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Step 1: Request for Evaluation
If someone thinks your child has a disability AND needs special education or related services to be involved in and make progress in the general education curriculum, then a request for an evaluation will begin that process.
What happens?
• Student is referred for an individualized evaluation to determine whether or not there is a need for special education and related services because he/she isa. not developing at the same rate or sequence as other children;
b. experiencing unusual or prolonged difficulties with general education curriculum and instruction; varied intervention strategies have been tried and documented before request is initiated.
• Request information is received by special education personnel
• Notice of proposed evaluation is given to parents
• Date the notice was sent (unless the parents agree otherwise, provide written notice to parents at least five school days prior to evaluation.)
• Description of the proposed evaluation.
• Explanation why the district proposes to conduct the evaluation.
• Description of any other options the district considered before proposing the evaluation and the reasons why those options were rejected.
• Description of each evaluation procedure, test, record or report the district used as a basis for the proposed evaluation.
• Description of any other factors that are relevant to the district’s proposal to evaluate.
• A statement that the parents of a student with a disability have protection under the procedural safeguards of this part and, if this notice is not an initial referral for evaluation, the means by which a copy of the description of the PROCEDURAL SAFEGUARDS can be obtained.
• List sources for parents to contact to obtain assistance in understanding the provisions of this part.
• If the native language or other mode of communication of the parent is not a written language, provide written evidence:• That the notice was translated orally or by other means to the parent in his or her native language or other mode of communication.
• That the parent understands the content of the notice.• Informed parental consent is required before the child is evaluated for the first time.
Who is involved?
• The request can be made by parent, teacher, counselor, principal, social worker, therapist or other individual involved in the education or care of the student.
• The parent is involved at all stages of the request.What is the time line?
• Once the school has decided to evaluate the student AND they have received written consent, they must conduct a full individual evaluation within 60 days of receiving parental consent for the evaluation or,
• If the state establishes a timeframe, the evaluation must be conducted within such timeframe. Currently, Texas adheres to the 60 calendar days to complete the evaluation from the time the signed consent is received.
• The timeframe does not apply if the parent of a child repeatedly fails or refuses to produce the child for the evaluation.New in IDEA 2004
IDEA 2004 made changes in the request process for a student suspected of having a learning disability. Prior to the request process, the school must assure the student has been provided appropriate, high-quality, research based instruction in a regular classroom, delivered by qualified personnel. The school is not required to take into consideration whether a child has a severe discrepancy between achievement and intellectual ability. The school may use a process that shows a student responds to scientific, research based interventions (usually in a general ed. Classroom), delivered by highly qualified personnel. This process is called Response to Intervention (RtI). For more information on RtI, link to http://www.tea.state.tx.us/special.ed/rti/
Congress made this change in the request process because it is believed that too many students are being referred to special education when they have not been provided with adequate instruction. For more information on the Identification of Specific Learning Disabilities per IDEA 2004, visit the U.S. Department of Education website.
Step 1: Request
Step 2: Notice of Rights
Step 3: Evaluation
Step 4: ARD/IEP Planning Conference
Step 5 & 6: The ARD/IEP Meeting
Step 7: On-going Assessment and Data Collection
Step 8: Examine Data and Make Recommendations
Texas Project FIRST is an activity of the Texas Continuing Improvement Process (TCIP) under the auspices of the Texas Education Agency (TEA) and Region 9 Education Service Center, and is focused on helping to fulfill the goals of TEA and the Parent Training Committee
TEA Parent Information Line 1-800-252-9668Texas Project FIRST - A project of Family To Family Network - Contact Web Administrator