Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy Do these people even know what they're doing?

Def. get the book. I can already imagine the great letters you will write! I think that just starting to document things the way Wright suggests puts the school on notice that you are serious. And that if one day it does end up before a judge, the stack of letters will show how reasonable you were and how ridiculous they were. Sometimes when they realize what you are doing they suddenly become more flexible.

Yes, this totally! And that book will help you do this.

Meaning you sue them?

In that case, the most important thing is the name of the judge.

Well, I am just sharing what Pete Wright has in his books and workshops--and since he argued and won a case before the Supreme Court I figure he knows what he is talking about1 And not actually sueing them--due process or something? My point is by doing what he suggests it is less likely to end up in front of a judge.

Edited to add: just saw your edit--and yes--that is the point--the sheer volume of evidence showing the parent did everything possible to get their child an appropriate education in a reasonable way becomes hard to find against.

In most cases, if your paper trail is good enough, it doesn't make it to court. But it helps to be ready.

Yes, all thanks to Wrightslaw!

DeeDee

Doclori, this article may help:

http://www.davidsongifted.org/db/Articles_id_10651.aspx

A comment creates confusion... affordability and charter schools... Private schools cost money but charter schools are public, tuition free... is this not true in LA?

Sorry, I misused the word. It's not a charter, it's a private.

There are no charters in my area.

From what you've described, the people you've dealt with aren't interested in meeting you're daughter's needs. So you need a new strategy. They work in a bureaucratic system and I recommend that you use everything that system has to get what your daughter needs. My advice is to look up the law on what they have to do for gifted kids and write a letter to her school and the school board that quotes it chapter and verse.

Include the stuff you have in writing that makes your case, like her score on the end-of-second grade test and any teacher notes or emails.

For example, you could go after them on their failure to follow the recommendations of the testing they gave her. Where does the law stand on this point? If she passes a test (you said her reading was off the scale for end-of-second-grade), does the law mandate that they give her appropriate assignments? Or are they allowed to ignore the results and force her to do work that she has already mastered? What about an end-of-first grade math test? Call the office of gifted ed. and get answers to this and other questions. Get answers in writing or ask them to point to a relevant section of the law.

If the district has a policy on grade skipping but the principal made a blanket statement saying he'd never even consider or allow it, use this as part of your argument that they have no intention of meeting her needs (or those of any other gifted kid for that matter). Do you have his statement in this regard in writing? If not, get it (send him an email or a real letter asking "Is there any way you might reconsider or some such thing that leaves the door open).

Quote precisely what the law says and give specific examples of how the school if failing to meet its requirements under the law. If they said they differentiate appropriately, give examples of how their idea of appropriate differentiation isn't meeting the standard set by the law. Quote the Iowa manual and respected reports like A Nation Deceived. Etc.


You may have to accept that in order to get what you want, you're going to have to annoy them or make them angry with you --- primarily because it sounds like they're going to have to be forced to help your daughter.

I understand that NCLB has mandates that discourage helping gifted kids, but if the law says they have to help her, it's too bad.

Final advice: write everything down (ask JonLaw about this). If you rely on verbal conversations, people can have different memories or interpretations of what was said.

Actually, from everything that's gone on so far, it seems that they are interested in meeting her needs, it's just that the people in position to make decisions are completely unaware of what those needs are, and how they need to be met. The state requires a free and appropriate public education, but the contention is, what is appropriate? Hence the original question... do they even know what they're doing? All signs point to "No."

Earlier, I pointed out a number of misconceptions about the nature of giftedness that they brought up during the meeting. If you assume that they're all true, then their strategy makes perfect sense, and is the best fit for my daughter. The problem is that none of them are true. Thus, it falls to us to provide a preponderance of evidence... and even that may not be enough, because if everyone was able to accept validated evidence that challenges their own preconceptions, there'd be no such thing as a truther or a moonie.