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    #222735 09/23/15 07:02 AM
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    Received letter today:

    The district refuses to conduct an initial special education evaluation.

    This option is rejected due to the determination by the district that an evaluation is not warranted and a disability is not suspected. The student is currently functioning within expected levels as documented in classroom performance and in district assessment data.


    The letter further references DS has a current 504 to provide accommodations in the educational setting, and that *some* of NP's recommendations were considered: namely, continuation of 504 and providing access to intellectual peers and appropriately challenging curriculum.

    I guess any help DS receives will be on my time and dime.

    Ugh.

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    Well that stinks. The line "currently functioning within expected levels as documented in classroom performance" misses the point. Can you use evidence that your son takes a long time to do homework, is disorganized or something like that to argue that his disability has a significant impact on his academic progress?

    Would your school accept a third party psych eval? I think most have to.

    Sorry that this happened. Sometimes I wonder why I bother at all with the education system.

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    Originally Posted by spaghetti
    It will be OK. There are pluses and minuses about having an IEP kid. Make that 504 super strong and when there's balking, you can threaten that "this might require an IEP".
    The 504 isn't working too well for us right now.

    The thing DS needs most of all is some kind of BIP, but it looks like that's not forthcoming.

    We are almost 1/4 of the way through the year. I can do anything for another eight months, right?


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    Originally Posted by BSM
    Would your school accept a third party psych eval? I think most have to.
    They accepted it and, evidently, ignored the parts that don't fit in their "no suspected disability" angle. DS' BASC teacher data was horrifying, but apparently is not concerning to the school.


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    I think the main reason we have the IEP is that DS has outbursts and is disruptive. If he was quiet and internalized his issues, I doubt we would have one. Which is sad because he clearly needs it.

    And as I've mentioned before, having an IEP is just the beginning. Then you need to get the school to follow it, which has not been happening in our case.

    Lately, I've been tempted to tell DS that he will succeed in spite of school rather than because of it.

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    Originally Posted by BSM
    I think the main reason we have the IEP is that DS has outbursts and is disruptive. If he was quiet and internalized his issues, I doubt we would have one. Which is sad because he clearly needs it.

    And as I've mentioned before, having an IEP is just the beginning. Then you need to get the school to follow it, which has not been happening in our case.

    Lately, I've been tempted to tell DS that he will succeed in spite of school rather than because of it.
    Yes, I was just hoping someone at school would directly work with him because I am running myself into the ground trying to be his paraprofessional.

    On the upside: I am doing MUCH better in middle school this go-round than I did when it was my turn. :P (My experience mirrored DS' experience, almost exactly. Except he is smarter.)

    His shut-down internalizing thing doesn't help much, does it? That's why part of me is tempted to sic him on the school without my help. It wouldn't serve DS, though, so I'll resist.

    Originally Posted by spaghetti
    He should still be able to have behavioral intervention with a 504.
    504 Coordinator originally said he could, but then said he can't. His behaviors are not disruptive (to anyone else) at this time but do interfere with his ability to function.

    Originally Posted by spaghetti
    Now is the time to focus on the issues your DS is having, and how can we set him up for success? Keep at it. What does he need? Look it happened again. He's in middle school, yes? If so, keep on the guidance counselor and copy the administrators (either VP or principal depending on who would get involved).
    They aren't seeing the issues, I guess, because I'm over-functioning for him at home. I am keeping your advice in mind, along with the last post you shared with me. Right now is time to lay low but I may need to make a second wave attempt at some point.

    Originally Posted by spaghetti
    Keep it about how the disability is showing up and messing with his success. And every once in a while mention that this is "consistent with the disability".

    And if after a while of this, you are getting negative feedback rather than a spirit of helpfulness, you really need to consider a different educational environment. He deserves a full education, one that supports all of him.

    Don't give up. You have one answer about what is not happening, and now you need to make a map of other roads you can follow.
    Thank you! It's all a work in process. There's not a great fit for him right now--trying to make the best of the least worst-option. I'm not letting him fall through the cracks, but this may take decades off my life.

