My child has severe dyslexia, as determined by a private evaluator. We are trying to get his school to provide services; however, this could take 30 weeks (losing an entire school year). I have been looking everywhere in my county for tutors, etc. to help him in the interim as long as I can afford it, but am finding nothing. Do you have any recommendations on where to turn? I live in Palm Beach County, Florida.
Dear Michelle,
Although in reality, getting a child determined eligible for special education can sometimes take a long time — even 30 weeks — but by law, this should not occur. You should check your state’s special education regulations for the specific timeframes from date of referral to completion of consent to completion of the evaluation.
In any event, if you decide you need to secure tutoring services in the interim, you may consider providing the school with a “unilateral placement” letter, notifying them that you are obtaining the private services due to their failure to provide appropriate (or any) special education services and that you want them to pay for the private services. Giving this letter does not obligate them to pay, but may give you a basis for pursuing reimbursement from them.
As to tutoring services in Florida, I suggest you contact the Learning Disability Assn. of Florida(opens in a new window), as well as the federally funded Parent Training Center in your area for ideas for sources of tutoring. You can find the closest parent training center to you at www.taalliance.org.