Consent to Evaluate

When the IEP Team proposes to conduct an evaluation, Prior Written Notice (PWN) must be provided to the parent/guardian/adult student as a result of the Reevaluation Review meeting. The PWN must be provided either prior to requesting Consent to Evaluate or in conjunction with the request for Consent, and must reflect the decisions made by the team during the Reevaluation Review.

The Consent to Evaluate must align with the decisions documented in the Reevaluation Planning Meeting. The primary evaluator is responsible for ensuring that the consent accurately reflects the proposed evaluation components.

If an evaluator was not present at the Reevaluation Review Planning Meeting, the Case Manager must ensure that a qualified evaluator—one who is certified to conduct individual diagnostic examinations in the identified area(s) of need—is included as part of the team. If such a qualified evaluator is not present, the meeting must be tabled and reconvened to ensure appropriate participation in accordance with IDEA requirements.

Once the appropriate evaluator is identified, the Case Manager must add the evaluator as a team member in the system (e.g., under “Manage Team”) so that the evaluator can support and finalize the Consent to Evaluate in alignment with the team’s decisions.

Following completion, the Consent to Evaluate may be sent to the parent via one of the following methods:

• Provided in person


• Sent home with student


• U.S. mail


• Email

When the signed Consent to Evaluate is obtained from the parent, the primary evaluator completes the Reevaluation Review Outcome Recommendation and End Date and finalizes the Reevaluation Review in the IEP software system.

The following Outcomes may be selected from:

• Consent Received (three year) - Evaluation - Eligibility Determination: This Outcome should be selected if signed Consent to Evaluate indicating consent to evaluate was received by the school. The End Date should be the date the signed Consent to Evaluate was received. Following receipt of the Consent to Evaluate, the evaluator/s will complete the evaluation within 45 calendar days or before the student’s reevaluation due date.


• Consent Refused - PWN: This Outcome should be selected if the parent does not give consent for the evaluation. The End Date should be the date the signed Consent to Evaluate indicating refusal was received. The Primary Evaluator will then complete a Prior Written Notice. The purpose of this PWN is to clearly state that the parent has refused consent for the proposed evaluation, and to explain the school’s proposed next steps.


• Consent Received (addtnl info only - no Eligibility Determination) - Evaluation: This option will NOT reset the three year reevaluation due date.

Evaluation

The evaluation is completed when each evaluator(s) has administered all test instruments, scored the test protocols, written the report, and the primary evaluator has emailed the complete report to the student’s case manager and Special Education Specialist (SES).

The primary evaluator completes the Outcome for the Evaluation. The Outcome End Date is the date the report was sent to the SPED teacher and SES. The primary evaluator then finalizes the Evaluation in the IEP software system.

Each evaluator is responsible for completing their portion of the Evaluation.
The Case Manager will complete will the Notice of Meeting in the IEP software system. The meeting purpose will default to “Eligibility Determination” and “IEP Development (if appropriate)”. If the student will be of transition age during the life of the IEP, the Case Manager will also indicate “Transition” as an additional Item to be discussed at the meeting. All parent contacts related to Notification of Meeting must be documented in the Contact Log in the IEP software system.

Eligibility Determination Meeting

The purpose of the eligibility meeting is to determine if the student meets eligibility for special education services. The participants on the eligibility team are:

• Parent


• General Educator


• Special Education Service Provider(s)


• Evaluators


• LEA (e.g. administrator)

The eligibility meeting consists of three parts:

• Presentation of evaluation report by evaluator(s): During this portion of the eligibility determination meeting, the evaluator(s) shares the results of the evaluation with the eligibility team. All members of the team should have the opportunity to read the evaluation as the evaluator reviews the test results.


• Disability Worksheets: The evaluator will facilitate the team’s discussion of each disability category(ies) assessed in the evaluation. During this discussion, the evaluator will complete the disability worksheet for each disability considered. When completing the worksheets for a reevaluation eligibility determination, the Disability Worksheet is always needed, and the Worksheet Data is only required for new categories being considered.
  
  For example, if the disability category of Other Health Impairment was assessed in the evaluation, the Other Health Impairment disability criteria worksheet would be completed.
  
  Similarly, if the disability categories of Other Health Impairment and a Specific Learning Disability were assessed in the evaluation, then the Other Health Impairment and Specific Learning Disability worksheets would both be completed.
  
  For each disability considered, the team will determine whether or not the disability has an adverse effect on educational performance and whether or not the student requires specially designed instruction due to the disability. If the team determines there is an adverse effect on the student’s educational performance, then the team must describe how the disability adversely affects the educational and/or functional performance of the student. Likewise, if the team determines the student requires specially designed instruction, the team must describe the evidence that exists indicating the student requires specially designed instruction.
  
  If the answer is “No” to either of the above questions, the student does not meet the eligibility criteria for the selected disability. If the answer is “Yes” to both of the above questions, there are additional rule out factors that must be considered following the completion of all Disability Worksheets.


• Eligibility Determination: The third component of the Eligibility Determination Meeting is the completion of the Eligibility Determination.
  The primary evaluator facilitates the discussion and completion of the Eligibility Determination.
  
  Federal and state regulations are very clear with regard to the fact that a student must NOT be determined to be a student with a disability if the determinant factor is:
  
  
  • Lack of appropriate instruction in reading, including the essential components of reading instruction (defined in § 1208(3) of the ESEA as phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary development, reading fluency including oral reading skills, and reading comprehension strategies);
  
  
  • Lack of appropriate instruction in math; or
  
  
  • Limited English proficiency
  
  

Users must document these considerations. If, following team discussion, the answer to any of the above questions is “No”, the student will be determined not eligible for Special Education Services.

The team conclusion regarding eligibility will be recorded based on the team determinations from the Disability Worksheets and additional consideration questions.

If the team determines the student is not eligible as a student with a disability the Case Manager will complete the PWN identifying the proposal(s)/refusal(s) and why the action was proposed/refused.

The Case Manager would then select “Not Eligible (Reeval) - End Special Education > Transfer to General Ed” as the Outcome Recommendation, and enter the meeting date as the End Date.

If the team determines the student is eligible as a student with a disability, the Case Manager would select “Eligible; Reeval” as the Outcome Recommendation, and enter the meeting date as the End Date.

Following the completion of the eligibility determination, the Eligibility Determination is printed and signed by each team member. The primary evaluator will upload the signed eligibility determination.

If the Eligibility Determination Meeting is not immediately followed by an IEP meeting, the case manager will provide parents with PWN related to the proposal(s)/refusal(s) and why the action was proposed/refused.

If an IEP meeting immediately follows the Eligibility Determination Meeting, the case manager may issue a single Prior Written Notice (PWN) at the conclusion of both meetings to document all actions proposed and/or refused during the Eligibility Determination Meeting and the IEP meeting. In this situation, the case manager must fully complete the PWN for the IEP meeting, including all actions proposed and/or refused by the team. On the PWN for the Eligibility Determination Meeting, note: “See PWN for IEP."