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    This is in violation of the "child find" mandate. They already know he has a disability, he has ADHD and ASD, right? They can't just refuse to evaluate. You do not have to accept this, you can sign the form saying "I don't agree" and take them to mediation or due process. Then they would have to prove why they are in their right to not do an evaluation in front of a hearing officer (and will probably come off looking ridiculous). What you "should" have gotten is a "Prior Written Notice" there should be a box to allow you to disagree with their "proposal" to do nothing.

    I thought our district was really bad, and they fought me on evaluating DD (and fought certain testing that I asked for), but they never outright denied an evaluation. I would be furious. I would call your State Dept. of Ed and talk to someone in "compliance" and ask for advice. It's possible you can also file a formal complaint, stating that they are violating child find by refusing to evaluate a student with a known disability (they are supposed to evaluate even if a disability is "suspected", so I don't see how they can claim no disability is suspected, if you already have an outside report with diagnosis codes!)


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    Quote
    Yes, I was just hoping someone at school would directly work with him because I am running myself into the ground trying to be his paraprofessional.

    If it is any consolation, my wife and I are both missing sleep over having to deal with calls and emails from the school about DS's behavior, shepherding him through the excessive nightly homework assignments, talking through his anxiety issues, and the overall stress of the matter.

    I don't think the school personnel get how hard it is to be a child of the 2e kid unless they are 2e themselves or have such a child.

    But you are doing what's right for your son and that's what matters. Fighting the good fight is not easy but it is the right thing to do, always.

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    Originally Posted by blackcat
    You do not have to accept this, you can sign the form saying "I don't agree" and take them to mediation or due process. Then they would have to prove why they are in their right to not do an evaluation in front of a hearing officer (and will probably come off looking ridiculous). What you "should" have gotten is a "Prior Written Notice" there should be a box to allow you to disagree with their "proposal" to do nothing.
    There is a note at the bottom of the Notice of Action stating to contact the processor immediately if I have any questions or object to the action, but what would I even say? WTH is all I've got, really, and that would probably not be persuasive.
    Originally Posted by blackcat
    It's possible you can also file a formal complaint, stating that they are violating child find by refusing to evaluate a student with a known disability (they are supposed to evaluate even if a disability is "suspected", so I don't see how they can claim no disability is suspected, if you already have an outside report with diagnosis codes!)
    I think they can say they don't suspect an "educational disability," can't they? My understanding is there is a difference between a medical diagnosis and an educational one.

    Originally Posted by BSM
    If it's any consolation, my wife and I are both missing sleep over having to deal with calls and emails from the school about DS's behavior, shepherding him through the excessive nightly homework assignments, talking through his anxiety issues, and the overall stress of the matter.

    It's consolation in the "misery loves company" way. I hate this for all of us, especially our children.

    Originally Posted by BSM
    But you are doing what's right for your son and that's what matters. Fighting the good fight is not easy but it is the right thing to do, always.
    I feel like the fight is all worn out of me. smirk

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    Here is a helpful link:
    http://www.wrightslaw.com/info/child.find.mandate.htm

    Basically, what they are doing, is finding him ineligible for services without even addressing your concerns (and teacher concerns) by evaluating him. I guess if all of the teachers stated that there are no concerns, then you don't have a leg to stand on, but you have piles of emails and documentation stating otherwise. It's not just about standardized test scores (our sped director was obsessed with this as well), it's also about functioning in the school setting and how the disability impacts his work completion in terms of meeting deadlines, organization, ability to do certain assignments (you had mentioned concerns with his writing, for instance). If the disability potentially has an educaitonal impact, then they need to evaluate. They can't just look at his grades and say that they don't need to evaluate, because even students with passing grades can be eligible for an IEP.

    You could rewrite what I just wrote to make it sound better, and send it back to them. I would talk to someone in compliance or your advocate first, though.


    Another thing I want to point out, is it may be a worthless battle, depending on who made this decision. If the people who made the decision are also the people who would be evaluating, you know they are going to find him "normal" in the evaluation and if he does indeed have any problems, it's because of the "crazy mom". KWIM? Some hearing officers will order an IEE though, allowing the parent to bypass the inept and/or adversarial people in the school. You can find an evaluator who will go to the school to observe, test him, etc.

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