Perhaps once a week someone asks me how to go about requesting an evaluation for their child through the public school district. There are other kinds of evaluations, but in this post I’ll focus on areas of struggle relating to reading, writing and math. You would think requesting an evaluation might be a simple process, but there are a lot of ways for things to go wrong. Fortunately, following these steps will help ensure success. Please note: these suggestions are specific to the United States, and with current guidelines and education laws. I also want to point out that some of my facts and advice may sound disillusioned or distrustful. The district is a resource to you. Consider my facts simply as information, and we will approach the school assuming they want the best for your child. There are many proactive education helpers and heroes. That being said, we need to take a wise and educated approach to requesting evaluation. This allows us to successfully advocate even if the school district makes mistakes or attempts to avoid paying for an evaluation. You need to take these steps to ensure your child receives access to proper resources in a timely manner.
Who is Eligible for a Public School Evaluation? First, any school-aged child ages 3 and up in the U.S. is entitled to an evaluation if there’s a demonstrated need. (There can also be evaluation for infants/toddlers depending on the concerns.) This eligibility is across the board, whether your child attends their local public school, is enrolled in a private school, or homeschools. You do not have to enroll in your zoned public school system to request an evaluation. You do need to have a reason to request evaluation, such as a struggle that you are seeing. Some issues and signs can be subtle and difficult to identify. For instance, a child can make good grades and be advanced and still also have a learning difference or disability. They can also struggle through the school day but wait to fall apart from the stress until they are safe at home. This is called after-school restraint collapse. Their good behavior at school is not proof that the child’s needs are being met at school. If you are enrolled in a public school or charter outside of your zoned school, then that school would override your neighborhood district. You would request an evaluation from the public school district in which your child is enrolled. If you homeschool independently, (in California, this is the Private School Affidavit) then you would seek out evaluation from your zoned school district. If you homeschool under a public charter, then that charter is responsible for your child’s evaluation. If your child attends a private school, you should still seek evaluation from the school district in which the child lives, not in the school district that is nearest the private school.
Communicate by Email. All communication must be by email. This is imperative. Essential. You get the idea. When you email the school, your communication is legally documented and time-stamped. You have “proof” to hold the school system accountable to the law. When you communicate by phone or in-person, the communication is not legally documented. Legally speaking, you should view that conversation as never having happened, because that is how the district sees it. Who do you email? Email together the principal or vice principal, the school psychologist if you know who it is, and also the district director of special education. You want a full team of accountability. The district director is important because it gives further accountability of the school’s actions at the district level. I suggest you cc in your child’s classroom teacher. If you know the teacher is on your child’s side and is proactively advocating for your child, then you can lean on them more. If they do not seem to be proactive for your child, if they are part of the problem, or if they are dismissive of your concerns, then I would not heavily involve them.
Here’s the thing: it is very common for a parent to request an evaluation, and then someone from the school will call you in response to your email rather than emailing you back. This is not acceptable. Sadly, this can be a way for schools to avoid having the conversation legally documented and being held accountable to the law. The school representative can say whatever they want, and it is not necessarily true. There is also no way to hold them to promises made over the phone. It is possible for them to tell you information verbally that is not accurate or legal. Even if it is done in ignorance with no ill intention, it is in your child’s best interest to keep all communication legally documented by email. Keep in mind I’m just stating facts. Obviously, so many people chose a profession in education because they wish to improve the lives of children. Despite that, if you don’t go through the proper steps and utilize the law, you may be turned away or severely delayed in accessing the evaluation your child needs. We can operate assuming the school’s best intentions and that they are on our child’s team, and at the same time consistently operate through legal protocols to successfully advocate for your child.
There are two ways to handle a phone call response to your email. One is to decline. Answer and let them know that you need them to discuss your request by email. If you’d like, you can explain that you need email communication so that your partner can also be involved, or so that you can read over the information for clarity. But the fact is that the conversation MUST be legally documented in writing. The other way to handle it is to have the conversation, but as soon as it is over, go back to the computer and email the team something like, “Hello Team, I had a phone conversation this morning about Jamie with Principal Housman. I wanted to give you a quick summary of that conversation so that we are all on the same page.” Then, in the email, repeat what was said. Now it is legally documented for everyone, and time-stamped. The third possibility: Let’s say you email the school your request, and then when you are on campus picking Jamie up, the principal stops you in the hall to discuss your email. Again, you can decline and ask them to respond by email so you can “keep track of everything involved.” Or, as soon as you get home, email the entire team a recap/summary of the verbal conversation. Don’t allow it to slip into an email thread with just one person, because that team of accountability is stronger.
