Sorry this is so long! My DD, a junior in HS suffers from anxiety. She had a kind of tough sophomore year, but got through it with no real added accommodations. This year has been harder, but she is doing much better than she was a few months back. On top of the anxiety she had a couple of health issues that put her behind in a few classes, and she got some incompletes. She is making them up, but I feel like I am getting nothing but pushback from her school on everything. Her teachers have been great,. but it is her GC and the administration that I am having issues with.
To give a few examples, she missed a lot of math, and the only option they presented was for her to drop to an easier class for second semester and then take the 1st semester of the easier class over summer. She has already covered all this material, and says she spends most of her time helping other kids learn it, since she can explain it better than the teacher. Clearly she doesn’t need to retake the first semester class, but she can’t move on unless she does. It is a total waste of her time and my money to make her take it, but they can provide no alternative. When I asked about what would happen if she was unable to make up her work by the standard deadline, her GC said that she just needed to do it, and pointed out they had already extended the deadline for her. It appeared she had no understanding that DD was unable to do it in a timely fashion or she would have done so! DD has said that, while it was not in so many words, her GC told her to just take easier classes and she wouldn’t feel so anxious! When I asked about a 504 Plan I was told she doesn’t qualify, since she hasn’t missed enough school and her grades aren’t bad enough. I tried to explain that just because she is able to do OK without accommodations, she would be getting better grades if she didn’t have the issue and should be eligible.
I am not sure where to go from here. DD really doesn’t want any accommodations, and right now she doesn’t need them, but I don’t want to be trying to set this up when the situation is desperate again. The other concern is that is I push too hard, or go over the GC’s head when the time comes to write letters for college, or if DD needs anything the GC will hold against her. Any suggestions?
First, does she have the option of testing out of the math class? Explore that option with her teacher, then present it to the GC.
Do you have a doctor’s diagnosis of anxiety, etc? Public schools are required by law to accommodate those with disabilities although they’re often reluctant to do so. Once you have a diagnosis, you may have to reach out to the district to find out exactly what your daughter is entitled to, and then push the school to follow through.
Your daughter may not “want” any accommodations, but may need them – if not perhaps right now, then in the future. The earlier she learns to manage/understand her issues, the better she can cope with the remainder of high school – and beyond.
Is this a private school or a public school? That can make a big difference in what they are required to do. If she has a medical diagnosis for the anxiety or the other issues that her doctor says affect her in school she qualifies for a 504. I recently learned that having that 504 in place in high school can help with getting accommodations in college as well, so it seems well worth getting. If the GC isn’t helping, I’d go to the next level.
@katliamom The head of the math department was the one to tell me that her options were to take this class, even thought it is review, somehow make up the work she missed, which was substantial, while keeping up in her old math class, or dropping math altogether this year and retaking her junior year class next year. This was the best option, but it seems silly, and as I said a waste of time and money.
She does have a diagnosis, and I have explained that while she does not need anything now, having the 504 in place will benefit her, should she need something in the future. I think her biggest concern is that if I rock to boat it will result in even less satisfactory dealing with these people in the future. It is hard, but not impossible for me to image it getting worse. As it stand now, her GC is much less than helpful and doesn’t generally respond to inquiries for days.
@shoboemom This is public school, and I was thinking of going above her. Again, I am worried about retribution. Also, her GC said this information came from the school psychologist, and so I may go directly there. Perhaps the people in that office simply did not understand, or were not getting a full picture of the situation. I can imagine that if the information was coming only from the GC, it would be incomplete at best.
If your D has a doctor she is already working with, you might go there next to see if they have worked with that school in the past. In any case, you are going to need a letter from the doctor stating the diagnosis and the medical code, along with a mention of how this might be affecting her at school…like missing school, difficulty concentrating, needing time to make things up. If you want to try to work with the GC (and that would be nice to have her on your side) you might approach the GC again and talk about getting things in place for her so it wont be a sudden issue down the road. Perhaps approaching it like you understand that she has to work with what the district office tells her, so maybe she can tell you who to contact to help her help your D. It would be great if you can work as a team for your D, but if not…then move on to the next step.
Special Ed teacher here. The school is obligated to provide needed accommodations, if your daughter’s disabiltity affects her schoolwork. But your post seems to indicate that other health issues put your daughter behind this year, not her anxiety, and your daughter says she doesn’t need accommodations. While what your daughter says she needs is not the determining factor, the school would be reluctant to legally bind itself to provide accommodations that a student won’t use - and can’t legally provide accommodations she doesn’t (but may at some point in the future) need. The accommodations must be necessary, not just helpful. Could you clarify what your daughter needs?
It sounds like your daughter took the first semester of one math class and the second semester of another, easier class. The school wants her to complete the work of both semesters of one of the classes so she can receive a math credit, and offered you options to allow her to do that. That sounds like they’re doing their best to keep from giving her a failing grade for the first semester of her math class, and I would second the testing out suggestion.
You are entitled to ask for an evaluation for your daughter and I would suggest that you do, in writing, to the principal or the special ed supervisor in your district.
There’s also something in this scenario that makes me wonder if your daughter has said something to the GC about taking easier classes, not the other way around, but that’s just a stranger’s impression on an internet forum.