February 2025: 

The MLO Minute: “February is an Important Month in Special Education” 

By Dennis McAndrews, Esq., Founder and Managing Partner Emeritus — 

In many school districts across Pennsylvania and Delaware, the second marking period concluded in late January, thus being the midway point in the academic school year, especially for schools on a “quarter system“. Report cards and progress reports will be in the hands of parents very soon, if not already, and in our experience, it is critical to address now those areas in which a child’s IEP goals are not being met or where the IEP itself is inadequate. Too often, we see families wait until the third marking period has concluded before proactively addressing insufficient progress or asking for team meetings to modify instruction and services to ensure that appropriate goals to be met.

This can also be an important time to ask a school district to reevaluate the child, even if the triennial evaluation is not yet due. Areas where progress is not being made, or is not on target to meet annual goals, can often reflect disabilities that are hidden or services that are insufficiently tailored to meet the needs of the child. If the school district will not reevaluate, or refuses updated standardized testing, parents can ask for an independent educational evaluation at the cost of the school district (or charter school) to fund such an evaluation and if this request is refused, the school must ask for a due process hearing within 30 days to defend its current evaluation, which can be a challenging legal burden to fulfill if the child is not progressing sufficiently.

Another problem with waiting until the end of the third marking period is that the attention of teachers, support staff, and administrators is often focused upon other matters such as catching up with covering the year’s curriculum, spring sports/activities, monitoring standardized testing for all students, preparing summer programs, etc. Addressing student needs in February almost inevitably provides greater opportunity for a focused review and meaningful interventions on behalf of children.

If you believe that your child has received an inadequate education, or that an independent educational evaluation has been refused, please reach out to us by CLICKING HERE or by calling 610-648-9300. Our consultation and record review is free, and the overwhelming majority of our cases are handled on a contingency basis whereby we do not require a retainer or ask parents to pay our hourly fees as the case progresses. We look forward to serving your family with your child’s educational needs.