Chapter 6: Eligibility Determination: Determining Your Child's Need for Special Education - Page 3

[New] Special Rule for Eligibility Determination

In addition to the consideration of all information obtained through the initial formal evaluation, as well as information provided by the parents, IDEA 2004 requires some additional considerations in making eligibility decisions. To prevent students from being inappropriately identified as a "child with a disability" under any category, the team must also determine that none of the following factors are the primary reason for the student's academic difficulties:

• Lack of appropriate instruction in reading, which must include the essential components of reading instruction as defined in No Child Left Behind (see the Reading Instruction Checklist)
• Lack of instruction in math
• Limited English proficiency.

Additional Procedures for SLD Determination

As discussed in Chapter 2, IDEA 2004 made significant changes to the procedure to determine if a student has a Specific Learning Disability.

Specifically, IDEA 2004 eliminates the requirement for schools to determine that a student shows a "severe discrepancy" between intellectual ability and academic achievement in order to be identified as having an SLD — a requirement that had been part of IDEA federal regulations for almost 30 years. But since the law does not entirely prohibit its use, some states may continue to use a "discrepancy" model as part of its eligibility process.

Caution: Learn Your State and School District Policy. IDEA 2004 federal regulations require that every state have criteria for determining eligibility for SLD. Be sure to learn your state's criteria and how it is implemented in your local school district. Your Parent Training and Information Center can provide you with this information.

The group that determines eligibility for SLD must include the student's parents, the student's regular education teacher (or a teacher qualified to teach a student of his or her age) and at least one person qualified to conduct diagnostic examinations, such as a school psychologist, speech-language pathologist, or remedial reading teacher. Others may also be included when appropriate, such as an occupational therapist or physical therapist.

The updated procedure, contained in the IDEA 2004 federal regulations, requires the team to determine that:

• The student does not achieve adequately for his age or meet the state's grade-level standards in one or more of the following areas:
  • Oral Expression
  • Listening comprehension
  • Written expression
  • Basic reading skill
  • Reading fluency skills
  • Reading comprehension
  • Mathematics calculation
  • Mathematics problem solving (previously called "mathematics reasoning")
• The student does not make sufficient progress to meet age or state-approved grade-level standards in one or more of the areas above when provided with a response to scientific, research-based intervention (such as the Response to Intervention process described in Chapter 2), or
  The student exhibits a pattern of strengths and weaknesses in performance, achievement, or both relative to age, state-approved grade level standards or intellectual development (for example, an achievement test shows a discrepancy between reading and math, indicating strengths and weaknesses among your child's academic skill levels)
  
  
• The student has been provided appropriate instruction in reading or math. Information that demonstrates that the student received appropriate instruction from a qualified teacher in a regular education classroom must be considered by the team. In addition, there must be documentation of regular assessments of achievement. This documentation should have been provided to the student's parents.
  
  
• The student's lack of achievement is not primarily the result of any of the following:
  • A visual, hearing, or motor disability
  • Mental retardation
  • Emotional disturbance
  • ultural factors
  • Limited English proficiency
  • Environmental or economic disadvantage.

The eligibility team must consider information from an observation of the student (including the regular classroom setting) to record academic performance and behavior in the areas of difficulty. This information can be from observations and monitorings of performance done prior to the student's referral for a formal evaluation or from an observation conducted by a member of the eligibility team as part of the formal evaluation process.

Finally, the team must document all of its eligibility findings in writing. Each member of the team must certify in writing whether the written report reflects his or her conclusion and, if it does not, that member must submit a separate statement presenting his or her conclusions. The written eligibility determination report must include detailed information about the findings and conclusions reached by the team.

In making an eligibility decision, the team has flexibility. More and more, the determination of a specific learning disability relies on the professional judgment of the team. By using the combined knowledge and expertise of the team members, sound judgments regarding the disability status and learning needs of your child can be formulated. The team should not rely on any one criterion nor require any specific mathematical discrepancy in making a determination regarding a specific learning disability.