Evaluation Rights - Overview
Background
Which law protects my child’s rights?
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, IDEA, is at the heart of all the evaluation rules and steps in this article. IDEA has written instructions and laws to protect students and their parents during evaluations. All states must follow IDEA when evaluating students. Some states may add more procedures and rules to IDEA but they can not take any away.
The most recent IDEA rules and procedures on evaluations approved by Congress were in 2004; they are the following:
• The Full and Individual Initial Evaluation (FIE) must provide information on:
1) Whether the child has a disability AND;
2) Whether the child needs special education or related services.
• A FIE must be completed within 60 days of the school receiving written parental consent.
• The Admission, Review and Dismissal (ARD) committee must complete a review of existing evaluation data (Reed) on a student as part of a Full and Individual Initial Evaluation (FIE), if appropriate.
• Parents have the right to share information about their child during the evaluation. This is very important because you know your child best and have information no one else has.
• "Special Rule for Eligibility Determination” (section 300.306 (b) of IDEA) is a condition that students must meet for eligibility. It says that a child can’t be determined to be a child with a disability if the reason for that decision is not having enough instruction in reading or math or having limited English skills.
• If the child is a “ward of the state” (a child in foster care or in the custody of a public child welfare agency) and does not reside with his or her parent, the agency must make efforts to obtain the consent for initial evaluation from the parent. The agency is not required to obtain consent from the parent if:
1) The parent’s whereabouts are not known,
2) The parent’s rights have been terminated, or
3) The parent’s right to make educational decisions has been assigned to someone else.
Overview
What is an evaluation? How much does it cost? How can I prepare? Who is involved?
These are a few of the many questions that parents think about when their child is referred for an evaluation. The evaluation process of special education is a defining moment for many families. It is a time when many parents also ask themselves, "What happened?" and "Why?"
Whether it was you or your school district that made the referral, you should view this as an opportunity to get answers to some of these questions and doubts. Most important, it is an opportunity to get the help that your child needs. We realize this will be a journey and want to ensure you are well informed about the evaluation process. Being informed will ease the process and help you make better decisions about your child’s education and future.
A Full and Individual Initial Evaluation (FIE) is a collection of information about your child’s special learning needs, strengths, interests and challenges. It will tell you and the school if your child has a disability. It will also tell you about the special services your child may need to do better in school.
In this section you will find answers to questions like the ones mentioned above and more. To learn more about the evaluation process, click on the links below:
1) Pre-Referral/ Response To Intervention (RTI)
2) Referral Process
• Screening
• Review of Existing Evaluation Data (REED)
• Prior Written Notice
• Parent Consent
3) Evaluation Process
• Full and Individual Initial evaluation (FIE)
4) Special Education Eligibility Rules
• Understanding the evaluations
• Eligible
• Not eligible
• Independent Education Evaluations (IEE)
5) A parent’s perspective (Used with permission of Kathie Snow, Life Beyond the Label)
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