What should I press for next? Any tips are welcome.
Good job so far.
A few ideas for possible next steps:
In general1) Keep up with reading on:
- State Laws
- School Policy
- Wrightslaw
- 2e resources
- current government school educational climate, ushered in by common core and enforced by extensive data collection: schools and teachers are rated/ranked based upon achieving equal outcomes and closing gaps (which may be accomplished by capping the growth of kids at the top)
2) Document everything, with time/date, person(s) you spoke with. Keep this in a safe place at home. ALWAYS retain your original documents; if you wish to provide something to the school, provide copies. Document what was provided, to whom, and when. Follow-up to ensure it was received.
504When the principal states that the accommodations which you have requested are best practice and are already being done, you might want to to suggest that then it would be no problem or inconvenience to formally document them in a 504.
GiftedI think I would inquire as to why the school declined to test in 1st grade, for admissions to the 2nd grade gifted program. This may be key to opening the door for reconsidering their decision (or lack of in-school data upon which to base a decision).
Meanwhile, what does the "gifted program" consist of? Do you believe it would be a good "fit" for your child? Would it meet your child's needs for appropriate academic challenge and placement with intellectual peers?