What to Write. Now that you know how to deliver the request, (100% always by email!) let’s cover what to say. In this section, I am boldfacing the words that I recommend you include in your request. If you are in a private school or homeschool, start by introducing yourself and explain that you are zoned to the school district. If enrolled in the district, you will want to lead with explaining that you are seeing signs of a problem for your child. Use the word “consistent,” as the school system wants to see signs of a consistent struggle that comes across in various domains. Ie, at school, at home, in extracurricular activities. It is a disability or a learning difference, not a whim of the child. Also important: you can use the word, “dyslexia” but also utilize the phrase, Specific Learning Disability (SLD), as well. Many school districts do not acknowledge dyslexia, but they will acknowledge SLD in reading, which is an umbrella term used by some school districts. While not always, at times this is a blatant attempt to use verbiage as a loophole to avoid spending money on your child. Use the phrases SLD in reading, SLD in writing, SLD in math. Some schools are happy to acknowledge and support dyslexia. But, we are trying to cover all possibilities. Some schools will acknowledge the dyslexia, but will tell you that their hands are tied and they can’t treat it. In fact, they can and will treat it under the term “SLD in reading.” So, it is a good idea to use the SLD term as well, since they will support that. I suggest you also state that the suspected disability is hindering the child’s ability to access the curriculum. There are lots of ways this could happen, if you need examples. Your child can make good grades and be bright, and still have a disability affecting their ability to access the curriculum. If your child is developing anxiety around school due to the struggle, this would hinder their ability to learn and participate fully. If they are super stressed so they can’t listen well, then they are hindered. If they are taking too long to finish assignments, this can hinder their ability because they will get behind on other things and also become too fatigued to be fully engaged. Obviously, if they are behind in reading, this can begin to hinder their ability to access the curriculum. If other kids have teased or made fun of them or noticed issues, this would be another way they are hindered from being fully active in the class. Last, I suggest you literally state by email that you “request a full evaluation.”
You will, of course, need to edit it according to your specific situation, but here is a template letter you can copy and paste to help get you started. *The email goes to the principal or vice principal, school psychologist, as well as the district director of special education. If your school has a special education liaison, they could be CC’d as well. Remember to send information to a team and not just to one person.*
Dear faculty,
I’m seeing that my first grader, Jamie, is consistently showing signs of a learning disability. While his grades on paper are good, he puts in entirely too much effort to maintain his academics. We also see “after-school restraint collapse,” where he experiences consistent meltdowns, fatigue and anxiety following his school day. I’m beginning to observe that his self esteem is suffering. As the stress and frustration accumulate around school, Jamie’s struggle has become a hindrance to him being able to access the curriculum and participate in the class to his full potential. Activities such as studying for a spelling test or writing a couple of sentences is painstaking and effortful. We know that Jamie’s father received support for dyslexia as a child, and dyslexia is strongly hereditary. Jamie also struggles with math, especially around the timed math fluency quizzes. In addition, Jamie was a late talker, which is also a flag for language-based learning disabilities, such as a disability in reading.
There are other ways we are seeing clues that Jamie’s struggle goes beyond a maturity issue. For this reason, I am requesting a full evaluation for suspected Specific Learning Disability in Reading, Writing and Math Fluency. I’m also requesting an OT evaluation. From my research I can see that early intervention is critical. Please let me know the next steps for getting him evaluated, and please accept this as my request in writing.
Thank you so much for everything you do to support our family. We are extremely appreciative of the school!
