<p>My dd is a junior attending a cyber charter school. She was identified as gifted in 2nd grade and has had great success in her cyber charter school which she began in high school after being homeschooled until that point.</p>
<p>However, we have long suspected she also has some learning challenges and this fall asked the school to test her based on the many issues she is having keeping up with a very demanding workload given her challenges. They declined to test her because she gets good grades in honors and AP classes, so we had her tested privately and they diagnosed a reading disorder, cognitive disorder (processing and memory issues) as well as ADHD.</p>
<p>Spoke with the school today and they are still saying they won't address her issues because she is too high performing and while they see the large disparity in many of her results (many of 5 or 6 std devs), they claim she is succeeding in her classes (thanks to her working her backside off round the clock to compensate) and they won't consider an IEP and are even balking at the idea of a 504 to give her extra time or other appropriate accommodations.</p>
<p>I was just floored by their lack of concern about her challenges and their sole focus on pointing out that she is "successful" in the system so therefore does not have an issue that concerns them.</p>
<p>Has anyone else run into a similar situation? Advice?</p>
<p>Yes, all of the time. I am not sure that they can actually deny you an IEP/504 if there is a diagnosed disability. Regardless of how she is functioning. They try to talk you out of doing them all of the time. </p>
<p>Have you considered working with a professional counselor or life coach for your daughter who could both help with the LD but also help with the school issues?</p>
<p>Thanks for the feedback. Yes, I got some names tonight for a counselor as well as an educational advocate and I will start making calls tomorrow.</p>
<p>Suggest that you obtain an official independent educational psychological evaluation report for your daughter, following College Board’s protocol. (Check web-site) Colleges require same test protocol to substantiate request for LD-related services, so report will be useful for ACT/SAT applications and obtaining Student Services in college.</p>
<p>I’m uncertain what a “cyber charter” school is. If it’s a private school, then LD accommodations are not mandatory, with accommodations at school’s discretion. Public school policy must conform to state law, but practical enforcement/compliance occurs mostly at school’s reasonable discretion, particularly if student is “performing at grade”. Sounds like your daughter is doing so.</p>
<p>I agree that since she’s a junior it’s going to be an uphill battle. What is it you hope to obtain at this point in her education? Is it something you can work on outside the school setting between now and when she will leave for college? Since you home schooled it sounds like you are familiar with working outside systemized schooling.</p>
<p>Thanks for the thoughts and resources. Cyber charter is a public school option so they are bound by the same laws as any public school. We did have a full independent educational psychological evaluation done just a few weeks ago when the school said they would not test her because she is too high performing. </p>
<p>We would like to get a record of accommodations through a 504 so she has that history going into college (although I realize the 504 does not transfer to college). We would also like to get her the extended time she needs for the SAT/ACT and will be requesting this although we realize our odds are probably slim since we got her testing/official diagnosis so late. We would also like to get her some specific training to help her better cope with her challenges. We will do this outside the school system if necessary. </p>
<p>We are definitely used to working outside the system and so far this experience of trying to work within the system has been a good reminder of why we’ve been glad to avoid the system for many years. At this point our research continues and we will see what develops.</p>
<p>I’ve been reading Student Services descriptions for several LACs during my preliminary college research, and have noted colleges require ed psych report w/noted specific test findings as prerequisite for approval for many LD-related services. Every school has a LD services application process. HS IEP/504 history, doctor letters, HS experience, etc are usually flagged as insufficient evidence. We obtained a university “pysch ed LD clinic” report on advice of college counselor, which remains valid for approx 3 years per many colleges’ Special Services requirements. Many parents note that colleges will deny LD-related requests if documentation is limited to students’ HS’ IEP/504, and/or if student suddenly requests accommodations without prior services’ application approval. Suggest that you carefully read Student Services documentation requirements for each school your daughter is considering.</p>
<p>Having experienced both public and private school systems, I’ve noted in our experience that public schools provide their definition of “adequate accommodations” and services, and aren’t seeking to turn “performing to grade” students into excellent students. However, the wealthier the school district and parental demographic, the better the services and accommodations provided, as well as the higher the achievement goal is set for the mainstreamed-classroom special ed student. </p>
