Special Education

Child Find

Q11:  I am a teacher and suspect one of my students may be displaying signs of dyslexia. What should I do?  Is it okay to alert the parents as to my concerns?

Q12:  Student exhibits signs of dyslexia, but school wants to delay assessing in order to see how student first responds to RTI (or is recommending Student Study Team (SST) meetings). Does assessing need to be delayed for special education eligibility?

Eligibility

Q9:  The school found my student eligible for Special Education under the eligibility category “Specific Learning Disability” with an “impairment in basic reading” (or an “impairment in reading fluency”), could my student have dyslexia?

Q10:  Is dyslexia a medical diagnosis and who can diagnose dyslexia?  Is an outside diagnosis of dyslexia required in order to be eligible for special education and/or Section 504 plan?

Q13:  Student was assessed for Special Education eligibility and was denied. I believe my student has dyslexia. School disagrees.  What can I do?

Q21:  We suspect dyslexia but the school wants to delay assessing and they say my student won’t be eligible for special education as he is not two years behind.  Is this correct?

Q22: Why are younger students generally not found eligible for Specific Learning Disability when a “severe discrepancy” model is used for special education eligibility?

Q23:  Must my student have a “severe discrepancy” in order to be found eligible for special education under the category of specific learning disability?

IEP Goals and Services

Q2:  My student is dyslexic.  The IEP team recommendation was for my student to “read more at home” but no evidence-based reading intervention was offered through school.  Will having my student read more at home help his dyslexia?

Q24:  My student is not performing at grade-level in certain areas.  I’m being told by the IEP team that IEP goals have to be aligned with grade-level Common Core State Standards.  Is this correct?

Q25:  Does a student with dyslexia need to be found eligible as having a “Language or Speech Disorder” in order to receive speech-language services? My student is already eligible for special education services under “Specific Learning Disability”.

IEP Meetings

Q28: My school district says that they can’t assess for dyslexia and won’t even say the word “dyslexia” in my child’s IEP.  What should I do?