Help! I requested testing in November for my daughter (13yr-old, 6th grade, bilingual, adopted from Colombia 2 years ago) because she was struggling in math (not able to add/subtract 2 digit + numbers). She was also struggling with any abstract ideas/problems and multi-step directions. I have dealt with the school district regularly for my bio son (12-yrs old, dyslexic/bipolar) and they have been great. This is my first experience with the middle school personnel though. They say my daughter tested at borderline IQ - 74 and that she is a ‘slow learner’ and that she doesn’t qualify for services. On top of that she is currently in the bilingual progam and they informed me that next year they are going to start transitioning her to regular English classrooms in social studies and MATH. She can’t understand the explanations for math now in her native language and they want her to grasp it in English? They also informed me that due to her age (13) she is much older than the other children and they want to move her to 8th grade - skipping 7th grade - because of her age and because she will ‘fit’ in better. So…my daughter - who is a ‘slow learner’ and who they refuse to help - and is struggling to pass 6th grade - they want to move to English classes in 8th grade! When I asked ’ don’t you think she will be overwhelmed academically’ their reply was ’ Well that is a risk but we need to look at the whole picture.’ I was so upset I couldn’t speak (which is probably a good thing as they wouldn’t have been productive!) I feel like they are just trying to push her out of the their way to become someone else’s problem. As she didn’t quality for LD or special ed services, do I have any options? Does anyone know? Should I have her tested independently? It will be tough to put her in a private school because of the bilingual issue. Any suggestions?