So your child has been referred for a special education evaluation – now what? The process of qualifying a child for special education is a confusing one, full of meetings, timelines, testing, and jargon. It can be confusing for many parents and educators to navigate without help. As such, it can be helpful to know what to expect.
The first step is to determine if the child has an eligible disability. Federal special education law outlines thirteen broad categories of disability. In Massachusetts, these categories are termed: Autism, Sensory (include Hearing, Blindness, and Deaf-Blindness), Communication, Developmental Delay, Emotional, Health, Intellectual, Neurological, Physical, and Specific Learning Disability. Determining which of these categories a student qualifies for requires an evaluation in all areas related to the student’s suspected disability.
Some categories are straightforward to assess. Many physical impairments, for instance, require only a medical diagnosis. Other categories are trickier to determine and require more extensive evaluation. Evaluations for categories such as emotional or intellectual disability require cognitive testing, questionnaires regarding daily functioning, academic testing and direct classroom observation. Record reviews and interviews with stakeholders are completed. The ultimate goal is to determine if the student meets the criteria any special education disability.
If a student is determined to have a disability, the team next decides if they require specialized instruction. In other words, is disability impacting their ability to make academic progress in a way that requires modifying curriculum? For instance, a child with an intellectual disability may require more time (i.e., instructional modification) to make academic progress. In these cases, an Individualized Education Plan is developed to outline (a) what accommodations the student will receive, (b) individual progress goals for the student, and (c) educational placement. The student is now officially entitled to receive special education services!
By Staci Ballard, Graduate Assistant at the Center for Social Development and Education.