I am trying to find just the right article to describe what went on in Darien, CT a few years ago but haven't been successful. This one should give you an idea of why you are facing this at some of your IEP/504 meetings though:
http://www.darientimes.com/18417/complaint-against-darien-schools-gains-steam/24 families ended up filing a lawsuit against this one high socio-economic status district when they got their hands on written documentation and PowerPoints training their staff in how to shut parents out of the planning for special Ed students. District staff was ordered to present "a united front" and get prior approval before entering any meeting where expensive items like OOD, 1:1 aides, iPads, etc were to even be considered. It was documented that all decisions were made prior to the meetings and parents were systematically excluded. No - sadly it's not your imagination...
What was effective for my DD and other 2E kids I know who got radical subject acceleration was a clear declarative statement in a neuropsych report that this acceleration was necessary. For my DD, who was crippled by school based anxiety at the time, the neuropsych stated that she *had* to have exposure to high level audio books twice a day. This took the form of "enrichment/anxiety" breaks while in 2nd grade at the public. Once these were in place it was easy for OOD spec Ed school to place her in 8th grade reading comprehension as a 3rd grader when their own testing confirmed the high level comprehension. That moved to 1:1 HS literature for 4th grade. Even though everyone now accepts it as necessary a new clinical director tried to throw a roadblock last spring because she "wasn't comfortable" with a 5th grader being around HS students when I asked about moving her into an actual classroom. Simultaneously, though, a friend's 2E 5th grader who is PG in math was approved to attend 12th grade math in the public HS. She used the same neuropsych who apparently has the magic touch for unlocking these types of things.
And as to to original question about who determines "appropriate"? I think it's supposed to be like the supreme court's definition of "obscenity" - I can't define it but I know it when I see it. I believe it's supposed to be determined on a case-by-case basis by the IEP team. As the case above points out, though, there are some serious issues there. And many people do think "at grade level" qualifies. For a non-disabled kid that's hard to fight against. As difficult as life is for a 2E kid as least the disabilities open up the discussion.
