Referrals, Evaluations and Eligibility Determinations

1. Referrals, Evaluations and Eligibility Determinations Office of Vocational and Educational Services for Individuals with Disabilities Special Education Policy Update Session Fall 2007

2. 1. Referrals for Initial Evaluation

3. Who may initiate a referral? • Referral for initial evaluations • Parent • School District or Commissioner or designee of public agency responsible for providing education to students with disabilities • Request for referrals • Professional staff members of the district the student resides in or private school student attends • Physician • Judicial officer • Student, age 18 or emancipated minor

4. 2. Individual Evaluations and Reevaluations

5. 60 calendar days to complete evaluation • Parent and district can agree to another timeline if: • Child moves into new district and evaluation was initiated in prior district • Agree to determine how student responds to research-based intervention (response to intervention)

6. Observation §200.4(b)(1)(v)(ii) • Required component of the initial evaluation • Observation in the student’s learning environment(including regular classroom setting) • For student less than school age or out of school – environment appropriate for student that age

7. Independent educational evaluations (IEE) • parent right to one IEE for each district evaluation parent disagrees with • Reevaluation every three years • unless parent and district agree, in writing, the reevaluation is not necessary

8. 3. Eligibility Determinations

9. Sources of information • Variety of sources • Aptitude and achievement tests • Parent input • Teacher recommendations • Physical condition • Social or cultural background • Adaptive behavior • Ensure information from all sources is: • documented and • carefully considered.

10. Board of Education Responsibilities §200.2(b)(7) • BOE written policy • establishes practices and procedures for implementing schoolwide approaches to remediate a student’s performance prior to referral for special education • may include a response to intervention (RtI) process

11. RtI Programs§100.2(ii) • Minimum requirements • Appropriate instruction in general education class • Appropriate instruction in reading means scientific research-based reading programs that include instruction in: • Phonemic awareness • Phonics • Vocabulary development • Reading fluency and • Reading comprehension strategies • Screenings • Levels of targeted intervention

12. Repeated assessments • Application of information to make educational decisions • Written notification to parents • Student performance data collected and general education services to be provided • Strategies for increasing rate of learning • Parents’ right to request an evaluation

13. School selects structure and components • Criteria for determining levels of intervention • Types of interventions • Amount and nature of performance data to be collected • Manner and frequency for progress monitoring • Ensure fidelity of implementation • Staff knowledge and skills to implement RtI • Program is implemented consistent with the RtI structure and components selected

14. School district must initiate a referral and promptly request parent consent to evaluate a student who: has not made adequate progress after an appropriate period of time when provided instruction in a “response-to-intervention” process (§100.2(ii)) Referrals when using RtI

15. Learning Disabilities (LD) • May not rely on any single procedure • Must include observation of student’s academic performance in the regular classroom • Before referral • With parent consent, after the referral • Must be conducted by CSE member Q: If you use an RtI process, must you still conduct a complete individual evaluation? A: Yes

16. Are learning problems the result of lack of appropriate instruction in math and reading? • Data that demonstrates that prior to, or as part of, the referral process, the student was provided appropriate instruction in regular education settings, delivered by qualified personnel; • Data-based documentation of repeated assessments of achievement at reasonable intervals, reflecting formal assessment of student progress during instruction • Information must have been provided to parents prior to referral

17. Who makes the LD determination? • CSE • Must include student’s regular education teacher; and • At least one person qualified to conduct individual diagnostic examinations (e.g., school psychologist, speech/language pathologist, reading teacher)

18. State Criteria for LD • Student does not achieve adequately for age or standards; and • Student either: • does not make progress (RtI) or • exhibits a pattern of strengths and weaknesses in: • performance, achievement, or both • relative to age, standards or intellectual development; and

19. Not result of: • visual, hearing or motor disability; • mental retardation; • emotional disturbance; • cultural factors; • environmental or economic disadvantage; or • limited English proficiency

20. Use of significant discrepancy • State does not prohibit its use • Except that effective on or after July 1, 2012 (5 years), a school district shall not use the severe discrepancy criteria for: • LD determination in reading for students in grades K-4.

21. Written report of LD Determination • Does student have a LD? • Basis for making the determination? • Relevant behavior noted during the observation and the relationship of the behavior to the student’s academic functioning • Educationally relevant medical findings • Does the student meet the State’s criteria?

22. Determination of the CSE regarding exclusionary factors • If student participated in RtI: • Instructional strategies used and the student centered data collected; and • Documentation that parents were notified • amount and nature of student performance data, • general education strategies used for increasing the student’s rate of learning; and • right to request a special education evaluation.

23. Proposals to Advance RtI Implementation • RtI Technical Assistance Center (RtI-TAC) • Connect to new federally-funded National RtI Center • Grants to schools to implement RtI • Selected schools throughout NYS

24. RtI Resources/Links • www.nrcld.org • www.ncld.org • www.nasdse.org • www.aimsweb.com • www.dibels.org • www.interventioncentral.org