Welcome to the Special Education Evaluation Process

Welcome to the Special Education Evaluation Process

Referral for A Special Education Evaluation No required State form Strongly recommend that each district develop a local referral form Essential for tracking to have this in writing! A referral form helps ensure the timeliness of a school s response (15 day rule) Referral can be made by: Parent of a child School District Agency of Education Other State Agency

Initial Contact with Parents

Local Education Agency (LEA) Decision Not To Evaluate Form 7 or 7a is sent to parents within 15 days of request or referral Must be completed fully This form is the appropriate way to document the LEA s decision not to evaluate (decision may come from any appropriate LEA staff, but best practice is to have an Evaluation Planning Team make that decision)

Notice Of Meeting State Form 1 A parent might be: Parent (biological or adoptive) Guardian Appointed educational surrogate parent Grandparent, step-parent, other relative or individual with whom the child lives Adult student

State Form 1 Separate sections to identify: Designated team members (those roles which MUST be filled at each Evaluation Planning Team and Individualized Education Program meeting) Others invited to attend with knowledge of the student, but not required to be in attendance

Convene Evaluation Planning Team (EPT) Meeting Initial evaluations require a formal meeting of the EPT both to develop a plan for the testing and for the final report. A re-evaluation requires there be a formal meeting of the EPT for the final report. Developing a plan for a re-evaluation can be done by polling the EPT, unless a parent requests for a formal meeting.

Evaluation Plan Written State Form 2 Development of an initial Evaluation Plan must occur through a formal meeting of the EPT Major sections of the Cover page There are now four dates to document: Request for Evaluation Planning Meeting Received Consent (if needed) Eligibility decision Separate sections to identify designated team members and others invited to the meeting

Evaluation Plan Concerns ~ Cover Page Planning meeting date is not always documented Names of required team members are not always identified Individual names should be listed under every role that they serve (they are not required to initial each time their name appears, once will suffice)

Section 1 Disability Determination This is the section which decides what areas of disability are suspected and will be tested for. Each category of suspected disability should have its own section 1. Some disability categories require the opinion of outside experts such as physicians, psychologists or psychiatrists.

Disability Categories (VT Regulation 2362.1) Developmental Delay (ages 3 to 6) Intellectual Disability Specific Learning Disability (SLD) Visual Impairment Hearing Loss Speech or Language Impairment Orthopedic Impairment Other Health Impairment Emotional Disturbance Autism Spectrum Disorder Traumatic Brain Injury Deaf-Blindness Multiple Disabilities

Areas to be Assessed versus the Names of Actual Tests Test areas are listed on the State Form 2 but not the specific tests to be given. Specific tests are left up to the professional responsible for the testing. You may ask for a list of the specific tests expected to be given but the final decision may be based upon the results of other tests.

Evaluation Plan Concerns ~ Disability Determination (Section 1) All suspected disability categories must be identified List only the assessment areas to be evaluated and identify (by title not name) the person responsible Most systems default to all available areas, the ones not used should be deleted Questions should relate to the suspected disabilities Answers must be sufficient to document disability according to State regulations SLD determination requires a written observation of the child and the learning environment by someone other than the current teacher

Section 2 Adverse Effect Adverse effect on educational performance is found in the federal definition of many of the disability categories. Vermont regulations further define adverse effect as a student performing in the lowest 15% of their typical grade level peers in a basic skill area. These basic skills include: Basic reading, Reading comprehension, Math reasoning, Math calculation, Written expression, Oral expression, Listening comprehension, and Motor skills

Adverse Effect To prove an adverse effect exists, one basic skill must be documented using three measures of school performance. These include: Individually-administered normed achievement tests Normed group-administered achievement tests Grades or measures of student proficiency Curriculum-based measures Criterion-referenced or group-administered criterionreferenced tests Samples of student work, language, or portfolios

Adverse Effect All six measures must be considered, unless not applicable due to the students grade or age level, until at least three measures proving adverse effect are documented. Not one of the six measures carries more weight than the other and it cannot be required that any one of the measures of school performance be part of the three documented areas of adverse effect.

