News and Notes from The Johnson Center
School and Evaluations: What are the laws?
JCCHD | Mon, February 25, 2013 | [Assessment Corner][Q and A ]
If you have a child with special needs who is going to a public school, it is important to know your rights. IDEA, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, was developed to allow all children access to a free and appropriate public education with individualized services to meet their needs—appropriate evaluations are a key part of IDEA. The following summarizes the laws regarding educational evaluations. (Rights regarding evaluations can be found in the IDEA, 2004, section 1414.) Educational evaluations are important for several reasons. They help determine eligibility for services, educational placement, and Individualized Education Program (IEP) goals.
Initial Evaluations:
Initial evaluations are the first steps in the special-education process. A school must conduct a full and individual evaluation before special education and related services are provided. Either a parent, a state educational agency, or other state or local educational agency may request an initial evaluation for a child to determine if they have a disability. In most cases (there are a few exceptions, see the IDEA), the evaluation should be conducted within 60 days after consent for the evaluation has been submitted by a parent (or if your state establishes a different timeline, within the state guidelines). Don’t delay consent for the initial evaluation! Provide your written consent to your child’s school as soon as possible.
Re-Evaluations:
Children receiving special education and related services must be re-evaluated on a regular basis to assess their progress towards goals and to update their IEP. Re-evaluations should be completed if the school determines that the child’s educational needs have changed. They should also be completed if a parent or teacher requests a re-evaluation. These should occur at least every three years, unless the parent and the school agree that a re-evaluation isn’t necessary (at most, they can be completed once per year).
Evaluation Procedures:
Parents should be informed by the school regarding any proposed evaluation procedures the school is planning to conduct. In their evaluation, the school should use a variety of different assessment instruments and strategies to gather information regarding the child’s development and abilities. The child should be assessed in all related areas of suspected disability or difficulty. Assessments should be technically sound, and no single measure should be used as the only method of determining a disability or appropriate education. The tests should be valid and reliable, culturally sensitive, given by trained staff, and administered in the language and form that will provide the most accurate results (i.e., if a child is non-verbal, a test that relies on verbal responses would be inappropriate). Information provided by the parent via interview and relevant records should also be used as part of the evaluation. Once the evaluation is completed, the determination of a disability will be made and a copy of the evaluation will be given to the parent.
If you are interested in learning more about educational laws and rights regarding special education, some great resources include the IDEA website: www.idea.ed.gov, and Wright’s Law: www.wrightslaw.org. Stay tuned for more information on what to do if you disagree with the results of your child’s educational evaluations, as well as resources to learn more about this important process.
