Wyletta: How can a school system deny your child a reading specialist, stating, she has an IEP in place, despite very low reading scores? Is this in compliance with federal laws?
Reading: LOW READING SCORES, SCHOOL DENIES READING SPECIALIST
Special Education Law and Advocacy
IF a school denies something on an IEP or a request by the parent they must give you a prior written notice document to explain why. Once you get this you have some options. You may request that a reading/writing evaluation be done by the school & you must sign the school’s consent form to make sure that the testing is done within 60 days. After you go over the results they may agree with providing specialist reading for you son. If they still don’t do this you may refuse to sign the document & request another evaluation from an outside specialist at the schools expense. You must request this in writing. The school will provide sources for an outside eval. You don’t have to use any of these. Once you get the outside test results the school must review them.
Just a general follow-up question–what is in place for your daughter this summer? Is ESY an option? Does the school have any recommendations for the summer for her to keep up with her reading skills?
Schools are to identify & address all of a student’s needs. A reading specialist can assist the IEP team & the teachers in providing appropriate reading instruction. If you are not working with the special ed dept., I suggest that you do. Your state parent training & information center can assist you. http://www.parentcenterhub.org/find-your-center/