1. Most school districts require a delay of two years in order to fund testing.
2. To make your request "legal", put it in writing and send it to the principal with cc's to the special ed chair and any other administrative staff who are involved in testing (counselor, evaluator, etc.). Detail the specific difficulties that are affecting your child in the school setting - poor hand writing, slow writing, difficulty memorizing math tables, etc.). They may still deny the request, but it will give you a better shot.
3. Check with your insurance to see if you can get testing for a developmental delay. Most insurances will not cover academic testing, but they will cover many of the same tests in the process of testing for a developmental problem.
4. If you test privately, check with the district administration to verify the process and requirements the school has for accepting private results. Make sure you find out if they only work with specific evaluators. Some districts have strict guidelines, so if you know how to play the game before you start, it helps a lot.
Our district wouldn't test my son for the same reason, despite all of his teachers showing up at the meeting and stating it was an obvious problem. We had the testing done privately by a psychologist who often worked as a consultant for the school district. The next year, the school accepted the diagnosis and put my son in an IEP.
Last edited by ABQMom; 10/09/12 06:28 AM. Reason: Can't type on an iPad
