struggled to emphathize with families (that is a strength of mine) but has been helpful to help me be a better advocate. I don't want to say my exact role, since that would probably make it easy for me to be identified and this is publically searchable, but yeah, this has been.an.experience.
His school uses UFLI. I found a tutor and she is really nice, but can only come once a week and it is expensive. My parents have been assisting us with the cost of tutoring, but it is really insufficient. I have a ton of resources at my home to practice with him, lots of decodable books, magnetic dry erase board with magnetic letters, ect. and I am creating a new reading reward chart with what I am calling "book bucks" and "activity bucks" that he can choose and can be used for him to pick buy a new book of his choosing or an activity of his choosing. The problem is that he also has ADHD and is truly exhausted and just wants to rest and play when he gets home (which I understand). I am only asking him to work with us 10-15 minutes a day, but that is a HUGE struggle and he is super resistant. He takes medication (which is working great for him) and truly gives 100% each day in school and so requesting MORE from him results in huge meltdowns. I'm hoping our new visual reward system with physical printed out "book bucks/activity bucks" and earning things he wants and mixing in some fun decodables (pete the cat) will help.
I am going to explore what it would look like to get more intensive tutoring support at least 3x a week. My parents will help; my mother is a retired educator who did a lot of work with literacy. She helps where she can and did A LOT of work with my son over winter break, but she is getting to be elderly, has been out of the field for at least 15 years now (though she tutors and volunteers in northern va still) and cannot provide the daily intervention that he needs. We have tried weekly virtual support, but she is not tech saavy and it has not been real productive
I feel so dejected and this feels so deeply unfair to my child (and to others who have less knowledge and resources). Professionally, my work overlaps with my child's school and THAT has put me in an even more uncomfortable position. ANYONE who knows me, knows how passionate I am about our students, families, and broader community, and how much I value equity and social justice. I do my best to advocate for the families I work with and so for anyone in his school to think I would do anything less than that, is shocking. I expect better. I have done my best to maintain boundaries, so I have NOT gone directly to the sped director or school board members, but I can if I need to, I just don't want to go that route if I can avoid it. I will also share that MY experiences with my own children has definitely provided me even stronger insight on how to support other students AND their caregivers. I don't think I've really ever struggled to emphathize with families (that is a strength of mine) but has been helpful to help me be a better advocate. I don't want to say my exact role, since that would probably make it easy for me to be identified and this is publically searchable, but yeah, this has been.an.experience.
Anonymous
01/06/2026 08:40
Subject: Non-consented IEP - SLD reading
Anonymous wrote:In December, my 2nd grader was found eligible for SPED services as a student with a Specific Learning Disability as he is not achieving with oral expression, reading comprehension, reading fluency skills, written expression, and basic reading skills and there was a disorder noted with his long-term recall which impacts him in reading fluency skills, reading comprehension, written expresion, and basic reading skills.
He has been identified as a high-risk student for reading multiple times and had a reading plan in 1st grade and again in 2nd grade. His progress has been really slow, and he is currently reading around a late kindergarten to early first-grade level. He is working extremely hard and literally uses all of his emotional and cognitive energy during the school day.
We held his initial IEP meeting right before winter break, and I did not consent or not consent to the proposed IEP. I mentioned I needed the evening to review with my spouse, and we knew how to sign online, but I promptly reached out to express concerns and questions.
The proposed IEP had 1 goal, "Given words in isolation, child will decode words using current taught patterns (VCe, Longer Words, Ending Spelling Patterns, R-Controlled Vowels, Vowel teams, etc.) with 80% accuracy in 4 out of 5 opportunities by (1 year from that date).
The accommodations/modifications offered included preferential seating.
The service offered was "reading instruction, 30 minutes 1 times daily in the general education setting".
