Exceptional Student Education - Understanding the Eligibility Process (2024)

Lecture Notes

Advocacy Center for Persons with Disabilities Inc.

Exceptional Student Education: Understanding the Eligibility Process

Lecture Notes

During this training session we will be reviewing the Exceptional Student Education process, also referred to as the ESE process. There are 10 steps in this process that will be discussed in great detail. It is our intention to provide you with strategies and information that will help you be proficient in navigating this process for your child.

Lecture Notes

The ESE Process.

There are 10 critical steps that you as a parent should be familiar with when determining if your child is or is not eligible for special education services. These 10 steps are as follows: 1. Your child is identified as needing services and/or related services beyond what is provided in the general education classroom 2. Signing consent for evaluations and beginning the evaluation process 3. Eligibility is determined 4. Your child is either eligible or not eligible for services. 5. An Individualized Education Plan (IEP) meeting is scheduled 6. An IEP is drafted 7. Services are provided 8. Progress is measured over time 9. The IEP is reviewed 10. Your child is re-evaluated

Lecture Notes

Step 1: Your Child is identified as Needing Services.

Determining if your child needs special education services is the first step in the process. This can be difficult for some families when they first learn that their child needs specialized instruction. The process can occur two different ways. One way is through the child find system, or by your child's teacher sending a referral to your school's child study team. Your child's teacher works with your child on a daily basis and is most knowledgeable in understanding your child's progress. However, it is important to know that a referral to the child study team can come from anyone that works with your child, this includes you!

Lecture Notes

General Education Interventions.

Interventions are required for a student prior to the referral process. It is important for the teacher to document what the strategies he/she has attempted in order to assist the child prior to referring him/her to the child study team. These interventions are referred to as RTI -- Response To Intervention. Response to intervention is data driven approach that includes assessments and intervention within a tiered/leveled system. This means interventions are provided at the school level, classroom level and/or individual level. This systematic approach maximizes the student's achievement and reduces behavior problems. With RTI, schools identify students at risk for poor learning outcomes, monitor student progress, provide evidence-based interventions and adjust the intensity and nature of those interventions depending on a student's responsiveness, and the schools identify students with learning disabilities or other disabilities.

Lecture Notes

Step 2: Your Child is Evaluated. Your school must do the following prior to any evaluation occurring on your child: 1. Provide you with a prior written notice. This means that the school must notify you in writing if they plan to initiate or change the identification, evaluation, or educational placement of your child or the provision of Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) to your child. 2. Provide you with a copy of your procedural safeguards - this will inform you of your rights and your due process rights should you and the school disagree on the findings of the evaluations 3. Obtain written consent to do an evaluation on your child - The school has to request your permission prior to conducting any evaluations on your child. The consent should indicate which evaluations they plan on conducting on your child.

Lecture Notes

The initial Evaluation. This evaluation should be a comprehensive evaluation that provides the team with a clear picture of your child's strengths, weaknesses, academic achievement, problems and interests. The district has an obligation to provide the student with a comprehensive evaluation that will identify all of your child's special education and related services needs, whether or not they are commonly linked to the disability category in which the child has been classified. The evaluations are to be completed and reviewed with you prior to any decision being made. Parents can request a copy of the evaluation report before the meeting where the results are discussed with the team. This meeting is referred to as the "eligibility staffing".

Lecture Notes

Initial Evaluations and Consent. Parents must sign consent to have their child evaluated by the school, prior to any evaluations taking place. The school district has an obligation to do its initial evaluations before families can seek out evaluations from private therapists. Only if the parent disagrees with the initial evaluations from the school can he/she request an independent evaluation at the public's expense. An Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE) is an evaluation conducted by a qualified examiner who is not employed by the school district responsible for your child's education. Public expense means that the district either pays for the full cost of the evaluation or ensures that the evaluation is otherwise provided at no cost to the parent.

Lecture Notes

Initial Evaluations and IDEA 2004. During the 2004 revisions to IDEA, there was language that was added that requires school districts to conduct initial evaluations within a 60 day timeframe. This revision is in favor of the student and supports the need to have timely evaluations conducted so that services can also start in a timely manner.

Lecture Notes

Florida Rule 6A-6.0331. The 60 day timeframe is only implemented when it is an initial evaluation. This does not apply if your child is getting a "re-evaluation." The 60 day count starts on the day that you sign consent for an evaluation. The rule states that the student is evaluated within a period of 60 days; this includes school days in which the student is in attendance.