Evaluation Plan Concerns ~ Adverse Effect (Section 2) There are 6 measures for adverse effect Explicitly describe how the measures demonstrate -1.0 SD or lowest 15 th percentile A basic skill needs to be addressed with at least three measures of school performance (minimum requirement) For SLD Students: Basic skill used must at least relate to weakness identified under disability determination Developmental Delay is the ONLY disability category that does not require documentation of adverse effect

Need for Special Education Where a student has been found to have a disability and adverse effect has been proven, the Evaluation Planning Team must determine if the student has a need for special education services or whether other supports within the school s Educational Support System will be enough to appropriately meet the student s educational needs.

Need for Special Education Where a student is found to have a disability, but does not demonstrate an adverse effect, a referral must be made to building principal who, in turn, must request a Section 504 Plan review. If a student is not found to have either a disability, adverse effect or does not have a need for special education services, the results of the EPT report should be shared with the school Educational Support Team.

Evaluation Plan Concerns ~ Need for Special Education (Section 3) Be sure to seeks answers to what are ALL the student s specialized instructional needs which cannot be provided through general education supports

Conducting the Initial Evaluation If only a review of existing data Must send Form 3 No consent is required Must be completed within 60 days from date Form 3 is sent to the parent If administering tests and other methods Must use Form 3 Parental consent required through use of Form 3a Must be completed within 60 days from date Form 3a is received in district

Exceptions to the 60 Day Rule Parent does not make child available for evaluation or the student is ill If student transfers in the middle of Evaluation, the school and parent can agree to use State Form 9 to change the completion date No Notice of Delay is required Be sure to document all contacts between parent and school

Notice of Evaluation Delay State Form 4 An exceptional circumstance MUST be documented (primarily family or student centered reasons, or acts of nature) School-centered reasons for delays are not allowable Must be sent to the parent as soon as the LEA anticipates that the 60 day timeline will be exceeded

Eligibility Meeting Properly noticed using Form 1 Report MUST have initials of all Team members in agreement If a team member disagrees with decision, s/he MUST submit in writing his/her dissenting opinion Goal is always for consensus of the EPT If consensus is not reached, the LEA Representative for the meeting makes the final decision with regard to eligibility

Evaluation Report Under all three sections: ALL questions posed must be answered Must summarize all relevant evaluation information Should not say See Attached Report only Each section must include a team conclusion If the Plan is well developed, documentation in the Report should be evident

Triennial (within three years) Re-evaluations School and parent can mutually agree not to conduct triennial evaluation State Form 8 Usually completed for students who have had several triennials or when a student s current medical or psychological status makes them unavailable for accurate testing Next triennial is due no more than 3 years from the date Form 8 was signed by the parent but can always be completed sooner

Re-evaluation Plan Planning can take place through: A formal meeting (required if requested by the parent or school) Correspondence Individual conversations between the case manager and the members of the EPT, including the parents

Conducting the Re-evaluation If only a review of existing data Must send Form 3 No consent is required If administering tests and other methods Must send Form 3 Consent needed Form 3a

Deadline for Re-evaluation 60 day limit not applicable MUST be completed before triennial review date (no later than three years from the last eligibility meeting date) If student transfers in midst of re-evaluation: Use Form 9 to document any changes in the timeline completion of the evaluation or reevaluation

Eligibility Decision ~ Final Page If not eligible: Send completed Form 2 to parent With disability: MUST refer to building administrator to convene 504 Team (requirement) Without disability: Refer to school s Educational Support Team (best practice) If eligible: Send completed Form 2 to parent Convene Individualized Education Program team meeting within 30 days of decision to develop the student s initial IEP

Form 2 ~ Final Page Be sure there is a list of the disability category(ies) if the student is found eligible The category MUST correspond to Vermont Department of Education Special Education Regulations Write out full titles the first time referenced with acronym or abbreviation in parentheses When using SLD, write the category title and basic skill area of weakness

Contact Information Ernie Wheeler Ernest.Wheeler@vermont.gov (802) 479-1252