If school personnel believe that anxiety is the primary disability, and that it is not being addressed, it is possible that they believe they are, in the best interest of the child, using the evaluation as leverage to get the child into treatment for the anxiety. Of course, if the school's belief is inaccurate, and the anxiety is the result of learning challenges, rather than the reverse, then this is clearly to the disadvantage of the child.
Is the child in a state where the family can push for a comprehensive initial evaluation directly, or do they have to go through the RTI process, or seek the approval of the school-based team? Many states have provisions for guardians to bypass RTI and go directly to a request for initial evaluation.
I do agree that the writing should be remediated through RTI immediately, regardless of disability classification, as, whether or not he "can when he tries", his current performance level is not classroom functional.