Lecture Notes

Can the School Refuse to Evaluate Your Child? A school can refuse to evaluate your child. However, this is not common practice in most districts. If a school refuses to conduct an initial evaluation on your child, it is important that you request a notice of refusal in writing that explains the school's position regarding its reasons for not conducting the evaluations and information to support their decision.

Lecture Notes

What do Evaluations tell you? The goal of an evaluation is not to confuse you, however this often happens. Often times the reports are filled with jargon and terminology that you may not be familiar with. It is important to know that you are entitled to a copy of all of the evaluations conducted on your child, prior to the meeting where the team reviews the results of the evaluations. Use this opportunity to review the report and prepare for your meeting. Make a list of words and terms that do not make sense to you, or a list of questions that you may have. The true purpose of the evaluation is to provide you with a comprehensive picture of your child's current strengths, weaknesses, academic achievement, intelligence and/or cognitive functioning and how your child compares to his/her peers who are the same age. When the evaluation is complete, you will have a better understanding of how your child is functioning academically, cognitively, and behaviorally in school.

Lecture Notes

School Evaluations Verses Medical Evaluations. Often times, parents confuse medical and school evaluations. They are not considered the same when looking at ESE eligibility. A medical professional is the only one that can provide your child with a medical diagnosis, such as autism. When your school staff conducts their evaluations, they are merely looking to determine if your child meets program eligibility. For example, they cannot determine if your child has autism, but they can determine that your child meets the program requirements outlined in the state statues to receive services in the Autism Spectrum Disorder's Program (ASD).

Lecture Notes

More on Evaluations. IDEA requires school staff to gather relevant information as it pertains to the child's functional, developmental and academic performance. This should include information shared and/or provided by the parent. If you have an outside evaluation that you feel provides your team with critical information about your child, you have the right to share that with your team and they have an obligation to review and consider the information in that report. It is important that more than one evaluation is conducted on your child and that multiple professionals are involved in determining your child's needs. The evaluations must use a variety of assessment tools and strategies to gather relevant information. It's important to examine all areas of a child's functioning to determine not only if the child is a child with a disability, but also determine the child's educational needs. This full and individual evaluation includes evaluating the child's health, vision and hearing, social and emotional status, general intelligence, academic performance, communication needs, and motor abilities.

Lecture Notes

Children in Private Schools. If your child attends a private school or is home schooled, the district still has an obligation and responsibility for testing all children suspected of having a disability. This obligation falls under the Child Find activities. Child Find is a system which was put in place by IDEA to identify, locate, and evaluate all children with disabilities in the state who need special education and related services. To do so, states conduct what are known as Child Find screenings. Each state is required to have a child find system.

Lecture Notes

Funds for Private School Students. There are funds set aside in each district to support students with disabilities who attend private schools. The district does not have an obligation to provide services specifically to your child, but they must consider your child in the pool of students eligible for those federal dollars they MUST spend on ESE students in private schools.

Lecture Notes

After the Evaluations are Completed. Once the evaluations have been completed on your child, you will receive a final report at no charge. It is your right to obtain this report prior to any meeting taking place. You should have an opportunity to review the report and prepare prior for the meeting with your school based team. The team will schedule a meeting to review the results of your child's evaluation. This is called an Eligibility Staffing. It is important to know that schools should make every effort to schedule this meeting at a time that is mutually agreeable to all parties, school and parent.

Lecture Notes

Programs versus Related Services. There is a difference between programs that students are eligible for and related services. Programs are defined and outlined by criteria set by the state board of education. When your child is being found eligible for an ESE service, he or she is being found eligible for a program, like SLD. Related services are additional services that can be provided to your child so that he or she may benefit from specially designed instruction. Speech and Language services can be considered a program and/or a related service. Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy are considered related services and unless your child is getting services through an IEP he or she may not qualify for these additional services.

Lecture Notes

Step 3: Eligibility is Determined. The evaluations are reviewed and a team of professionals come together to discuss the results and determine what services your child is eligible for. It is not uncommon to have professionals participate in this meeting who may or may not have participated in conducting your child's evaluations.

Lecture Notes

Eligibility Meeting and Determination. Program eligibility is determined by the criteria set forth in the state board of education rules. The team should consider program eligibility in all areas of the child's disability.

