I need to have my 13 year old placed in Special Ed, who do I talk to, other than the principal?

Question

My son is 13 and struggles in school, he is in the 6 grade and should be in 8. He is failing again. The thing is when it comes to his test he scores remarkably high. He can not spell and his hand writing is bad. Math is the subject he struggles in the most he is very behind when it comes to reading and science he does well. He just can't get the rest. It can be fustrating.

Answer 1

A student that is  struggling in school  will not always  be qualified as a special education student.

The first person to talk to is your son's  teacher , since the teacher fills out the application and request for observations and evaluations.

About scores being high. I do not think a child that has a learning disability and is part of Special education will get them.

Are you sure your expectations are right? It might be that he is not a math person and that is all. Not all the children do well on all subjects.

Again, Talk to the teacher about your concern. She is the only one that can request the evaluation. Create a wonderful relationship With her, that will help.

Good Luck!

Answer 2

jdeekdee has obviously had some very negative experiences, which is unfortunate.  Please don't believe that the school and the teachers won't help.  Start with your child's currect teachers.  Most educators do care and do want to help in any way they can.  She is right about getting educated on your rights, however.  As teachers we are under a lot of pressure not to over-enroll kids in special ed, so there may be some hoops to jump through.  You are entitled to an evaluation.  There are no guarantees about the outcome of the eval, but if your child is two grades behind, chances are the teachers have noticed and can help speed things along as best they can.  Remember the label "Special Ed" is just the beginning.  From there it still takes a lot of time and effort from both your child and you to keep things on track.  It's also important to keep an eye on graduation and how all education decisions can affect diploma choice.  Good luck!

Answer 3

Call the school's psychologist and request a full educational evaluation. After you hang up, follow up that conversation with a letter.

My 6 year old was recently diagnosed (middle of October) with autism. I gave the packet to the psychologist the next week. The neuropsychologist recommended speech, social skills group, and occupational therapy. Here it is the end of November, and my daughter still hasn't had a speech evaluation through the school. If nothing's done by the end of the year, she'll be going back from break with letters to each person requesting evaluations.

Answer 4

Doctor, current and previous teachers, guidance counselor.

Answer 5

there should be a special ed department at the school.........try and talk to them.

Answer 6

the doctor or the spe.ed teacher

Answer 7

HELP HIM THE BEST THAT YOU CAN BE SUPPORTED WITH HIM BE PATENT WITH HIM I KNOW IT WILL BE HARD TO DO IN THE BEGINNING I KNOW YOU CAN DO IT MUCH LOVE TO YOU

Answer 8

The parent and the school has to follow the law and the legal process for special ed. It is called 'IDEA'  individuals with disabilties education act'.

Most parents don't know about this law and process. Very unfortunately, schools arent' about to tell them.

Special ed in schools is VERY corrupt and do not want to help the children. What's more, no one enforces them to follow the laws and do right by these children.

Lots of people have tried to bring this to public attention but they are being silenced.

So many parents, including me, get tired of the losing battle and do homeschool, private, etc.

It's the cold, hard truth that you should know about.

If you want to pursue special ed, the legal process is as follows:

1. Write a letter to the district special ed director stating 'this letter is requesting an initial full educational evaluation testing in all areas of suspected disabiltities to determine if my child (name) can qualify for special education services as mandated by IDEA law'.

You HAVE to use these exact words or they will twist it on you. Happens all the time.

2. They will either agree or they give you 'prior written notice' stating their reasons for refusing to do the evaluation. Most likely they will NOT give you this because they have to have LEGAL reasons for refusing and they do NOT have legal reasons.

3. If they don't give you the prior written notice, you then file a formal state compliant and the state dept of education will make them give you the prior written notice. If the school does NOT have legal reason for refusing, they will then agree to do the evaluation because they will nto want the state to know they made their decision illegally.  

4. They will most likely tell you the following when you send this letter -

a. A child who makes good grades and/or good test grades can't qualify for special ed.

This is ILLEGAL. IDEA law states they CAN. So if they tell you this, tell them to show you any written policy that states they can not qualify. If they can't show you this (and believe me they can't) they can't refuse to do the evaluation.

If they tell you 'a' above, write and request 'prior written notice' for their refusal to do evaluation. They should then agree to do it because their reason of getting good grades is ILLEGAL.

b. The child will have to be in the 'intervention program ' first before the eval can be done.  ILLEGAL.  IDEA law states that when a PARENT requests an eval to  be done, it HAS to be done. It does NOT state the intervention program has to be done first. If their school and/or state law says this has to be done, it is ILLEGAL becuase federal IDEA law supercedes  school and/or state law for special ed.

c. They might tell you teh child has to first have an 'assesment' to see if they can have the 'evaluation' done. ILLEGAL. Same as 'b' above.

GO to www.wrightslaw.com and read up on the laws. It is a VERY confusing and lenghty process, but it CAN be done. Like I said, schools most likely will NOT help the child no matter what you do, but if you want this you can give it a shot.

If you need ANY help, you can email me at [e-mail]           THANKS!!

Answer 9

Has your son been formally assessed for a learning disability?

If not then you need start with seeing a paediatrician who will assess your son, he/she will also want to see his school reports, which will give them some idea of his learning capacity, including his strengths and weaknesses.

I would also speak to his current teacher and insist that they organize some testing through the school system, schools do have funding to have children who appear to be struggling, to be assessed.

If your son meets the criteria for special education, then he will be accepted into the special education program. If he is deemed to be above the criteria for special ed, but still requires class room support, such as teachers aid etc, then they will help in setting up support networks for him, including IEP (Individual Education Plan).

Also has he had his eyes and hearing tested, as this may cause learning difficulties, for many students, if not picked up.

Dyslexia, is a visual disturbance problem, causing reading, writing and learning problems, Dyscalculia causes problems with maths. So this should also be ruled out too.

Answer 10

I'm sorry that your son is struggling; however, he may or may not need special education services.  (He obviously needs more help, that's for sure.)

The law has changed.  With IDEIA 2004, there are several ways to see if your son qualifies for special education.  First, you could bring a medical diagnosis (from a physician).  Second, the regular ed teacher could (and should) provide intensive remediation and see if he responds to that.  Third, you can request to have him tested.

Many schools have some kind of student study team.  This is usually where this process begins.  Talk to your son's 6th grade teacher and ask for a conference with him/her, the principal, and any other teachers he has.  See what they say.  If you are dissatisfied with the results of this meeting, go to the district office and ask to speak with the special education director/coordinator.  Ask for a special education evaluation.  If they refuse, make your request in writing (with a copy to the district superintendent and the school principal).  If they ignore you again, find an advocacy group in your area.