When I clarified whether he would be receiving more intensive reading interventions now that he qualified for an IEP, I was told that he is making progress in the small group and so they don't see a need to provide any additional services.....essentially what they said is that he making some progress, so they are going to continue with the EXACT SAME intervention, curriculum/strategies, and service time provided in literally the same group that he was receiving before he was found eligible for sped services that he had already been receiving for 1.5 years while he fell farther and farther behind....I was told that now there would be additional monitoring and we could change some of the approach if it seems like he is not progressing....but we have a TON of data and just reviewed his thorough evaluation that he was not achieving, despite interventions......
I politely said that I would wait to sign the IEP after I reviewed it with my husband that evening, but I mostly needed a moment to collect my thoughts, process it, and then request a follow-up IEP. I did so the following day and we held his follow-up IEP meeting today. My husband participated virtually while I was in person.
Everyone was very friendly (honestly it did not feel genuine most of the time) and I asked some questions about exploring a fluency goal (more about gaining reading fluency with text that is below grade level but still would support him practicing and becoming more fluent as he is also gaining decoding skills and I felt okay-ish with their answer. I also felt okay-ish with their answer about the setting, but when I inquired about the service and requested a more intensive service time, which could involve some additional one-on-one or small group sessions (I wasn't requesting a specific group size, person, or curriculum), I was told no. The principal asked how much additional time did I want to see and I said just a little and threw out 15 minutes extra a day (but that could be have been compromised to 10 minutes a day or 15 minutes 3 x a day). The principal brought up that any additional time would take away from other things and said that we don't want him doing only reading all day long (massive exaggeration).
I reviewed that this is literally the same supports that he received prior to being found eligible for sped services and the only difference after all of that will be increased monitoring and data collection??? There's no way with their current interventions that he will catch up to being on grade level in the next few years but the gap will just continue to grow.
The principal acted like her hands were just totally tied and we could non-consent to the IEP and then we would hold another IEP meeting in the next 10 days with one of the sped coordinators.....the principal came into the meeting knowing that literally anything I asked for in addition to what THEY came up with, would be refused. The IEP process is supposed to be collaborative and it was 100% not collaborative at all.
I was very polite through all of it, but remained firm in what I felt he needed (my husband is on the same page). I have close family who are current and retired educators in Arlington/Fairfax, and they were both shocked at his proposed IEP. I'm going to have to find a sped advocate at this point, which I've wanted to avoid, but my child having their needs met and honoring their motivation and perseverance motivates me to not just give in to something that isn't fully serving his needs.
Sorry for the novel.....any advice? I don't live in northern VA anymore, so I need to find an advocate who serves my area.
Where do you live?
Anonymous
01/06/2026 08:12
Subject: Non-consented IEP - SLD reading
What curriculum are they using? He needs an orton gillingham tutor. I would hire one asap and get him working with them three times a week. So much $$$ now but long run worth it. You really need to make substantial progress before third grade. Don’t waste time on the school get private services asap.
Anonymous
01/06/2026 08:03
Subject: Non-consented IEP - SLD reading
The UFLI resources are also completely free online.
Anonymous
01/06/2026 08:02
Subject: Non-consented IEP - SLD reading
Sorry to say but this is typical. I hear ya that the principal’s mind was already made up. You will be better served to take matters into your own hands. The Hooked on Phonics program worked for us—the whole program. It was interactive and was in daily snippets. We even bought the Advanced Hooked on Phonics, too. DC climbed from 1st grade to 4th grade reading level in 2nd grade due to this program. The school’s stupid IEP goals and small group nonsense would have held DC back to 2nd grade. Some kids need 1-1 and will flourish.
Anonymous
01/06/2026 07:46
Subject: Non-consented IEP - SLD reading
I 100% agree with what the other posters have said. Having been through what you are going through, I have learned that you cannot rely on a school system to remediate your child despite the fact that you technically should be able to. This is a situation where you can "win the battle but loose the war" but it's not worth it.
Spend your time and resources getting him the reading help he needs.
I highly suggest reaching out to ASDEC locally and if private tutoring is not an option, you *can* do the intervention yourself using the Barton reading program. Susan Barton is a huge advocate for reading intervention and making it accessible to everyone. It's a scripted very structured program you can do on your own. Whether he has dyslexia or not, the method of teaching reading in this capacity is " beneficial for all, necessary for some" so you can't go wrong using the OrtonGillingham approach to reading (which is what ASDEC and Barton use).
