I would not let them deter you. Buy a copy (or two) of the Iowa Acceleration Scale and take it with you. You can fill it in ahead of time to be confident that your child would be eligible to skip. Then print off several copies of A Nation Deceived and provide them to the people in the meeting. At that point, you can confidently assert "I am certain you just were not aware of all of the research supporting acceleration...." It is hard for them to dispute all of the research.

However, I think it is important to be clear in your own mind what you want - full skip, subject acceleration, etc. I know that we want this to be a collaborative process but unfortunately in our experience it doesn't work that way. It usually ends up more like a negotiation, so ask for more than you want. The IAS helps with this.

"first grader who once had a zipper meltdown and acted like a T. Rex on occasion from going to second? "

I was just on a 3rd grade field trip today. At least one third of the boys were playing dinosaurs... In addition, two kids (one boy) cried over very trivial issues.

I don't know where they come up with the maturity stuff, but most of the time it is just a proxy for "I believe that acceleration in any form is bad." You have to battle it with research and then it can be helpful if you use the terms "a free and appropriate education" and also "evidence based practice."

Good luck, keep us posted. And great news on the DYS level scores. Help is always a nice thing.

Cat