If you suspect your child may have a disability, requesting assessment to get your child into special education is the first step. Your written request is supposed to cause your child’s school district to assess your child in all suspected areas of disability. Sometimes, the school district may not comply. They may suggest an SST (student study team) or teachers are unsupportive with statements like, “At this time, most children are struggling in school,” implying that your child does not need the additional help to which they are entitled. As advocates, we have extensive experience speaking with school districts. This article will show you a few steps to communicate with your school so that your child is assessed in a timely manner.
First, you will need to contact your school district and make it clear you are requesting assessment for your child. If your request is not done in writing, it never happened! Your request can be handwritten, but emails are a much more effective way to create a paper trail. If you are going to email your school district, make sure you contact two separate people related to the process. This can be: your child’s teacher, the principal, a speech therapist, or a school psychologist.
Requesting assessment from your child’s school district may seem intimidating, but it is an essential step in getting your child the free, appropriate, public education (FAPE) to which they are entitled.
In your initial correspondence requesting assessment from the school district, list your specific concerns. Is your child behind in academic study, social or emotional development, speech, or another area critical to their success? You should also include any medical diagnoses your child has that are related to their suspected areas of disability.
Once you finish listing your concerns and including any applicable diagnoses, make sure you explicitly state you are requesting assessment for special education services and that you look forward to their response within the 15 calendar days. Some school districts take longer to respond than others, but California state law requires them to respond within 15 days whether or not they will assess your children in all suspected areas of disability. When you receive the permission to assess form, make sure they have checked all the boxes where you have concerns. If not, sign agreement for the tests they have listed, and write any other areas that need testing on the bottom of the form. Then sign and return as soon as possible to get the testing started.
We at Aspire Advocacy have extensive experience in helping parents write a requesting assessment from their child’s school district. Many parents ask us for help writing the letter to their school district and we have found our involvement in the process produces a much higher rate of success.
For help at your child’s next IEP meeting, more information about our special education advocacy services, or for a FREE 20-minute consultation to see if we are a good fit for you, call or email today!
As parents, we understand. As advocates, we can help.