<p>Likewise, check foreign language requirements, if applicable to your daughter’s LD.</p>
<p>In addition to the diagnostic tests the school had my son take a test both timed and untimed for his file. He did this during his 10th grade evaluation (he’s evaluated every three years.) They had not done this during all the previous testing and told me that was necessary for them at this point to file for the accommodations for the ACT/SAT (the school is handling this for us). Not sure if this is true, but before you complete all the required testing double check and see if you will need a timed and untimed test. Depending on the LD there are many other accommodations available from ACT/SAT including quiet or private test taking TBD what works for your student. My son sometimes uses quiet test taking in school but he makes those decisions himself so I don’t know when and why he chooses that. Maybe talk to your D and see what “helps” her best.</p>
<p>SAT accommodations have become far harder to obtain than several years ago, when a doctor’s note diagnosing “anxiety” was sufficient sometimes for “extended time” accommodation. That’s no longer case. Both school and I have been in correspondence w/College Board regarding accommodations for a student w/long case and diagnostic test history, w/long-term use of “extended time”, and we were required to obtain those noted specific tests to obtain that accommodation for this year’s SAT tests.</p>
<p>This sounds exactly like my life. Unfortunately I don’t have a good solution.</p>
<p>I went to an “alternative high school” - public, but tough curriculum (honors and AP only). I’ve never gotten anything lower than a B- on a transcript. I had always struggled a little in school and was tested a few times, but they told me it wasn’t severe enough for me to get help. I was retested in Dec of my senior year (not affiliated with school) and told that I could have gotten extended time on the SAT (too late …). My high school refused to accomodate because I had all As and Bs. So my parents informed some teachers (english and history were HUGE struggles for me). I recall my english teacher being a little lenient for in-class timed essays, but he wasn’t a big help. </p>
<p>I chose colleges wisely when applying (my SAT score was good but not great) and got in everywhere. I was able to get extended time on tests in college - that helped a lot. Make sure you talk to schools an figure out what they can offer your daughter. If you visit the schools, you can also set up a meeting with the people who deal with disabilities. My college was fairly helpful (then again, I didn’t need much help). And college was nice because I no longer had to take a lot of english/history classes. Science and math were much more manageable. Now I’m applying to Ph.D. programs … hopefully I can get some accommodations there.</p>
<p>One last tip: Don’t sign up for a SAT prep class. It’s not worth it. I took one and, while my classmates improved 100s of points, I went up 10 points (essentially 1 point on that scale). Before taking the GREs for a second time, I got a private tutor and that helped a lot. Essentially, your daughter probably will not benefit from average methods of SAT prep since she probably isn’t average.</p>
<p>Oh, I guess I didn’t state this: I have a LD that involves slow language processing and slow word retrieval. Writing is torture for me. My mom says it was painful to watch me write an essay for elementary/high school. I was excellent at math, and I’ve chosen a career in science. Somehow, I can’t do mental math but I found basic calculus to be fairly easy.</p>
<p>At a public high school, my son was not given accommodations despite documented ADHD by testing and a psychologist who came to the meeting to push for accommodations. The school said he was “doing too well.” He did get accommodations at an excellent LACS with neuropsych documentation of deficits. It’s certainly helped him. SO yes public schools can deny an IEP by saying that the deficit does not “substantially limit one or more major life function.” He too worked 24/7 to keep up in high school. He didn’t try for SAT accommodations.</p>
<p>Does anyone know of any private college counselor with experience applying for Extended Time? One child has recently been diagnosed with LD and we are fighting with the school for a 504. I am afraid that we may not have it in place in time to apply with CB. In addition, school guidance counselor is new and has never applied for this before. I would gladly hire someone with experience.
We live in the NY tri-state area. To submit, I have the battery of Neuropsych tests, timed and untimed which clearly demonstrate the LD and Pediatric Neurologist report.</p>
<p>I’m an SAT/ACT tutor specializing in ADHD students (also see LD since multiple diagnoses are so common). My other career is neuropsych testing, so I’ve seen the issues from both sides. It’s possible for you to submit the request for accommodations to the College Board yourself without the school being involved, although I’m not sure I would recommend that. But, you may want to take the documentation requirements in hand yourself and not rely on the counselor to get it right. Did the neuropsychologist who did the testing know you were planning to use his/her report for requesting CB accommodations? I may be able to help with making sure your documentation meets the CB’s requirements, as well as help you plan which accommodations to request. Please feel free to PM me if you’d like to talk further.</p>