NAPLES, Fla. - According to the Mayo Clinic's website, "dyslexia" is the most common learning disability, affecting 5-percent of elementary school kids. So Terry Dunn-Fischer can't understand why she couldn't get the Collier County school district to recognize her daughter's dyslexia.

Up before 5 a.m., 9-year-old Annalyse's day starts very early. She's out the door, in the car, and on the road before 7 a.m.

"It's a really long way to my school and sometimes it's really boring," Annalyse said describing her ride.

She makes the hour trip from her Naples home to Pinewoods Elementary School in Estero every day.

Until her mother decided to move her daughter to Lee County, Annalyse steadily fell behind.

"I felt frustrated because it's kinda hard at my other school. Because the teacher sometimes write too fast or when I asked to slow down they won't slow down and they just won't...my answers...ignore me," said Annalyse.

Her mother, Terry Dunn-Fischer, says Collier County wouldn't do anything to help.

"The biggest issue was Collier County wouldn't recognize there's a problem," said Dunn-Fischer.

Terry took her daughter to a private expert for an evaluation and found out Annalyse has dyslexia.

"She had a evaluation done. That was like 30 pages that clearly showed what the child was doing, what the child needed and I presented that to Collier County and their answer was we don't accept the evaluation. And did they give me a written reason why? Absolutely not," said Dunn-Fischer.

The district receives extra money from the state for educating special needs students like Annalyse. But Terry says her daughter never received any of the services she needed.

This isn't the first time a parent has accused the Collier District of withholding services. Two other parents have filed federal lawsuits against the district, alleging the district purposely keep from evaluating special needs kids so they don't have to spend money on services to help them.

WINK News wanted to ask the district if those allegations were true, but in email after email they denied our requests for on-camera interviews.

According to most experts in dyslexia, time is of the essence. The person who already has lost the most is Annalyse.

"She should be going into 4th grade this year coming up but presently she's in second grade," said Annalyse.

Her mom used a state scholarship to move Annalyse one county over to Lee County where she's now getting services she needs.

"I really like this school because I'm really getting what I should be," said Annalyse.

The Collier County School District did provide us the following statement about their policies regarding dyslexia:

"To address the issues raised by WINK-TV:

The policies for assessing special needs students, re-evaluating special needs students and assigning and re-evaluating those student's IEP's:

The policies for assessing and re-evaluating students with disabilities and the development of the Individual Education Plan are delineated in the 276-page Special Programs and Procedures document. Section 1003.57(1)(d), Florida Statutes, requires that district school boards submit to the Department of Education (DOE) proposed procedures for the provision of special instruction and services for exceptional students once every three years. This document serves as the basis for the identification, evaluation, eligibility determination, Individual Education Plan development, and placement of students in special programs for exceptional students. On September 22, 2008, the board approved the District School Board of Collier County Special Programs and Procedures for Exceptional Students. This document is available on request through the District Information Officer, Joe Landon.

The district's official stance on Dyslexia, and what measures are taken to educate students with Dyslexia:

The District's official stance on dyslexia is as follows: Dyslexia is a language-based learning disability and as such, falls under rule 6A-6.03018, Exceptional Education Eligibility for Students with Specific Learning Disabilities. The District provides direct and explicit instruction and progress monitoring, along with a multi-sensory structured literacy program based on the identified needs in the student's Individual Education Plan.

What screening does the district do to identify children with reading disabilities like dyslexia?

Students identified as struggling based on the outcome of ongoing progress monitoring assessments receive immediate intensive intervention in areas of instructional need. An additional 30 minutes of intensive instruction is provided daily to all K-5 struggling readers, in a small group or individual setting. Students in grades 1-10 are assessed in order to diagnose areas of instructional need both formally (GRA+DE, benchmark assessments, DIBELS) and informally (running records, informal reading inventories).

What changes the District has made regarding the OCR Resolution?

As a result of the Letter of Finding issued by the Office for Civil Rights, the District has amended and clarified the several avenues of complaint available to parents and students under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. Our Parent/Student Rights and Procedural Safeguards are now explicitly detailed to specifically clarify District complaint procedures to comply with 34 CFR 104.36.
104.36 Procedural safeguards.

A recipient that operates a public elementary or secondary education program or activity shall establish and implement, with respect to actions regarding the identification, evaluation, or educational placement of persons who, because of handicap, need or are believed to need special instruction or related services, a system of procedural safeguards that includes notice, an opportunity for the parents or guardian of the person to examine relevant records, an impartial hearing with opportunity for participation by the person's parents or guardian and representation by counsel, and a review procedure. Compliance with the procedural safeguards of section 615 of the Education of the Handicapped Act is one means of meeting this requirement.

4/23/09 "


WINK NEWS shared the statement with Dunn-Fischer. She says her daughter has not received any of the services described in the statement issued by Collier County.