By: Pax Bilinski / News & Opinion editor
Last year, Indiana passed a new literacy law that changed the requirements for third grade students taking IREAD, a test that determines if they are ready to go on to fourth grade.
Around 3,000 students were held back in the state due to being special needs, having a learning disability, such as dyslexia or having English be their second language. However, there is a “Good Cause Exemption” that allows students to be promoted to fourth grade even if they tested poorly on the IREAD exam. The student must be in special education, has an Individualized Education Plan or a 504 plan, passed the ILEARN math assessment, is an English Learner, previous retention and being in intensive reading intervention and still having a reading deficiency after two years.
An IEP is a legally binding plan that outlines a student’s specific educational goals, requirements and accommodations. It also details a student’s specific needs and guarantees that they have access to free and appropriate public education. A 504 plan is essentially the same as an IEP. It also proves that the student has a physical or mental impairment that hinders their ability to learn, breathe, or walk. It’s also a legally binding plan that details specific support like preferential seating, assistive technology, or extra time on tests to aid their individual needs.
The term “English Learner” means that the student does not speak English as their first language and is learning how to speak it while in school. To be eligible for the Good Cause Exemption, they need to have been identified as an EL with less than two years of support services.
Previous retention refers to when a student has been held back before due to academic deficiencies or other issues. If a student has had to repeat a year in school once or more previously, they may qualify for the exemption.
Intensive Reading Intervention is a targeted instruction plan for students who are significantly behind in reading proficiency to help them catch up to their peers. If a student has been in reading intervention for two years and has not shown much growth, they also may qualify to be exempt.
Students can qualify for the Good Cause Exemption, but that doesn’t mean that it is guaranteed. It is determined after a case conference or school review to confirm that promotion is appropriate and the exemption is accepted.
“My biggest advice for parents is that when you think your child is different from their peers, in any way, whether that’s behavioral or academic. Trust your instincts. I think that for me I was told a lot of ‘Oh, you’re comparing her to her older sister,’ or ‘she’ll catch up, there’s nothing to worry about. They don’t do that type of testing until a certain grade.’ And I knew early on as a parent that my daughter struggled in ways that her siblings and peers didn’t,” an anonymous mother of a previous Hancock County student said. “I say all the time that she learns in color but they, unfortunately, teach in black and white, and that is not a knock to our school at all. It’s just the reality of how public education is. It’s set up to cater to the majority and we have students that are either high ability or low ability.”
Junior Madysin Litko also has experience in learning differently than most students.
“Having dyslexia is like if you don’t speak English. That mindset is how it feels when you have to read words. If you find it difficult to read a word, you have to know what it’s supposed to sound like, not what you think it should sound like. A lot of the time it leads to that way of thinking. If you can’t do what people usually describe as ‘easy math’ in your head quickly, it could also lead you to be diagnosed with dyslexia. Most of the time, you’re diagnosed when you’re younger. So, if you read below the specific age you’re meant to, they’ll assume you have it or that you’re just a slow learner,” Litko said.
Litko received her IEP in second grade, but it took a lot of fighting. She had to prove that she had a disability for years.
“I got it when I went to 2nd grade. That’s when the battle started. It took over 6 years for me to even be treated correctly with an IEP. When I got diagnosed, it was a lot of going to this really large building and dealing with these people testing you constantly. They’d ask questions like ‘What color looks best with your writing,’ or ‘What color goes best with these words? Do you prefer yellow or blue?’ or they’ll ask you really random questions like ‘What’s wrong with this photo?’ It was just a lot of testing over and over, and a lot of people doubting you constantly despite having a history of dyslexia in your family. I had to go there every weekend and had to deal with those people asking me questions left and right, even if I didn’t want to answer them.” Litko said.
Gaining her IEP was extremely beneficial for Litko. She finally gained accommodations on tests and homework. Her disability was finally recognized.
“Holding back students because of one test makes me, personally, angry because I would have been that student, and I almost was. But, the only reason I wasn’t was because of my IEP because it proved that I had a disability and it wasn’t just because I sucked, or wasn’t good at reading,” Litko said.
