Private school child

My daughter goes to a private school. Last Spring, we all had an informal meeting and both her teacher and I brought to light that my daughter had some serious learning issues.  It was also discussed that her fine motor skills (used for writing) and gross motor skills (failing gym class) were also impaired.  She did receive academic testing through the private school's learning center, and although she was too young to be diagnosed with a learning disability, the school said because they were private, they could cut right through all that red tape and pull her for services anyways.  That has been going wonderful and my child has made leaps and bounds in her acedemic learning.  That being said, it is almost a year later, and she has not yet even been evaluated by the public school OT or PT for her motor delays (her private school doesn't have their own, so under MI law, the public school's must service our students as well).  I have personally left messages for the Public school's Special Ed head, the special ed head as well as the principal at my daughter's school have also advocated on her behalf.  No avail.  It's like my child is being swept under the rug!  What are my daughter's legal rights in this situation?  Do we need a lawyer to advocate on her behalf?  I have no idea what my next step should be....please HELP!

I know less than zero about this.  But your daughter is going to a private school and they are helping, correct?

You are calling the public school, which she does not attend, and wanting them to do something as well?

I'm confused I guess. 

If she is in the private school, and things are going so much better, it sounds like things are good right?

I am sorry, and likely the reason you don't have any responses, is because others have no idea what to tell you as well.

Good luck!

ambrosia_777:

she has not yet even been evaluated by the public school OT or PT for her motor delays (her private school doesn't have their own, so under MI law, the public school's must service our students as well). 

If you know the law says that and means that, you need to figure out how to get that info and your daughter's situation in front of the right person in the public school sector.  Calling and leaving a message obviously isn't going to do it.  Anything that is going to cost a school district money for a non-student isn't going to happen on the strength of a phone call.

ambrosia_777:

It's like my child is being swept under the rug! 

Then get on your horse and get over to the school district offices and find out who, exactly, you should betalking to. 

What grade level?

To deliver special education services is very costly for a school system and there are major incentives to try to duck it.

I can assure you that local to me there are kids in private schools K -12 that are recieving special education services but it can be a very daunting task for the parents and requires addressing a complex set of due process rules. (And  not to mention a few parents who seek to get elite private schools at public expense by twisting some rules)

I also suspect the  local school may assume since you can afford a private school you will soon tire of the process and pay for some private solutions.

I have no clue if your childs needs are such that an IEP is appropriate to address what she needs so as to get an appropriate education. 

Personally I never addressed how to fight for childs needs from outside the bubble --I did spend a good amount of time in due process hearings as to students inside the bubble.  I know the steps are there but suspect they won't help you find them (though the law says they must show you the steps)

One starting point is to go to your local public school administrative offices and get a copy of the due process rights as to special need students --all the steps are supposed to be in there --trust me they may leave out a few or make it difficult to follow

By law the public process is required to address the special needs of students necessary as to a FAPE no matter what it costs the them --and a $1 million per child per year point was passed decades ago  --I'm just not up to speed any more as to how this all fits private sector schools .

IF there are serious needs to address : I think you need to NOT rule out that you enroll student in local public school so as to make maximum use of the rules --or at least have a straight poker face --you could enroll student in local public school and 10 minutes later file to paperwork that sets in motion evaluations headed for a due process hearing.

Locally --unassisted parents get a lot of lip service and some perfunctory  appropriate services often worded in a way that protects the service provider against failure.  Odds favor those who know/learn the ropes and better yet use a professional guide or gladiator --IE an attorney with a track record of prevailing as to due process/special education cases from student standpoint.

And some services may cover prior to conventional school age

Early Intervention (EI) is a collection of programs and services designed to help families of children with or at risk for developmental delays. EI builds upon natural learning occurring in the first years of life. Early Intervention Services may include:

• Early Identification, Screening and Assessment
• Speech Pathology and Audiology
• Special Instruction
• Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy
• Family Trainings

Preschool children ages three through school age are eligible to receive services if they have a significant developmental delay of 25% of their chronological age in one or more of the five domains of cognitive readiness skills, communication skills, gross motor skills, self-help skills, and behavioral/social/adaptive skills; or a physical disability, hearing loss or vision loss, or a known physical or mental condition which has a high probability for developmental delays.

Ok, so I spoke with the compliance director for the schools and he was appalled at what was happening. Needless to say, we have a meeting scheduled for next week with everyone involved. My child will be tested asap.

Do NOT cut anyone any slack for anything just yet --and stay on top of details --and if you think there are special issues as to motor skills you may want to consider your own private testing--but lay a foundation with testing resources vai experts who are licensed in the appropriate field AND who have expertise as witnesses in cuort like settings ..just in case you need to go there....you are not yet out of the BS fields

..a fancy friendly report full of childs needs from some doctor who has seen child less than 4 minutes may not hold up ---!!!

The weigh give to  input from the ordinary classroom teacher MIGHT be given a lot of weight --do NOT let them exclude resources likley to be supportive of childs needs.

There are professional educational advocates that work specifically with helping special needs kids get their rights under IDEA and a lot of parents end up having to hire one in order to get their kids the services they need. School districts notoriously try to get away with doing more than the very basics and something not even that. If it doesn't work out after this meeting you may want to hire an advocate.