{"id":758,"date":"2023-07-11T00:38:40","date_gmt":"2023-07-11T00:38:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.loveyourschool.org\/arizona\/?p=758"},"modified":"2023-11-29T00:39:35","modified_gmt":"2023-11-29T00:39:35","slug":"all-your-favorite-bands","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/loveyourschool.org\/arizona\/2023\/07\/11\/all-your-favorite-bands\/","title":{"rendered":"All Your Favorite Bands"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cI hope that life without a chaperone is what you thought it\u2019d be
\nI hope your brother\u2019s El Camino runs forever
\nI hope the world sees the same person that you\u2019ve always been to me
\nAnd may all your favorite bands stay together\u201d<\/p>\n

This MixTape is actually\u00a0not\u00a0<\/em>about the above song from the band\u00a0Dawes<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 but actually about one of my favorite bands that broke up \u2013 right as I had discovered and fell in love with them! I\u2019m sure many of you have experienced similar pain \u2013 but the band was\u00a0The Show Ponies<\/a>\u00a0and I missed one of their last touring shows \u2013 which happened to be in Prescott, Arizona back in 2017! So \u2013 where is this going? Well, as a mom who has been through the Child Find special education evaluation process many times since 2014, I can tell you that the emotional toll the process takes is hard for anyone to believe unless you\u2019ve been through it. Back in 2017 when I was going through the process again with two kids \u2013 I started listening to The Show Ponies. Like any album that defines certain experiences or seasons of our lives, their album\u00a0How It All Goes Down<\/a>\u00a0was on repeat constantly as a comfort and encouragement to me while navigating through that process. I even looked back through my phone and noticed screenshots I had taken of their album because I was sharing it frequently with friends that entire year.<\/p>\n

While not everyone may like folksy jams and the lyrics that spoke to me from their album \u2013 I know you can resonate with rolling your windows down after a stressful situation and belting out a song that brings you through the situation and becomes a bit of your \u201cfight song\u201d.<\/p>\n

So why do parents of students with disabilities need a fight song? Well, today\u2019s mix-tape focuses on the challenges parents face obtaining a special education evaluation for their child. The public school identification process known as \u201cChild Find\u201d applies not only to public school students but also students on ESAs or STOs.<\/p>\n

Because this is a highly complex topic that I could write 10 newsletters about (seriously!), I will limit my comments to only four areas:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Challenges requesting evaluations<\/li>\n
  2. Navigating the evaluation process<\/li>\n
  3. Using evaluations to qualify for ESAs and STOs<\/li>\n
  4. Policies that facilitate timely identification and access to services and\/or scholarships<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Requesting evaluations for identifying a student with a disability<\/strong><\/p>\n

    This will be a brief, high level overview of this process: When a parent believes their child may need an evaluation to identify a learning or other disability that\u2019s impacting their education, they can request an evaluation for free from their child\u2019s public school. Students being homeschooled, in private school, or on ESA can request these evaluations for free as part of the\u00a0Child Find<\/a>\u00a0process. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and its implementing regulations require that ALL children with disabilities who are in need of special education and related services, regardless of the severity of their disability, are identified, located, and evaluated.<\/p>\n

    From the parent\u2019s perspective, this request for an evaluation\u00a0can start with a conversation or with an email<\/a>\u00a0between the parent and the teacher or an administrator at the school. For homeschooling families, that is usually done via email to the principal or the district special education coordinator. After the request is made, the school has 15 school days to schedule a \u201creview of existing data\u201d (ROED) meeting. Can the school or district deny this initial meeting? Yes. Can the school delay this request over an entire summer and wait until fall? Yes. Arizona state rules require the ROED be scheduled within 15 school days, so if the request is made within the last 15 days of school or during the summer, the meeting is delayed for months until the fall.<\/p>\n

    But let\u2019s continue \u2013 in the ROED meeting, if it\u2019s granted, a team from the district comes together with the parent as a member of the team, to discuss the child and a decision is made about whether or not to move forward with evaluating. An evaluation then has to be completed within 60 days \u2013 with additional follow-up meetings.<\/p>\n

