indigomama Posted January 25, 2016 Posted January 25, 2016 Hello, Recently moved back to CA, I grew up here, but have never homeschooled here. DS3 is 7 and just finishing AAR level 1. We started at age 5 with OPGTR, which worked great for my first 2 sons, but after a year, he was making very little progress. We tried going very slow with just straight reading and then switched to AAR. This fall after taking him to the eye dr we realized he had a lazy eye and has a patch and glasses. He's doing better, but it's still a very big struggle for him to read. In CA, can I as a homeschooler use the public schools to get him tested for any disabilities? If yes, who would I contact? If not, where else should I look to get him tested? Thank you! Quote
Arcadia Posted January 25, 2016 Posted January 25, 2016 (edited) My district does learning disabilities testing for private school students in the district boundaries. Since we filed a PSA, we are technically a private school in their boundary. I just need to fill up a very simple request for evaluation form or just write a letter requesting for evaluation, and then mail or hand deliver to the district office. The district does the evaluation and provide the services. Parents get the kid to school at the appointed time for the services. That is for my area. Some district are nice enough to send the specialist for home visits. Edited January 25, 2016 by Arcadia 1 Quote
indigomama Posted January 25, 2016 Author Posted January 25, 2016 My district does learning disabilities testing for private school students in the district boundaries. Since we filed a PSA, we are technically a private school in their boundary. I just need to fill up a very simple request for evaluation form or just write a letter requesting for evaluation, and then mail or hand deliver to the district office. The district does the evaluation and provide the services. Parents get the kid to school at the appointed time for the services. That is for my area. Some district are nice enough to send the specialist for home visits. Since we moved here in December, I haven't filed anything with our district. Some recommended I wait till next year. But, would you recommend I file now, so I can request testing as a private school? Also, do I just call the local district office? I am in Santa Barbara County. Quote
Arcadia Posted January 25, 2016 Posted January 25, 2016 (edited) Since we moved here in December, I haven't filed anything with our district. Some recommended I wait till next year. But, would you recommend I file now, so I can request testing as a private school? Also, do I just call the local district office? I am in Santa Barbara County. The PSA is filed with the state's dept of education on this link. You can still file after October.http://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/ps/rq/affidavit.asp You mail your local district office. The request has to be a written request for the purpose of a paper trail. The sample form is from the state. You can leave the provider part blank and just fill the parent part. https://www.cdph.ca.gov/programs/ECCS/Documents/IST-SpecialEducationAssessment.doc Quoted below is the procedure from my district "Complete Request for Assessment for Special Education Services or submit a letter of request Submit request to the district office Special Education department either in person or by mail. The Special Education department secretary will forward your request to the appropriate assessment team. You will be contacted to schedule an assessment appointment." ETA: My district is about medium size, basic aid (funded by prop tax), high budget district. They tested my neighbor when she was in 1st grade, 6 years old, about two weeks after the parents submitted the request. Edited January 25, 2016 by Arcadia Quote
indigomama Posted January 25, 2016 Author Posted January 25, 2016 The PSA is filed with the state's dept of education on this link. You can still file after October. http://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/ps/rq/affidavit.asp You mail your local district office. The request has to be a written request for the purpose of a paper trail. The sample form is from the state. You can leave the provider part blank and just fill the parent part. https://www.cdph.ca.gov/programs/ECCS/Documents/IST-SpecialEducationAssessment.doc Quoted below is the procedure from my district "Complete Request for Assessment for Special Education Services or submit a letter of request Submit request to the district office Special Education department either in person or by mail. The Special Education department secretary will forward your request to the appropriate assessment team. You will be contacted to schedule an assessment appointment." Thank you! Quote
Crimson Wife Posted January 25, 2016 Posted January 25, 2016 It has been my experience that districts don't like to test for dyslexia until 3rd grade even in a child who already has documented disabilities and an IEP. I had to fight last year with our district to get them to agree to dyslexia testing for my then just-turned-6 y.o. kindergartener. As it turns out, the school psychologist required an updated hearing test before she'd perform the dyslexia testing and that's how my DD's hearing loss got discovered. The CTOPP is normed down to age 4 but the districts will try giving you the run-around about some kids being "late bloomers" yadda, yadda, yadda. If you can get private testing through your insurance, I would recommend going that route. Quote
indigomama Posted January 25, 2016 Author Posted January 25, 2016 It has been my experience that districts don't like to test for dyslexia until 3rd grade even in a child who already has documented disabilities and an IEP. I had to fight last year with our district to get them to agree to dyslexia testing for my then just-turned-6 y.o. kindergartener. As it turns out, the school psychologist required an updated hearing test before she'd perform the dyslexia testing and that's how my DD's hearing loss got discovered. The CTOPP is normed down to age 4 but the districts will try giving you the run-around about some kids being "late bloomers" yadda, yadda, yadda. If you can get private testing through your insurance, I would recommend going that route. We have a healthshare, Liberty. It starts 2/1, and I've never used one before, but I'm afraid they'd call it a pre-existing condition, which they don't cover for a year. Plus, with a $1500 deductible , we'd probably have to pay for it anyway. We will certainly if I couldn't get the school district to pay for it, but I'd like to try first. DS is in second with his other subjects, and comprehend just fine, it's just the actual reading that is the problem. But, I really don't want him to have to wait any longer to help get this addressed. Quote
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