Chapter 5: Evaluation
Learning More About Your Child

Requirements for Evaluation. According to IDEA, your school district must conduct an evaluation that:

Uses a variety of different tests (assessments), procedures, tools and strategies to gather relevant functional, developmental and academic information (including information provided by the parent); this information may be used to help decide whether your child has a disability, and it can help when developing your child's Individualized Education Program (IEP); Ensures that your child is evaluated in all areas in which a disability is suspected; Does not use any single measure or test as the sole basis for deciding whether your child has a disability, or for developing an appropriate educational program for your child; Uses evaluation tools and strategies that provide relevant information that directly support decisions about the educational needs of your child; Uses technically sound testing instruments to determine the roles that cognitive and behavioral factors, in addition to physical or developmental factors, are playing in your child’s difficulties. These testing instruments must be:

• Selected and administered so they do not discriminate on a racial or cultural basis
• Used for purposes for which the assessments or measures are proven to be valid and reliable
• Administered by trained and knowledgeable personnel
• Administered according to the specific instructions provided by the producer of the assessments.

Additional requirements for evaluations were added in IDEA 2004. Now assessments must be provided and administered in the language and form most likely to yield accurate information on what the student knows and can do academically, developmentally and functionally. For example, the assessments should be administered in Spanish, or Braille, or sign language, if that’s the student’s usual mode of communication.

In addition to the results of the evaluation procedures conducted as required above, an initial evaluation must also include any existing data on your child, such as:

• Information and data collected during pre-referral interventions or a response-to-intervention process (as described in Chapter 1 and Chapter 2)
• Evaluations and information provided by the parents
• Current classroom-based, local or state assessment results
• Observations by teachers, school psychologists and related service providers (such as speech-language pathologists, occupational therapists and physical therapists).

Private Evaluations at Private Expense. You are free to have your child evaluated privately at your own expense at any time. If you have had any private testing conducted on your child at your own expense or through private insurance, you should provide the results to the school at this stage. To ensure reliable results, it is important that your child not be administered the same test within a short period of time. Making the school aware of private testing results is important if the school district is to construct an appropriate evaluation plan.

Before scheduling a private evaluation, you should carefully review the credentials of the evaluator. Make sure that:

• The individual who conducts the evaluation meets state requirements (e.g., holds a state license)
• The evaluator will provide a very detailed written report that may include recommendations for support and/or services that will address your child's needs
• The evaluator will provide you with a full explanation of the findings so you can explain and support them while discussing the report with the school
• The school district generally accepts evaluations from this individual
• The evaluator is willing to attend school meetings to explain results and the reasons for recommendations.

Finalizing Plans for Evaluation. After you review the school district's proposed Evaluation Notice, meet with a school representative, review the evaluation requirements above, and share any private testing results, you'll need to reach agreement on the proposed evaluation plan.

As the parent, you are free to object to certain tests or assessments and/or to request that additional tests or assessments be added to the plan. If you reject the plan, you will need to work with the school district to develop a plan that is more appropriate for your child and addresses your concerns. If the school district does not agree to your changes, you have the right to refuse your consent or to use the dispute resolution options described in Chapter 11: Dispute Resolution Options. Likewise, if the district feels the original plan was appropriate, it can choose to utilize available dispute resolution options.

Remember that the evaluation results will be used to make important decisions about your child's education. Also remember that, as specified in your Procedural Safeguards Notice described in Chapter 4, you have the right to an outside or independent educational evaluation (IEE) if you disagree with the results of the district’s evaluation. 

Once you and the school district have agreed on the evaluation plan and all of its components, the evaluation will be completed by school personnel.

Evaluation Report. The school district is required by IDEA to provide you with a copy of the evaluation report; however, they are not required to provide it before the meeting to determine your child’s eligibility for special education. You should request a copy of the full evaluation report before any meeting so that you’ll have time to prepare your questions and recommendations. You will need to make a request, in writing, stating your expectation to receive a report prior to any meetings.

Use this Sample Letter to make a written request for a copy of the evaluation report.

You can also request to meet with the evaluator - or case manager - at your child’s school to get a complete review of the results. Again, this type of meeting is not required by IDEA, but it can go a long way toward helping you decipher complex test results.

If your child transfers while being evaluated: Generally, an evaluation of your child must be completed in accordance with your state’s timeline or, if your state has no timeline, within 60 days from the time you consent to an evaluation. However, if your child transfers to another school district while the evaluation is underway, the timeline can be changed if you and the new district agree to a specific time when the evaluation will be completed. When agreeing to a change in the timeline, you should feel that the new district is making sufficient progress in completing the evaluation.

The next step in the special education process, following the completion of an initial evaluation, is Eligibility Determination, which is covered in Chapter 6.

Re-evaluations

For students who have been found eligible for special education and have an IEP, IDEA lays out certain requirements and conditions for reevaluations to establish that the child continues to need special education support and services. In all circumstances, the school must obtain informed consent from the parent to conduct a reevaluation. As with the initial evaluation, if the parent chooses to refuse to provide consent for reevaluation or does not respond to the request to provide consent for the reevaluation of a child attending public school, the school district may pursue the evaluation by using the dispute resolution procedures described in Chapter 11: Dispute Resolution Options.

While reevaluations are required at least once every three years to determine the continuing need for special education, IDEA 2004 clarifies that the child's parents and the school district can override this requirement if they both agree that a reevaluation is not necessary to establish continued eligibility for special education.

Reevaluations cannot be conducted more frequently than once a year, unless both the parent and the school district agree that it is necessary.

A reevaluation must be conducted if requested by the child's parent.

Reevaluations are also required in order to determine if special education and related services are no longer needed. A reevaluation is not required when a student graduates with a regular diploma or reaches the maximum age for receiving special education services as set by the state (turning 22 years of age in most states). In these cases, the school district must provide a summary of the student’s academic and functional performance and provide recommendations for helping the student meet his or her goals after high school. The "summary of performance" is discussed in Chapter 8: Transition.

Chapter 6: Eligibility Determination