Special Education Process

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)

If the Child Study Team suspects that a student may have a disability, the parent will be asked to give permission for additional evaluations to determine eligibility for special education services. Evaluations generally include an intellectual assessment, achievement testing, and other instruments administered by the school psychologist. Other data may include behavioral observations, speech and language testing or medical evaluations.

Special Education Law: The Individual with Disabilities Education Act (I.D.E.A.) provides federal funding to States to help guarantee special education and related services to eligible students.  I.D.E.A. emphasizes that parents need to be involved in their children’s education.

Students must be determined eligible for special education services. A team of professionals determines if a student qualifies for these services.  This team is referred to as a Multidisciplinary Team. The Team may be composed of the general education teacher, teacher consultant, school psychologist, speech and language therapist, school social worker, or other professionals working with the student. The Multidisciplinary Team will determine eligibility based on observations of the child, the student’s history (school & health), and evaluation results. Eligibility may be under the following categories: autism, emotionally impaired, hearing impaired, mental impairment, multiple disabilities, physically and otherwise health impaired, learning disabled, speech and language impaired, or visually impaired.

An Individual Educational Planning Team (I.E.P.T.) will be convened following these evaluations to determine the most appropriate educational program for the student. All students identified as eligible for special education services will have the opportunity to receive special education services with parental permission.

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