Good luck!
Spend your time and resources getting him the reading help he needs.
I highly suggest reaching out to ASDEC locally and if private tutoring is not an option, you *can* do the intervention yourself using the Barton reading program. Susan Barton is a huge advocate for reading intervention and making it accessible to everyone. It's a scripted very structured program you can do on your own. Whether he has dyslexia or not, the method of teaching reading in this capacity is " beneficial for all, necessary for some" so you can't go wrong using the OrtonGillingham approach to reading (which is what ASDEC and Barton use).
Good luck!
Anonymous
01/06/2026 07:45
Subject: Non-consented IEP - SLD reading
I would take the money you would invest in an advocate and get him private tutoring instead. I say this as someone who has taught reading intervention pull outs. There are so many reasons that they can’t do the session—early release, 2 hour opening, it’s during an assembly, there’s a field trip, they have state testing, the interventionist has been pulled to teach another class because a sub didn’t show up. Maybe there’s a kid with ADHD in the group who is distracting of the others so the amount of actual instruction is much less than he needs.
If you have money, go for private 1:1 tutoring. Best bang for your buck.
If you have money, go for private 1:1 tutoring. Best bang for your buck.
Anonymous
01/06/2026 07:22
Subject: Non-consented IEP - SLD reading
Op- is this moco? The school has shown their colors- you are not going to get the help he needs through an iep. You need to start tutoring him yourself or oaging for private tutoring. Schools dont hsve the time, skill or expertise to handle dyslexia. Getting an advocate who will charge you.thlusands to better word a goal or get another goal added is just a waste of time
Anonymous
01/06/2026 07:21
Subject: Non-consented IEP - SLD reading
What area are you in now?
Anonymous
01/06/2026 06:50
Subject: Non-consented IEP - SLD reading
My foster child could not read at grade level and was, in fact, 2-3 years behind at the start of fourth grade. The school provided some additional help for him (like 30-45 minutes of a pullout with other students in his situation), but the teachers believed he would come along in due time and start to pick up on how to read.
All of the SPED interventions that could be found inside a school building were not going to get him even close to grade level no matter how many school years passed by.
The thing that worked was that we had him evaluated privately outside of school and the evaluation was very thorough (and expensive). It showed moderate dyslexia. We then sent the report to the school and the evaluator offered to look at the IEP that was developed and to come to any IEP meetings. The school upped their game as far as what they provided after they got that report. But there was no way, in the big picture, that they were going to be able to teach him to read with what they could provide. He needed intensive and sustained direct instruction by an expert using an evidenced-based dyslexia pedagogy in a 1:1 setting. That was the only thing that worked.
So he went after school twice a week for two years, and it was this private instruction that taught him to read. It cost a small fortune and was a real time commitment for him and everyone. But he entered middle school able to read. One silver lining was that he loved the tutor and she gave him his confidence back with her upbeat and warm demeanor and her belief in him, and she helped him to learn the study skills he could not previously learn because he could not read. His math improved too because there is reading that goes along with math (I hadn’t ever thought of that before she pointed it out).
All of the SPED interventions that could be found inside a school building were not going to get him even close to grade level no matter how many school years passed by.
The thing that worked was that we had him evaluated privately outside of school and the evaluation was very thorough (and expensive). It showed moderate dyslexia. We then sent the report to the school and the evaluator offered to look at the IEP that was developed and to come to any IEP meetings. The school upped their game as far as what they provided after they got that report. But there was no way, in the big picture, that they were going to be able to teach him to read with what they could provide. He needed intensive and sustained direct instruction by an expert using an evidenced-based dyslexia pedagogy in a 1:1 setting. That was the only thing that worked.
