PSA part 2. The referral, evaluation, and eligibility.

The referral, evaluation, and eligibility determination.

PSA. Part 2. Referral. A referral initiates the evaluation process. If it is determined that a child may have delays and or differences in their development a referral is made. This is the first step of the formal evaluation process. A referral can be made by a parent/legal guardian or the school district. Referrals can be made by outside providers, but this typically happens through the parent or legal guardian. Then begins the plethora of paperwork. A receipt of referral is sent to the family. Once it is determined who will be on the team and what assessment activity will be completed a notice is sent to the family listing team members and assessment activity. The who and what is determined through a review of existing data. What information do we currently have that will guide the determination. Outside evaluations? Medical information? Parent/Caregiver/Teacher information? Previous interventions? The team may opt to hold a review of existing data meeting to guide this process. A team may also determine, based on the review, no additional assessment activity is necessary OR on rare occasion a team might determine an evaluation is not necessary. A notice and consent form is sent to the family. Before any new assessment activity can begin, we must first receive written permission from the family. Assessment activity usually involves standardized assessments, observations, and parent / caregiver interview. Reports are written, a meeting is held. The evaluation meeting is to determine eligibility. The first determination is impairment area. Based on assessment activity, criteria for the suspected impairment area is reviewed. If criteria is met, and the team agrees, an impairment area is determined. The second portion is determination for special education. Not all students who meet the criteria for a said impairment area require special education. The team must provide information that supports the need for special education. If a child does not qualify, this ends the process. If a child does qualify, the next step would be the IEP (Individualized Education Program) meeting. This whole process follows a timeline. The district has 15 business days to review existing data and send the notice and consent. Once permission is received, the team has 60 days to complete the evaluation process and eligibility determination. If a child qualifies, the team has 30 days to hold a meeting in order to develop and implement (determine a start date) the IEP. The timeline allows for a thorough process within what is considered a reasonable amount of time. Meaning, we need time to do our job well, but also need to be held accountable for not unnecessarily delaying the process. Next? The IEP. The Individualize Education Program.