March 29, 2007

ISSN: 1538-3202

Issue: 384
Subscribers: 47,114

News
Eligibility
IEPs
Law Library
Advocacy
IDEA 2004
NCLB

Pete and Pam Wright
Wrightslaw & The Special Ed Advocate
P. O. Box 1008
Deltaville, VA 23043

Copyright © 2007, Peter W. D. Wright and Pamela Darr Wright. All rights reserved. Please do NOT reprint or host on your website without explicit permission.

At Wrightslaw, our mission is to help you gain the knowledge and skills you need to navigate the confusing, changing world of special education.

The Special Ed Advocate is the only weekly e-zine with accurate, reliable information about special education law, education law, and advocacy for children with disabilities.

Published continuously since April 1998, subscribers receive alerts about new decisions, events, and special offers on Wrightslaw publications and products. Sign up free today!

In this wide-ranging interview by the President of a state LDA chapter, you will learn about:

- requirements for present levels of academic achievement and functional performance
- how to use a private educational consultant
- requirements for measurable academic and functional goals
- accommodations and modifications
- impact of low expectations
- how to avoid methodology disputes
- tutoring; how to find qualified tutors
- response to intervention (RTI)
- extended school year (ESY)
- the parent's (active) role

Read SMART IEPs: A Tactics and Strategy Session with Pete and Pam Wright.

Learn more about IEPs.

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"My son is 8 years old and in 2nd grade. Last fall, the school evaluated him, found that he has a learning disability, and placed him in a resource class for reading. He is not learning to read in the resource class. He is failing math and barely passing his other subjects. His teacher is talking about retaining him."

In My Child Is Not Learning to Read - What Can I Ask the School to Do?, Sue Heath answers this parent's questions about using evaluation results in IEPs, and preparing for IEP meetings.
 
Sue also describes requirements for research-based reading programs, retention, and other thorny issues. Read article.

Read more articles by Sue about IEPs, reading, high-stakes testing, retention and advocacy strategies in Doing Your Homework.

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Last week, we asked a question about test scores: "Joey has a standard score of 70 on the Woodcock Reading Mastery Test. Is his percentile rank 84, 50, 16, 2?"

• 14% said Joey's percentile rank was 84.
• 23% said his percentile rank was 50.
• 35% said his percentile rank was 16.
• 29% said Joey's percentile rank was 2.

The correct answer is 2.

It may help you to think about test scores in a different context. Assume your child has a temperature of 101. Twelve hours later, her temperature is 104. Should you be worried about this increase? Should you contact her doctor?

If you didn't know that the "normal" temperature is 98.6, you may not be as concerned. You may delay calling your child's doctor which could lead to serious problems.

Medical tests and educational tests provide you with valuable information. You must take the time to learn about educational tests and what the test results mean.

If you did not get the correct answer on this questions, please read Chapters 10 and 11 in Wrightslaw: From Emotions to Advocacy. Do the Homework Assignments at the end of both chapters.

As Pete says, "Learning how to measure your child's progress is more important than learning the law."

New Question

This week's question: "Is dyslexia a specific learning disability under IDEA?"

To answer, see Quick Question box on the left side of this newsletter. If you don't see the question, your email program may have blocked it. Check the newsletter or the home page of the Wrightslaw site (left column) to answer this week's question.

We will give you the correct answer in next week's newsletter.

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If you chuckled when you read The Lighter Side of Special Ed: Parents and Kids in the last issue of the Special Ed Advocate, you'll want to read Aimee's observations about IEPs and IEP meetings.

"Your school district, in an ongoing effort to remind you of the incredibly small role moms and dads play in this process, will start by sending you an 'Invitation' to attend your child's IEP meeting."

"When you appear for the meeting, you will again be reminded of the peripheral nature of your participation when you discover that the school has rented a small baseball stadium to accommodate all the members of your child's team."

"All district personnel are seated on full size chairs while you are left to sit on little plastic children's chairs made by Fisher Price."

Are you laughing yet? Read The Lighter Side of Special Ed: The IEP.

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"Help! I need to get an evaluation of my child - where can I find a good evaluator?"

The purpose of the Yellow Pages for Kids is to help parents find information and help.

The Yellow Pages for Kids site is unique. Tens of thousands of agencies, organizations and service providers are listed in all states, territories, and countries.

Your state Yellow Pages includes listings for psychologists, educational diagnosticians, therapists, health care providers, academic tutors, special education schools, advocates, attorneys, support and study groups, and others who provide services to parents and children.

If you are looking for help, visit the Yellow Pages for Kids with Disabilities!

To Providers: Getting Listed

If you help parents and caregivers get services for children with disabilities (i.e., as an evaluator, educational consultant, academic tutor, advocate, attorney, special ed school, etc.) or you facilitate a support or study group, please submit an application be listed on your State Yellow Pages for Kids.

Listings are free!

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We are scheduling programs for 2007 and 2008. If you are interested in bringing a Wrightslaw program to your community, please read our Conference Information page.

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