Sally Jones
Jamie’s mother
What Happens Next? States run differently. In the state of California, the school district has 30 days to respond back in writing. Remember to enforce the “in writing” rule. A verbal response does not count! Within 30 days, the school must have not just given you a “we will look into it” response, but they are required to officially respond yes or no to your evaluation request in writing. Remember again that schools may do this verbally, and you will need to request the emailed, legal response. In some states such as California, what they are required to give you is called Prior Written Notice (PWN). If they are going to deny you, they must officially do it, in writing, stating why. That is your PWN. But don’t worry, we are not out of options, yet. If they agree to test, great! Make sure it is a full evaluation and not just a screening. Have them send you the timeline of testing, which should be administered by the school psychologist, plus an OT and/or Speech Pathologist, depending on the struggles observed. If the school denies your request, insist on receiving your PWN. If they don’t respond or fail to give you an official denial in writing, then now is the time to CC in the superintendent of the school district. Dig in your heels, give a recap of the timeline and remind them by email that they are outside the 30-day window now.
If they do officially give you the denial with a PWN, your next step has two possibilities. For one, if you can afford it, it may be beneficial to hire a private educational advocate. This is someone who is an expert on your child’s education rights. They will guide you and can help represent your child’s needs to the school. From there, the next step is to request (in writing!!) an IEE: an Independent Educational Evaluation. This is where you disagree with the findings of the school, and you are officially requesting a second opinion. There may be some push back, but they are required to pay for an outside evaluation for your child by a private psychologist of your choosing. This allows you to receive an unbiased second opinion, paid for by the school district. Likewise, if the school agreed to test your child, but the testing was insufficient or did not result in the expected diagnosis, then it is also time to request an IEE. The power in this is that private testing is typically more thorough than the testing offered by the school district. So, it will dig deeper and allow you to find out more answers about your child’s needs, deficits and strengths.
If at any time in this process you feel that the school is not being responsive or is refusing to meet the needs of your child, here is a summary of your tiered course of action:
1. Make sure you continue communicating by email.
2. CC in the district superintendent and continue with your requests.
3. Hire a private educational advocate. It is a temporary expense that will help you lock in what your child needs for the future.
4. (You can do this even if you don’t hire an advocate) if you disagree with the district’s findings or final decision, it is time to request an IEE.
5. After all those things, there are times when a school district refuses to provide what a child needs. In those situations, everything about your case was documented by email, which is wonderful. It is now time to utilize an education lawyer. That may sound daunting, but push through. It may be at this point it is possible that the district will be required to pay for your child’s private school placement, if that is desirable or helpful for your child.
I said at the beginning that anyone can request an evaluation. This is accurate. You can receive an evaluation and educational diagnosis. The district can create an IEP or 504 for you. However, in most states, if you want the school district to provide the actual services that are in the IEP, you will need to enroll in a district school. Otherwise, they should offer to roll the IEP into a document called an ISP. Basically, it’s like an IEP in hibernation. If you ever enroll in a public school system, it reactivates the IEP immediately. But in the meantime, you do not receive the services. Typically, they will offer you some consulting minutes monthly in lieu of services. For example, you as the parent can consult with a school specialist for 20 minutes per month. But the information learned from the evaluation is yours to continue advocating for your child.
If you are enrolled in the school, you can expect them to offer your child an IEP or a 504. In one quick, bite-size explanation: a 504 gives your child accommodations, such as being allowed to wear headphones to dampen noises or allowed preferential seating near the point of instruction. An IEP gives accommodations and ALSO can modify the curriculum (for example, required to answer only the odd number problems on math homework.) It also offers services, such as tutoring and occupational therapy. Nothing except a 504 or IEP is acceptable; don’t allow them to offer tutoring but no IEP. That would mean it is not official, there is no agreement and no accountability or official goals regarding the tutoring. Without an IEP or 504, they can take away the accommodation or support without your permission. If at any time things seem to be going awry and you have a bad feeling about it, consider consulting with an advocate. Check also to see if the school has a special education liaison. Just remember that person is still on the school’s payroll which could be a conflict of interest. Anecdotally, my personal experience with a special education liaison has been good.
Take this info and run with it! Trust yourself, trust your gut. Remember that you and you alone are your child’s greatest advocate. You are the true expert on your child’s needs. As my mom used to say, “You’ve got this!”
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