Mastery Essay #1- Special Education Process
The special education process is a 90-day process that includes many meetings to determine if a student should be placed in special education. For the process to start an education agency must first receive a referral for a student that might need special education. Next, a MET or Multidisciplinary Evaluation Team reviews the referral that the education agency received. If the MET does not accept the referral a notification is sent home to the parents that there is no intent to evaluate the student. Also the MET sends the special education student and parent rights to the parents as well. If the MET accepts the referral for evaluation, they send a consent form home for the initial evaluation that the parents must sign in order for the initial evaluation to take place. Special education student and parent rights and parents-partners in special education must also be sent to the parents.
Next, the MET completes their evaluations on the student. After the evaluations a MEDC meeting will take place. MEDC stands for Multidisciplinary Eligibility Determination Committee. They meet to determine the student’s eligibility for special education. After the MEDC meeting a meeting must be held within 30 days to develop an IEP if it has been determined that the student will be placed in special education. If the student does not receive a determination that they will be placed in special education a notice that they are ineligible for special education services will be sent to the parents. After the IEP notice that the student has been ruled eligible for special education services an IEP meeting must take place. The IEP meeting contains an LEA representative, a special education teacher, the parents, the student (when it is appropriate), any other persons invited by the LEA or the parents, representatives from other agencies if the purpose of the meeting is to determine transition services, or if it’s the first evaluation for a student with disabilities a member of the evaluation team or a person knowledgeable about evaluation procedures and results may be present.
After the IEP meeting, the parents must give permission before the student is placed in special education or receives special education services. After the IEP meeting and the permission of the parents placement in special education occurs immediately except during the summer or vacation period. Other items such as working out transportation could cause a short delay in placement, but there can be no undue delay in providing special education and related services to the student.