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Understanding your child’s Standardized Testing

I have been meaning to write this piece on interpreting standardized test scores for quite some time.  Now that IEP season is heating up, this is the perfect time.  I always say that it all comes down to solid evaluations.  Without them,…
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“Sorry, your child doesn’t qualify for services because her scores are too high”

Have you heard this before? Remember, the IEP starts with THE evaluation. You can't develop goals for the student until you identify her strengths and weaknesses. And you can't do that without a comprehensive evaluation. Parents frequently…

Evaluation Delayed is Justice Denied

A complaint I’ve been hearing from parents lately is how long it takes to get their children initial evaluations for special education services. Often they wait months or even years for the evaluation while their children suffer. The District…

Psst! Can I get my district to pay for that evaluation????

Parents often ask me about getting their school districts to pay for private evaluations. Sometimes their districts ignore their requests for evaluations, don’t evaluate their children in all the areas they should, or just conduct inadequate…

Guidance on Independent Educational Evaluations

In an October 22, 2016 Policy letter (October 22, 2016 to Jennifer Carroll), the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (“OSERS”) addressed Independent Educational Evaluations (“IEE”)…

Has your child been evaluated lately?

I recently represented a child at an Impartial Hearing who had never had a formal evaluation conducted by his School District. This child had been receiving Special Education Services since Kindergarten and was now in 6th Grade. By…

Getting Your Child Evaluated

In my prior post, I discussed the new OCR guidance clarifying the obligation of schools to provide students with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder ("ADHD") with equal educational opportunity under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act…