A Killeen ISD mother is accusing the district of misrepresenting information in parts of her daughter’s recent special education evaluation.
According to that parent, one of her daughter’s teachers is now backing up those claims.
Stephanie Moody said the wait for her daughter’s special education evaluation has been a long time coming.
"I've been waiting for an evaluation since February 2015,” Moody said.
She wanted them done, so that her five-year old special needs student can receive therapy on campus.
"My daughter has a thing called CAS or Apraxia; it essentially means she has a speech disorder. She also has OT needs, PT needs, and sensory concerns,” Moody said, “In addition, to that she has a motor planning disorder, ADD and ADHD."
So you can imagine Moody’s surprise when she recently received that evaluation, which stated that none of her daughter's teachers had any concerns about the child’s learning and development.
An excerpt from the evaluation says quote:
"The Special Education aide reported that [the student] always transitions easily and has no difficulties waiting from the bus inside or outside. The music teacher reported that [the student] does well in his class and he never observed her having difficulty. The classroom teacher reported that she has not observed [the student] demonstrate any difficulties with sensory issues."
Moody then reached out to her daughter’s music teacher, via email, for an explanation of the evaluation.
In an excerpt of his response, that Killeen ISD said he wasn’t aware that an evaluation was taking place at the time and that his comments were taken out of context.
"The only conversation I have had with any evaluators regarding your daughter took place approximately one month ago outside of my portable classroom when your daughter was returned to my class. During that time I made the referenced remark, but it was made regarding her behavioral patterns in my classroom, and not sensory patterns. The specific remark that I made was that I have not experienced any major behavioral issues in my class from Samantha, and that any minor issues that occurred were easily corrected through verbal reminders.
I am not, not do I claim to be certified to conduct sensory evaluations, so I was not formally involved in the process. I therefore can offer no additional information regarding others involved or the content of the evaluation. I was, in fact, not officially informed that a sensory evaluation on your daughter was taking place, or that my remarks would be used in the report as such."
Due to this, Moody feels that portions of her daughter’s evaluation have been misrepresented by the school district.
She demanded answers from board members at Tuesday night’s school board meeting.
"My daughter's music teacher who was recorded as saying he has experienced no issues in the classroom with her. I am unsure how a person on certified to perform a sensory evaluation could be cited in the report without their knowledge. "
Moody wants the school district to correct what she feels is a mistake, that is preventing her daughter from gaining vital services.
"I'm gonna ask for that the school district now pays for me to go to an unbiased third party and for them go evaluate my daughter so we can bring that documentation to the table,” Moody said.
The district issued a response to the incident on Wednesday, saying in part that they will be working with Moody to address her concerns. But also adding that it is a common practice within the KISD, for general education teachers to provide information to evaluation staff.
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