I asked and the principal said that there is no way that they can do any type of evaluation or diagnosis. They will not pay for or do anything except implement suggestions that we bring to them from outside evals. I know, having fought this fight before, that getting anything evaluated by the school for a student who is performing above grade level is nearly impossible. I did manage to get the WIAT (achievement) administered for dd14, who is hugely above grade level and grade accelerated, b/c it was simple. However, things like OT evals, IQ, anything involving LDs for kids who aren't below grade level, ADD evals, etc. flat out don't happen. I spent a couple months on this and worked all the way to the state dept of ed with dd14. We got nowhere other than getting the WIAT done for her. Everything else we had to do privately and pay for ourselves.
Hi Cricket2,
That's... lame. I can tell you that our DS is considerably above grade level across the board, and he has needed and received extensive evaluation and remediation. (Admittedly: we had to argue hard at the start, AND he had disruptive behavior, which meant that everyone was eager to help. Much harder for a well-behaved child.)
The law mandates that if you request an evaluation in any area of suspected disability, they are required to evaluate or say why they won't; at which point you can challenge that decision in a variety of ways. They are being negligent by leaving your DD with a suspected LD unevaluated. They have a "child find" obligation to *seek out* and support students with disabilities.
IDEA also covers "academic and functional skills"-- which means if your child is not failing but lacks the ability to function in ways that impede normal schooling (i.e. can't find papers or remember to turn them in or whatever to an extreme degree) that is covered as a special educational need under the law. (If you type "functional" into the search box at wrightslaw.com, you will get information on this.)
When you asked, did you ask *in writing*? Because it is often the (evil, illegal) practice to tell people "no" who ask verbally. If you ask in writing, they have legal obligations to you; it is all outlined on wrightslaw.
In short-- I believe the school owes you an eval, though I totally understand that local practice may be so against you that it's beating your head against the wall. A letter from an advocate who drops the appropriate legalese to the director of special ed in your district might help. Or might not. Sometimes there has been enough water under the bridge, or lawsuits by other parents, or what have you, to change the game, and it becomes worth trying again.
My feeling would be to pursue the eval with a neuropsych, because without it you would be flying blind. You can be specific-- you may not really need new IQ numbers, but achievement numbers and tests that measure reading skills, memory, and the various kinds of attention would give you data to decide what to do next. You could then take this data back to the school to negotiate further based on evidence that there's need.
That's probably how I'd approach it...
DeeDee
