Were you ever able to request an IEE in writing? And if so, what was the school's response? To recap/expand from my earlier comments re: IEE, some of the points to consider raising would include:
1. defective evaluation in the area of written expression. As the examiner was unable to obtain a normative assessment in all aspects of the suspected disability area of written expression, the district's finding of no disability in this area is not data-driven. Notably, they also ignored a writing score that was below average (Alphabet Writing Fluency), and one that was even lower in the below average range, bordering on low (Sentence Building). If they claim that the assessment was adequate, then these low scores should have been addressed with more seriousness in the eligibility discussion.
2. defective (nearly non-existent) assessment in areas of suspected disability that were suggested during the evaluation process, in behavior and self-regulation (executive functions). The behavior described as a meltdown when presented with an extended writing task was portrayed by the district as having sufficient clinical significance that they drew the conclusion that his writing performance deficits were purely behavioral in nature. Given the intensity of the resistance, that is a clear indication that further evaluation efforts should have been directed toward identifying any possible disabilities related to behavior, such as self-regulation or sensory-motor triggers.
3. defective (absent) evaluation in areas of suspected disability related to dysgraphia (which was part of the referral question), as an occupational therapy evaluation was not conducted, despite normative and clinical data suggesting fine-motor concerns (PSI significantly weaker than other cognitive measures, below average AWF, extreme emotional/behavioral response to a lengthy complex fine-motor task (Essay Composition)).
4. As the district has already demonstrated and admitted that they are unable to complete an effective comprehensive evaluation, the requested remedy would be a comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation at district expense, including assessments in expressive language, written expression, executive functions, and emotional-behavioral areas, and an occupational therapy evaluation, including fine-motor and sensory processing. (Note: they explictly acknowledged that they were unable to complete a valid evaluation of his written expression skills by claiming that the low scores and refused subtests were underestimates of his skills in those areas, even though they are consistent with his classroom performance.)
Sorry it took so long to respond, there were some things I was waiting on.
1. We have not requested an IEE yet because we are scheduled with a psychologist who tests for learning disabilities and also tests for giftedness. We will meet with her in May and see what she says first. She told us that she wants to look at the report the school originally did and give her opinion on that, as well. It was give us ammunition in our fight for accommodations.
2. We were also waiting to see the results of the charter school lottery we signed up for. He did not get in. We are looking at tutoring to give him some kind of enrichment while we are waiting for the new assessment.
3. The school is not implementing the 504 that he has right now. I cannot find any information about what to do about that.
