Texas Laws and Dyslexia?

Question

My son is in the 8th grae in public schools in Texas. He suffers with dyslexia. The school is telling me that he has to pass the exact same TAKS test as all the toher kids and if he does not pass he will be help back. I am outraged! he cant not spell, strugles with reading and math. To me it is like taking pro atheltes and special olymic people and making them comepete. Does anyone know the laws or how to find out his rights?

Answer 1

Having dyslexia sucks

When my daughter was much younger at primary school. We had just been told she was dyslexic, just prior to a similar test done here in Aussie, she failed even though I had told the school, that she had dyslexia. Her dyslexia was not taken into consideration, due to having only just being diagnosed, and was not noted as dyslexic at the start of the year.

Needless to say I was furious, as the report came back saying she had failed, the reading and comprehension. Even though the teacher who over saw the test had written on top of the test paper this child has just been diagnosed as having dyslexia, he the teacher was very much on my side, and was equally disappointed.

So I rang the education board and complained, that they had set my daughter up to fail, by not taking into consideration the recent diagnosis. I also told them that just because a child has not had a noted learning difficulty at the beginning of the year is irrelevant, as children are diagnosed with learning difficulties any time of the year. And as the school was aware my daughter was struggling, and had even helped in organising for her to be assessed, so they should have it noted a "undiagnosed learning difficulty" prior to the test.

I also raised the same issues with the school, and told them that I would refuse to let her do future tests if she is going to fail, because they had noted her learning difficulty.

May I suggest that you call the education department in Texas, and find out what their guidelines are about learning difficulties, and the TAKS test, and if he sat this test do they take into consideration his dyslexia. If they don't ask why? Remind them that it could be considered discrimination, if they do not take into consideration any form of learning difficulty.

As for allowing a certain amount of students to apply for special consideration is seriously unfair, parents/guardians and other bodies need to fight this. What if you have a small community who have a rather large number of people with disabilities or learning difficulties.

I live in a small town, and there is a large number of families who have a family member with a disability or a learning difficulty, such a large amount in such a small town, is due to our having a very good special education school.

Would it be fair to if main stream students were not allowed to apply for special consideration because of the spec ed school, I think not, if you have a recognised learning difficulty it should be taken into consideration, regardless of town size or location.

Good luck with ensuring your sons, dyslexia being recognised, and the school does not hold him, but supports him through to the following years of his school life.

Answer 2

No Child Left Behind states that all subgroups of students, including special education students, must pass grade level testing in order to move on. This means the EXACT same test as his non-disabled peers, even if your son reads/does math at a fifth grade level. That being said, he is allowed to use standard accommodations on the test, such as explaining the directions and extended time. The bad thing is that the accommodations that would benefit your child are considered non-standard, such as reading the test to him or a calculator. I'm in AZ and only 1% of the SPED population in our school are allowed to use non-standard accommodations. I am in a small district and that means that 1 student is eligible.
Contact your SPED director and find out if your son would be able to qualify for non-standard accommodations. If there are students with a more profound disability and you live in a small district, those accommodations would go to the child who needs them most, but it's worth trying. Also, find out from the SPED director if he has to pass, or just show progress compared to previous tests.
I feel for you and understand the frustration you're feeling, as I have the same issues. NCLB doesn't seem to want to acknowledge that learning disabilities are real and provide the students with what they need to show what they know on these tests. IDEA was much more accommodating to students (allowing testing at ability level), but NCLB seems determined to leave more children behind.

I hope this helps.

for Georgie: It is unfair, but, unfortunately, it is also the law as defined by NCLB.

Answer 3

The details of state law can vary--but in this case is irrelevant to the main issue. Under the IDEA and ADA, your son is entitled to reasonable accomodations (and Texas is bound by those federal laws.

Provided he does receive the proper support, teaching, and accomodaations, he can (and should) be required to pass the same test. But with proper accomodations, that should not be a problem--dyslexia does not affect cognitive ability.

What you do need to do is talk to someone who is qualified to evaluate the situation and be suure your son is getting the right accomodations. I'd suggest you talk to the local advocay groups for people with dyslexia and/or the Department of Vocational Rehabilitation.

Answer 4

It sounds like you need to get yourself up to speed with advocacy, knowledge about viable accommodations, and methods that you can use to help your son. Check out the Special Education Guidebook (link below) for a step-by-step progression for helping your son. During this summer, I'd HIGHLY recommend having your son use a program like LexiaLearning's Reading program and Reflex Math EVERY day for about 30 minutes just before bed. Practicing before bed will help with his ability to remember the concepts. If he works in each of these programs 30 minutes each day between now and the test, it should help him with his ability to work with more skill and fluency. GOOD LUCK!

Answer 5

This is why we had to pull our daughter out of public school and into a private school for children with learning differences. And guess what? She also has to go to a private college because she won't be able to pass the Texas proficiency test in college. Her disability is in Math.

Try to get accommodations and talk to your special education department. He can get a diploma, it just won't be a standard one.

Answer 6

PL94-142 was enacted by Congress in order to assure "a free and appropriate public education" for everyone, especially for children with special needs. See the principal about getting him evaluated so he will qualify for special services; he has to have a diagnosis and severity level to be eligible. Also check into the Americans With Disabilities Act ("ADA"). You may have more ammunition if you do your homework.

Answer 7

Here are a couple of links:
www.esc2.net/centers/instructional/reading-writing/Dyslexia/dystaksaccommodations.ppt
http://www.tea.state.tx.us/taa/studassmt102706.html

It looks like he still has to take the TAKS test like the other students but some accomodations like additional time and oral reading of the the passages will be made.

Answer 8

Doesn't you know that this kids as so many others, are very specil people. There are laws, good ones, that defend and protect their rights. Just go directly to the Dissabled people Goverment Office and file a complaint, if any. They have the answers to your questions.

Answer 9

What is the lowest grade that can be put on the report card for a special ed student?

Answer 10

That is true throughout the country because of No Child Left Behind (NCLB).

Good Luck!!!