    Navigating the Process<\/strong><\/p>\n

    While some parents breeze through this process feeling supported and understood by the school team members, it\u2019s not an understatement to say that many parents feel the school team didn\u2019t listen to their concerns, delayed the process, or didn\u2019t agree to evaluate, adopting a \u201cwait and see\u201d approach. For example, many parents in the autism community share about getting a diagnosis from an MD or Neuropsychologist, only to have the school argue that because the child\u2019s grades are \u201cfine\u201d they don\u2019t qualify for services as the child\u2019s autism is \u201cnot impacting their education.\u201d Just google\u00a0due process claims<\/a>\u00a0against school districts or inquire about the state\u2019s special education complaint system, and you\u2019ll see what I mean.<\/p>\n

    In the end the evaluation process can end up with different results, but it usually ends up with a 504 plan, an Individualized Education Plan (IEP), or a Multidisciplinary Evaluation Team (MET) Report, which is the report showing the child did or did not qualify for special education services. Parents can disagree with the results of the evaluation from the district and can request an\u00a0Independent Educational Evaluation<\/a>\u00a0(IEE) at the district\u2019s expense. However, most parents don\u2019t know about this, districts can still deny it, and it lengthens the process a few more months. I know about this because when I was told that my child\u2019s dyslexia was simply a \u201clack of a proper education\u201d because I was homeschooling, I disagreed with my district, and requested two IEEs at the district\u2019s expense. Turns out the district was wrong and both of my children got a diagnosis from a Neuropsychologist.<\/p>\n

    Evaluation Requirements for Tax Credits and ESAs<\/strong><\/p>\n

    In Arizona, to qualify for the\u00a0Disabled Displaced tuition tax credit scholarship<\/a>\u00a0(DD STO) or for an\u00a0ESA for special education eligibility<\/a>, a parent MUST go through the lengthy district process \u2013 even if they have a private diagnosis from a medical doctor or a Neuropsychologist (note: the Arizona Department of Education did allow private evaluations to be used from September 2022 \u2013 June 2023 but that process is being stopped \u2013 more on this in another Jenny\u2019s MixTape).<\/p>\n

    As you can imagine, there are many challenges that keep parents from going through this intimidating, complex Child Find process. It\u2019s difficult for parents moving to Arizona (or to any state with an ESA), having to go through the entire process\u00a0again,\u00a0<\/em>just to qualify for an STO or an ESA with special education eligibility. The process also consumes valuable public school time and resources, and often delays funding and services by 4-5 months, at minimum.<\/p>\n

    Considerations:<\/strong><\/p>\n

      \n
    1. When policy makers consider tax credit scholarships or education savings accounts, they need to understand the intense burden placed on families if they\u2019re required to go through the school district evaluation process to qualify for special education funding. States should consider allowing private evaluations from a qualified practitioner such as an MD or Neuropsychologist to qualify.<\/li>\n
    2. Allowing private evaluations to qualify for STO and ESA funds frees up valuable school district resources and staff time.<\/li>\n
    3. By allowing the use of prior private evaluations, parents and students can avoid unnecessary and additional mental and emotional stress involved with having to get evaluated again.<\/li>\n
    4. States should consider accepting METs, IEPs, and 504 plans from other states, unlike Arizona \u2013 which requires in-state documents to be obtained, even for tuition tax credits.<\/li>\n
    5. Nonprofits should be encouraged and funded to support families navigating the education evaluation process, considering that families who cannot afford an attorney or a Private Special Education Advocate are clearly disadvantaged through the process.<\/li>\n
    6. Grant programs from the state or private philanthropy should be established to help pay for private evaluations because most insurance companies do not cover Neuropsychologist exams (and did you know that you can\u2019t even get a dyslexia diagnosis from a school? It has to be from a Neuropsychologist!).<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      We should all work together to ensure students with disabilities are identified in a timely fashion and receive the services and funding they need to excel in their education.<\/p>\n

      Warmly,<\/p>\n

      \"\"<\/p>\n

      Jenny<\/p>\n

      \n

      Listen to The Show Ponies Album<\/a>
      \n      Listen to Dawes<\/a><\/p>\n

      \"\"<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      \u201cI hope that life without a chaperone is what you thought it\u2019d be I hope your brother\u2019s El Camino runs forever I hope the world sees the same person that you\u2019ve always been to me And may all your favorite bands stay together\u201d This MixTape is actually\u00a0not\u00a0about the above song from the band\u00a0Dawes\u00a0\u2013 but actually […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":759,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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