Can you legally skip the weeks of intervention when testing a child for special education?

Question

When a child is obviously mentally impaired or autistic do you still have to try interventions in the classroom and prove that they do not help the child? The whole process of identifying a child with special needs can take 7 months after the weeks of interventions and the window allowed for testing. Children end up losing most of the academic year. Our district has a high transient rate so some children must start the process all over again when they go to a new school.

I was told that we needed to document six weeks of interventions becuase federal mandated it. The last child I worked with was not tested until April after the teacher noticed problems in August. The mom was in denial about any problems and nearly cried when school testing and a medical visit showed that she was M.R. of course later we find out that the mom would cry because she did not know why her daughter could not learn her numbers or letters. My current student right now came from a private school that has refused to send us any academic reports. The one time some one answered the phone we were told he was academically low and that they did not believe in special education. I'm going to have to retain him and was told it would not be until next school year that he gets tested if does not make progress a the begining of the year. I was told that him learning 20 letters and how to count to seven is showing progress for first grade.

...and he just now the order of the numbers and letters he can not recognize them if he is just show the number or letter randomly. He has been my student for two months.

Answer 1

NO your child does NOT have to do the interventions first. IF the SCHOOL wants to see if a child can qualify for special ed, then YES a child has to go thru the intervention process. (but you can disagree in writing and then they CAN"T have the child in intervention)

BUT, if a PARENT requests a child to be evaluated for special ed eligibility, the child does NOT have to be in intervention first.
Sometimes school will say they HAVE to, if they do write and ask them to show you the policy that states this. There is none.

Each state does have 'rules' for intervention programs and they DO say the SCHOOL has to have child in intervention before THEY want to see if child can qualify for special ed.

But these rules also state that at ANY TIME a parent makes a request (in writing) for a sped eligibiltiy eval, they HAVE to do it and have it done within 60 days (in most states, some states have different # of days).

Go to www.schwablearning.org and sign up for free to post on their parent to parent message board for more help.

Additional Details

You wrote--
I was told that we needed to document six weeks of interventions becuase federal mandated it.

This is a lie. Write to whoever told you this and tell them to show you the federal policy that states this. There is none.

You wrote--I was told that him learning 20 letters and how to count to seven is showing progress for first grade.

Go to your state dept of education website and look for the state standards. THis shows what children should learn for each grade. Print it out, highlight each thing the child can NOT do and ask what they are going to do about it.

You wrote-- I'm going to have to retain him and was told it would not be until next school year that he gets tested if does not make progress a the begining of the year.

Tell the PARENT to make a request in writing for an eval to be done to see if child can qualify for special ed. The school will have 60 days to have it completed, no exceptions.

Some schools do want to do RTI first (which IMO is the SAME as the interventions you are talking about) but like I said you CAN skip this process and have parent write a letter to district sped director asking for an eval to see if child qualifies for sped servcies.

THese intervention programs are just a way for the school to stall sped services.

Answer 2

I worked in a special cluster of teachers, and we taught half of the 8th grade students who were special needs people.

To identify, test and diagnosis a student, and start interventions took 4-6 weeks at the most in our school. After the initial meetings, we met every week to reevaluate students. If the school psychologist received a report from a neurologist or other specialist, the time frame was expedited.

Nothing was written in the school policy that a diagnosis could not be made until interventions were implemented and evaluated. Furthermore, whether the student is intra district and inter district, a student's file follows the student. There is NO need to start fresh each time. The law guaranteeing services to students who qualify is a federal law.

It seems that the school system was trying to by pass the law. If the administrators dragged out the identification of students who needed accommodations, they would save the school board money especially if the student needed to leave the district and attend a special school.

Answer 3

The state that I live in, you can not skip the intervention. You have to place the child in LRE (least restrictive environment. ) The child needs to be observed in a variety of settings to make sure the placement is the most beneficial. They have to do the different settings legally. They have to prove that even though the child is sped, he can not be in a regular classroom due to whatever issues he has. It all has to be documented on paper.
If you would like to speed up the process, you can have a private eval done (at your expense.) You can also keep close contact with the school (keep on their tails to get things moving because sometimes people do get busy and things get pushed aside.)

The district I used to work in took forever to place children because of the large number of cases and the lack of professionals-speech path, psychologist, etc. Many of the specials had 3-5 schools they had to work at.
Hope this helps

Answer 4

Can you refer the child to be worked up for ESE classes? Usually the school has an IEP Department, that does the entire process and all the testing required by law for the child. Then an IEP Meeting is held with the parent/s and the results explained to them in detail. Also at this time, the teachers can explain the benefits of special education classes and how wonderful it can be for the child with disabilities. I agree that the entire process is long & involved, but it is also so beneficial for the child & teachers. Good luck with your endeavors. Many blessings, Patti

PS I also wish you luck when discussing the child/children with the parents. In Florida, we do not have a required "intervention period." Good Luck.

Answer 5

Awww Hun, nobody wants anything to be wrong with their babbies, but if there is a delay or deficit then the sooner he has the intervention the bigger chance of him catching up to his age group for milestones. We missed out on having to do speech therapy by a smidge and our son might still have to see a occupational therapist and a physio therapist due to a bad foot he has. My daughter has to go to workshops for her gross motor skills because her ball handling skills are way below for her age group. My point is that most families have a child or children that need early intervention for what ever reason but it makes a huge difference to the quality of everybody's lives. This is a good thing, try to look at it positively, your son, even if he is a little bit behind will have a fantastic chance of catching up to his peers.In reality this is no different to needing more help for reading and writing when some kids start school. I bet your babby will kick butt and show them there isn't any problem at all.

Answer 6

It sounds as though you either do not know the process your school district uses, or they don't have one. I'd suggest you try talking to your school psychologist for clarification of the procedures to follow. Even if a child does have an obvious impairment, that doesn't necessarily mean that child cannot be taught in a general education program, so skipping the intervention may be a disservices to the child.

Answer 7

not usually, but sometimes when the disability is blatantly obvious or medically documented. are you guys using RTI? usually, before a child is tested for services, they are referred to a student study team for just the reasons you listed. that is the problem with RTI (response to intervention) and it should be monitored closely. on the other hand, RTI may use other means of identifying students with need such as teacher observations, is the child not making adequate progress in the sense that most in his class is making progress and he is not? it does not strictly depend on the test as a means of identification where there has to be a 2 year discrepancy. i know, its a bummer, especially when you just know, because sometimes teachers just know, that a child needs services. the sooner any one gets intervention, the better the outcomes, period!

Answer 8

I am very confused by your question. My daughter is severely disabled (rett syndrome which is an autistic disorder) and a few tests were done but I recall it only taking a few days. The diagnosis itself is not generally for the school to make, its for the child's Dr. So if an ASD or MR is suspected I think a visit to the Dr. could speed it up.

Answer 9

It's so damn frustrating to watch a kid fall through because of red tape. Go to the top of the school board if you have to; have your child's paediatrician back you up in writing. Annoy them until they have no choice but to listen to you. Also, if you're up to it, contact a local news media outlet. A reporter, TV station, journalist, etc. The schoolboard doesn't want that kind of negative attention, but it will move them into action.