So he went after school twice a week for two years, and it was this private instruction that taught him to read. It cost a small fortune and was a real time commitment for him and everyone. But he entered middle school able to read. One silver lining was that he loved the tutor and she gave him his confidence back with her upbeat and warm demeanor and her belief in him, and she helped him to learn the study skills he could not previously learn because he could not read. His math improved too because there is reading that goes along with math (I hadn’t ever thought of that before she pointed it out).
Anonymous
01/06/2026 05:35
Subject: Re:Non-consented IEP - SLD reading
Given that the only issue is reading, which if a child can’t read at the level that learning takes place will have detrimental effects on all areas of learning, you might consider whether your money is better spent on private services. Time is not your friend and working through the process with an advocate is both expensive and time consuming.
Anonymous
01/06/2026 00:21
Subject: Non-consented IEP - SLD reading
In December, my 2nd grader was found eligible for SPED services as a student with a Specific Learning Disability as he is not achieving with oral expression, reading comprehension, reading fluency skills, written expression, and basic reading skills and there was a disorder noted with his long-term recall which impacts him in reading fluency skills, reading comprehension, written expresion, and basic reading skills.
He has been identified as a high-risk student for reading multiple times and had a reading plan in 1st grade and again in 2nd grade. His progress has been really slow, and he is currently reading around a late kindergarten to early first-grade level. He is working extremely hard and literally uses all of his emotional and cognitive energy during the school day.
We held his initial IEP meeting right before winter break, and I did not consent or not consent to the proposed IEP. I mentioned I needed the evening to review with my spouse, and we knew how to sign online, but I promptly reached out to express concerns and questions.
The proposed IEP had 1 goal, "Given words in isolation, child will decode words using current taught patterns (VCe, Longer Words, Ending Spelling Patterns, R-Controlled Vowels, Vowel teams, etc.) with 80% accuracy in 4 out of 5 opportunities by (1 year from that date).
The accommodations/modifications offered included preferential seating.
The service offered was "reading instruction, 30 minutes 1 times daily in the general education setting".
When I clarified whether he would be receiving more intensive reading interventions now that he qualified for an IEP, I was told that he is making progress in the small group and so they don't see a need to provide any additional services.....essentially what they said is that he making some progress, so they are going to continue with the EXACT SAME intervention, curriculum/strategies, and service time provided in literally the same group that he was receiving before he was found eligible for sped services that he had already been receiving for 1.5 years while he fell farther and farther behind....I was told that now there would be additional monitoring and we could change some of the approach if it seems like he is not progressing....but we have a TON of data and just reviewed his thorough evaluation that he was not achieving, despite interventions......
I politely said that I would wait to sign the IEP after I reviewed it with my husband that evening, but I mostly needed a moment to collect my thoughts, process it, and then request a follow-up IEP. I did so the following day and we held his follow-up IEP meeting today. My husband participated virtually while I was in person.
Everyone was very friendly (honestly it did not feel genuine most of the time) and I asked some questions about exploring a fluency goal (more about gaining reading fluency with text that is below grade level but still would support him practicing and becoming more fluent as he is also gaining decoding skills and I felt okay-ish with their answer. I also felt okay-ish with their answer about the setting, but when I inquired about the service and requested a more intensive service time, which could involve some additional one-on-one or small group sessions (I wasn't requesting a specific group size, person, or curriculum), I was told no. The principal asked how much additional time did I want to see and I said just a little and threw out 15 minutes extra a day (but that could be have been compromised to 10 minutes a day or 15 minutes 3 x a day). The principal brought up that any additional time would take away from other things and said that we don't want him doing only reading all day long (massive exaggeration).
I reviewed that this is literally the same supports that he received prior to being found eligible for sped services and the only difference after all of that will be increased monitoring and data collection??? There's no way with their current interventions that he will catch up to being on grade level in the next few years but the gap will just continue to grow.
The principal acted like her hands were just totally tied and we could non-consent to the IEP and then we would hold another IEP meeting in the next 10 days with one of the sped coordinators.....the principal came into the meeting knowing that literally anything I asked for in addition to what THEY came up with, would be refused. The IEP process is supposed to be collaborative and it was 100% not collaborative at all.