Lecture Notes

Step 4: Your Child is Found Eligible for Services. Using the information obtained from your child's evaluation the team will develop an Individualized Education Plan, also referred to as an IEP. Your IEP team has an obligation to develop this IEP within 30 days of your child being eligible for services. Consider the IEP your child's blueprint or plan to those specialized services and supports the school is identifying your child needs in order to be successful

Lecture Notes

If Your Child is Not Eligible for Services. If your child is not found eligible through this process, the school district still has an obligation to use general education remediation strategies for your child. This is referred to as the RTI process, discussed earlier in this training. Your teacher and school team should continue to gather data on your child's progress. It may be that your child would benefit from additional accommodations, in which case you could work with your team to develop a 504 plan for your child.

Lecture Notes

Step 5: An IEP meeting is scheduled.

A meeting with your child's Individualized Education Plan (IEP) team will be scheduled within the 30 day timeframe of your child being determined eligible for services. You are an important member of this team. You are also an expert on your child and how he or she learns. This is a great opportunity for you, the parent, to share your concerns and educational goals with your child's team.

Lecture Notes

Step 6: IEP is Drafted by the Team and Must Include. There are components of the IEP that are critical for you to understand and become familiar with. These areas are as follows: 1. Strengths of the student: In this section it is important to focus on what your child's abilities are. 2. Concerns of the parent: This is where you can document your concerns for your child. They can be academic concerns and/or behavioral concerns. 3. Results of performance on district or state assessments: This is where your team will document your child's performance on evaluations, district assessments, or state assessments like the FCAT. 4. Present level of performance: This section should capture information about how your child is currently doing in school and how his/her disability affects his or her performance in class. 5. Measurable Goals and Objectives/Benchmarks: Once a child's needs are identified, the IEP team works to develop appropriate goals to address those needs. Annual goals describe what the child is expected to do or learn within a 12-month period. Benchmarks or Short-Term Objectives are required only for children with disabilities who take alternate assessments aligned to alternate achievement standards. 6. How progress towards the goals will be measured: Each child's IEP must also contain a description of how his or her progress toward meeting the annual goals will be measured and when it will be reported to parents. Typically this is reported on a quarterly (nine week) basis, through progress reports and report cards. 7. Supplementary Aids and Services: Supplementary aids and services are intended to improve your child's access to learning and his or her participation across the spectrum of academic, extracurricular, and nonacademic activities and settings. The IEP team must determine what supplementary aids and services your child will need and specify them in the IEP. This is typically where a team would document the need for a 1 to 1 paraprofessional to support your child while he / she is in class.

Lecture Notes

IEP Continued. When you are developing your child's IEP, it is important to indicate the need for positive behavioral support, any language needs your child should have limited English skills, what mode of communication is used with your child, if your child needs any assistive technology, if your child is in need of Extended School Year Services (ESY), and for students who are deaf/ blind what additional services/supports they may need. Typically, ESY is not discussed until the end of the school year.

Lecture Notes

IEP Continued. If your child is 14 years of age, you should be sure to include supports under the area of Transition. This section should discuss your child's post school outcomes, diploma options, transfer of rights which will occur when your child becomes 18 years old, and lastly agency linkage. This is a good opportunity to bring in additional professionals who specialize in transition services and community supports. These individuals are typically knowledgeable in determining post school outcomes, community assistance, employment, and living arrangements. Some agencies to consider are Vocational Rehabilitation or the Agency for Persons with Disabilities (APD).

Lecture Notes

Step 7: Your Child Will Begin to Receive ESE Services. During the initial phase of getting your child special education services, it is critical that you provide the district with written consent to begin services. ESE services will not begin until that consent has been obtained. Signing your child's IEP allows the school to begin services and put your child's plan into action. This is the only time that your signature on the IEP determines the beginning of services.

Lecture Notes

Step 8: Your Child's Progress is Measured Over Time. The IEP should be reviewed yearly. You can have more than one IEP meeting a year, but the districts cannot have less than one meeting in which the team would go over goals and services. This is a good time to determine if your child is meeting the current goals on the IEP and make any additional changes as needed. We suggest that you, the parent, request quarterly meetings with your team to ensure that progress is being met.

Lecture Notes

Step 9: Your Child's IEP is Reviewed. You team will meet annually to review your child's educational progress. However, should your child's needs change at any time; you have the right to call an IEP meeting. We suggest that if you do, you place your request in writing to the school so that there is a paper trail or written documentation of your request.

Lecture Notes

Step 10: Your Child is Re-Evaluated. The district has an obligation to conduct re-evaluations on your child's progress. A child is evaluated every three years in order to determine educational progress.