One of the things we have realized during our years of doing this now, is that it is not just about grades.
Often when we find ourselves challenging a school on their responsibility to child find (identify a student's need for assessment and possible designation of special needs) because they say, "But her grades are so high we assumed their couldn't be a problem." Know as a parent or advocate for a child, that the letter grades they give in the classroom is only one metric used in identifying a child with special needs and it is not even the most heavily weighted metric.
I find myself smiling as I type this post because it is truly interesting how these districts tend to take whatever stance that supports the decision they made. We have had districts take both stances. Some want to their grades are too good so it's no other services needed while others will say because they can never really do well in class there is no need to give them more services. At the end of the day, the school and district are responsible for identifying students that may benefit from special services and then providing them with every service possible to provide that student the opportunity to access free and public education (FAPE).
If your child has good grades but finds themselves always in trouble, feels depressed or is withdrawn, they might qualify for special education and benefit from a program designed specifically for them. We recently had a student that had been expelled from a school in his district and forced to attend one that was further from his home because of a behavior issue. This was a 3.0 student that once assessed was found to have a specific learning disability. It was this disability that caused his new problems in high school that led to his behavior issues on campus. This is where we can help. If this story sounds familiar, contact our office. We can help!
Often when we find ourselves challenging a school on their responsibility to child find (identify a student's need for assessment and possible designation of special needs) because they say, "But her grades are so high we assumed their couldn't be a problem." Know as a parent or advocate for a child, that the letter grades they give in the classroom is only one metric used in identifying a child with special needs and it is not even the most heavily weighted metric.
I find myself smiling as I type this post because it is truly interesting how these districts tend to take whatever stance that supports the decision they made. We have had districts take both stances. Some want to their grades are too good so it's no other services needed while others will say because they can never really do well in class there is no need to give them more services. At the end of the day, the school and district are responsible for identifying students that may benefit from special services and then providing them with every service possible to provide that student the opportunity to access free and public education (FAPE).
If your child has good grades but finds themselves always in trouble, feels depressed or is withdrawn, they might qualify for special education and benefit from a program designed specifically for them. We recently had a student that had been expelled from a school in his district and forced to attend one that was further from his home because of a behavior issue. This was a 3.0 student that once assessed was found to have a specific learning disability. It was this disability that caused his new problems in high school that led to his behavior issues on campus. This is where we can help. If this story sounds familiar, contact our office. We can help!
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