amo_mea_filiis. Posted June 14, 2012 Share Posted June 14, 2012 Ds just had his eval, and i think all went well. As soon as she gives everything back it will be submitted, along with next year's papers. I am wondering if i should continue to submit the letter of approval from a sped teacher. The teacher i used last year charges $30. I want to submit because ds does have some special needs and his writing, spelling, and language skills are very slooooowly coming along. I hope that continuing to refer to him as a sped student, i could get some protection in later years if we run into problems. I do not want to submit because i hate to spend the money when my district contact is a moron. When i submitted all of ds's paperwork at the beginning of the year, district told me not to get ahead of myself. All i had done was submit everything required by the pa law! So should i continue to get objective approval from a sped teacher? Find one that does not charge as much? Forget it since my district doesn't know the law anyway? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted June 14, 2012 Share Posted June 14, 2012 I think you might be wasting your money. I'm not convinced schools really look at the portfolios... My youngest had his math in there for the evaluator one year, but then took it out to reorganize it before we took it to school. I found it later on and waited for the phone call to bring it in. The call never came. The call I got said everything was fine and to come pick things up... ;) I believe our school district mainly trusts the evaluator. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted June 14, 2012 Share Posted June 14, 2012 I tend to err on the side of following only what the law says I have to turn in, but IDK how that would work for you if you're thinking about down the line. I would probably just turn in the required paperwork and skip the sped teacher's letter; if the school complains, then you can see about getting the sped teacher's letter. If it looks like he might need help in the future, you could look into the necessary testing, IEP, etc. then. But I'm really not sure. In my case, I would ask my evaluator what she thought, but she's also a good friend of mine and sees my kids in formal and informal settings frequently, so I'd feel comfortable doing whatever she advised. I think I'd see what your evaluator says. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amo_mea_filiis. Posted June 14, 2012 Author Share Posted June 14, 2012 (edited) Evaluator did not even know about that part of the law, so i dont think she would be any help. I asked the school for speech a while ago and they said only if he is enrolled so i know he would not get any sped services. I guess i will just leave it. Maybe include a statement about him being a sped student but gets therapies outside of the district. I really cant afford to throw around $30 for an approval letter that seems to mean nothing for us. Eta- according to the law, i do have to submit this letter with my intent paperwork, but why? It is not doing anything for us. Edited June 14, 2012 by amo_mea_filiis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted June 14, 2012 Share Posted June 14, 2012 Eta- according to the law, i do have to submit this letter with my intent paperwork, but why? It is not doing anything for us. It isn't supposed to do anything for you. It makes the educrats happy.:tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Love_to_Read Posted June 14, 2012 Share Posted June 14, 2012 We used an evaluator who was qualified to write the sped letter. So, I brought our objectives to her when we brought our portfolio, and she made helpful intelligent comments to me like: "That sounds like a good idea based on what your dd has learned this year. It sounds like you really know her needs." I think I got a few new ideas from her, like here's another way to work on those math facts...but off the top of my head it all just blends into the stuff I researched here...it's been a while. Anyhow, it didn't seem like such a waste of time because she was actually a good special ed teacher with a homeschooling bent...sort of like posting here on the Hive to pick your brains for ideas. So, I'd probably keep attaching the letter. I always start mine off by quoting the law, lol. Never occurred to me that they might not know the law existed at all, but I figure the quote followed by my brief compliance of it covers me against misinterpretation/additional requirements. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Love_to_Read Posted June 14, 2012 Share Posted June 14, 2012 It's supposed to keep you from deciding not to bother to actually educate your special needs student (the mentality of just let him sit in the corner and drool since he's not normal), and on the flip side of the coin, that you aren't educating him as completely neuortypical either...that you are actually educating in a way that addresses the needs. IOW, governmental oversight because there really are a few parents out there who handle special needs worse than the school districts. Hard to believe, but it does happen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amo_mea_filiis. Posted June 14, 2012 Author Share Posted June 14, 2012 Since i so intelligently pointed out this part of law last year, the district does expect to see is again! Darn. I will use it to my advantage and make ds's objectives more tailored to him. Last year i used a sample objective page, but this year i will change up everything to reflect his needs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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