Transition to Early Childhood - Part II

The parent of a preschool age child may hear the public school say that a child does not meet the criteria for one of the disability categories or that there is not an educational need for special education services. If the child does not meet criteria for a disability category, the parent may present any testing or evaluations that they have. Remember that for some disability categories this may be medical evaluations/reports. The parent may also request an independent educational evaluation (IEE) at public expense. This is an evaluation conducted by a qualified examiner(s) not employed by the school (basically a second opinion). The school can try to defend their evaluation to the state to keep from paying for an IEE, but this involves time and cost, so the school may or may not fight this request. If an IEE is done at school or parent expense, the IEP team must consider it, but does not have to agree with the diagnosis or recommendations.

If the school says that the child does not need special education (educational need), the parent should ask for specific reasons in writing. Current federal regulations added that services must be “available to any individual child with a disability who needs special education and related services, even though the child has not failed or been retained in a course or grade, and is advancing from grade to grade.” This was a major standard that schools used in determining educational need. This new language undermines this standard to some extent, but schools still use this. Educational need can include a child’s behavioral issues, even if they are doing “ok” academically. The IEP team must make a judgment decision of whether the child needs special education and related services because of the behavioral needs or whether they can be addressed through regular education programs/services. If regular education services are provided, the parent should monitor the child’s progress. Later they could request a review of this decision, if the child’s behavioral issues are not improving.

For preschool children, the regulations say that the IEP Team looks, as appropriate, at “how the disability affects the child’s participation in appropriate activities”. While federal regulations do not give any clarification of this rule, parents can try to show that the child has difficulty with certain age-appropriate activities. You could analyze your child’s disability/behavior compared to developmental levels and to preschool curriculum and activities. While schools may not admit it, socialization, i.e., appropriate interaction with peers, is a general goal.

Often the school will say that a student has a speech impairment, but their needs can be met with several speech sessions a week. A special education preschool class will not be offered because the child does not need that to address their speech needs. Many times, this is probably true and it can be hard to build a case that the child needs to attend a preschool program. Sometimes it may be possible to build a case that the speech problems are serious enough that the child needs to be around their peers to hear appropriate language and for socialization. Also look for other activities where the child’s participation would be affected. Parents should ask about non-special education preschool programs provided by the school or other agencies, like Head Start. Sometimes programs will waive some of their eligibility criteria, if the student has a disability.

Even when a child is provided special education services by the school, many schools are reluctant and/or find it difficult to provide inclusive activities with nondisabled peers. In another blog, I will cover this issue.

Added 3/20: I strongly recommend that if parents face this situation that they seek support, information and ideas from others. This situation can be very emotional for you and complex. Several "heads are better than one" is diffently true here. Look for parents in your district and other districts who can provide insights into their experiences. Advocates, educators from your district and other schools, and medical and related services professionals can help determine if a case can be built that your child needs special education services.