I was very polite through all of it, but remained firm in what I felt he needed (my husband is on the same page). I have close family who are current and retired educators in Arlington/Fairfax, and they were both shocked at his proposed IEP. I'm going to have to find a sped advocate at this point, which I've wanted to avoid, but my child having their needs met and honoring their motivation and perseverance motivates me to not just give in to something that isn't fully serving his needs.
Sorry for the novel.....any advice? I don't live in northern VA anymore, so I need to find an advocate who serves my area.
He has been identified as a high-risk student for reading multiple times and had a reading plan in 1st grade and again in 2nd grade. His progress has been really slow, and he is currently reading around a late kindergarten to early first-grade level. He is working extremely hard and literally uses all of his emotional and cognitive energy during the school day.
We held his initial IEP meeting right before winter break, and I did not consent or not consent to the proposed IEP. I mentioned I needed the evening to review with my spouse, and we knew how to sign online, but I promptly reached out to express concerns and questions.
The proposed IEP had 1 goal, "Given words in isolation, child will decode words using current taught patterns (VCe, Longer Words, Ending Spelling Patterns, R-Controlled Vowels, Vowel teams, etc.) with 80% accuracy in 4 out of 5 opportunities by (1 year from that date).
The accommodations/modifications offered included preferential seating.
The service offered was "reading instruction, 30 minutes 1 times daily in the general education setting".
When I clarified whether he would be receiving more intensive reading interventions now that he qualified for an IEP, I was told that he is making progress in the small group and so they don't see a need to provide any additional services.....essentially what they said is that he making some progress, so they are going to continue with the EXACT SAME intervention, curriculum/strategies, and service time provided in literally the same group that he was receiving before he was found eligible for sped services that he had already been receiving for 1.5 years while he fell farther and farther behind....I was told that now there would be additional monitoring and we could change some of the approach if it seems like he is not progressing....but we have a TON of data and just reviewed his thorough evaluation that he was not achieving, despite interventions......
I politely said that I would wait to sign the IEP after I reviewed it with my husband that evening, but I mostly needed a moment to collect my thoughts, process it, and then request a follow-up IEP. I did so the following day and we held his follow-up IEP meeting today. My husband participated virtually while I was in person.
Everyone was very friendly (honestly it did not feel genuine most of the time) and I asked some questions about exploring a fluency goal (more about gaining reading fluency with text that is below grade level but still would support him practicing and becoming more fluent as he is also gaining decoding skills and I felt okay-ish with their answer. I also felt okay-ish with their answer about the setting, but when I inquired about the service and requested a more intensive service time, which could involve some additional one-on-one or small group sessions (I wasn't requesting a specific group size, person, or curriculum), I was told no. The principal asked how much additional time did I want to see and I said just a little and threw out 15 minutes extra a day (but that could be have been compromised to 10 minutes a day or 15 minutes 3 x a day). The principal brought up that any additional time would take away from other things and said that we don't want him doing only reading all day long (massive exaggeration).
I reviewed that this is literally the same supports that he received prior to being found eligible for sped services and the only difference after all of that will be increased monitoring and data collection??? There's no way with their current interventions that he will catch up to being on grade level in the next few years but the gap will just continue to grow.
The principal acted like her hands were just totally tied and we could non-consent to the IEP and then we would hold another IEP meeting in the next 10 days with one of the sped coordinators.....the principal came into the meeting knowing that literally anything I asked for in addition to what THEY came up with, would be refused. The IEP process is supposed to be collaborative and it was 100% not collaborative at all.
I was very polite through all of it, but remained firm in what I felt he needed (my husband is on the same page). I have close family who are current and retired educators in Arlington/Fairfax, and they were both shocked at his proposed IEP. I'm going to have to find a sped advocate at this point, which I've wanted to avoid, but my child having their needs met and honoring their motivation and perseverance motivates me to not just give in to something that isn't fully serving his needs.
Sorry for the novel.....any advice? I don't live in northern VA anymore, so I need to find an advocate who serves my area.