Kings County Special Education Local Plan Area

Kings County Special Education Local Plan Area

POLICY/PROCEDURES

COORDINATED IDENTIFICATION, REFERRAL, AND PLACEMENT

All local educational agencies in Kings County conduct a comprehensive and individual initial evaluation before the initial provision of special education and related services to a child with a disability from age three years through age 21 years. Such initial evaluation shall consist of procedures to determine whether a child is a child with a disability, and to determine the educational needs of such child. The LEA assesses in all areas of suspected disability.

The local educational agencies in Kings County ensure that a reevaluation of each child with a disability, including children enrolled in private schools, is conducted if conditions warrant a reevaluation or if the child's parent or teacher requests a reevaluation, but at least once every 3 years.

If an assessment for the development or revision of the individualized education program is to be conducted, the parent or guardian of the student shall be given, in writing, a proposed Assessment Plan and/orPrior Written Notice within 15 days of the referral for assessment. This does not include days between the student's regular school sessions or days of school vacation in excess of five school days from the date of receipt of the referral, unless the parent or guardian agrees, in writing, to an extension. However, in any event, the Assessment Plan shall be developed within 10 days after the commencement of the subsequent regular school year or the student's regular school term as determined by each district's school calendar for each student for whom a referral has been made 10 days or less prior to the end of the regular school year. In the case of student school vacations, the 15-day time shall recommence on the date that the student's regular school days reconvene.

A copy of the notice of a parent's or guardian's rights shall be attached to the Assessment Plan. A written explanation of all the procedural safeguards under the federal and state law pertaining to special education shall be included in the notice of a parent's or guardian's rights, including information on the procedures for requesting an informal meeting, pre-hearing mediation conference, mediation conference, or due process hearing; the timelines for completing each process; whether the process is optional; and the type of representative who may be invited to participate.

The proposed Assessment Plan given to parents or guardians shall meet all the following requirements:

1. The child’s primary language and language proficiency status for (LEP/FEP) for English Language learners
2. A description of recent evaluations, including any available independent evaluations that will be considered
3. Any information that the parent requests be considered
4. A description of the alternative means that will be used to assess language impairment or specific learning disabilities when standard tests are considered invalid
5. Documentation of parent consent and the date consent was obtained
6. Be in language easily understood by the general public.
7. Be provided in the native language of the parent or guardian or other mode of communication used by the parent or guardian, unless to do so is clearly not feasible.
8. Explain the types of assessments to be conductedand the reason for the proposed evaluation.
9. State that no individualized education program will result from the assessment without the consent of the parent.

The Local Educational Agency proposing to conduct an initial assessment to determine if the child qualifies as an individual with exceptional needs shall obtain informed consent from the parent of the child before conducting the assessment. If the parent of the child does not provide consent for an initial assessment, or the parent fails to respond to a request to provide the consent, the Local Educational Agency may pursue the initial assessment utilizing mediation and due process procedures. The parent or guardian shall have at least 15 days from the receipt of the proposed Assessment Plan to arrive at a decision. The assessment may begin immediately upon receipt of the consent.

If a student is referred for a special education evaluation by a parent/guardian, the LEA shall assist the parent/guardian in putting their request in writing. The LEA shall explain to the parent/guardian the intervention team process that is used by the school to address student academic and behavior concerns prior to assessing a child for a special education and related services. If the parent does not wish the LEA to implement the intervention team process, within 15 days, they shall provide to the parent/guardian Prior Written Notice of the LEA’s plan to evaluate the student or their plan to follow the team process.

The Local Educational Agency shall not be required to obtain informed consent from the parent of a child for an initial assessment to determine whether the child is an individual with exceptional needs under any of the following circumstances:

1.Despite reasonable efforts to do so, the local educational agency cannot discover the whereabouts of the parent of the child.

2.The rights of the parent of the child have been terminated in accordance with state law.

3.The rights of the parent to make educational decisions have been subrogated by a judge in accordance with state law and consent for an initial assessment has been given by an individual appointed by the judge to represent the child.

Consent for initial assessment may not be construed as consent for initial placement or initial provision of special education and related services to an individual with exceptional needs.

Parental consent is not required before reviewing existing data as part of an assessment or reassessment, or before administering a test or other assessment that is administered to all children, unless before administration of that test or assessment, consent is required of the parents of all the children.

The screening of a student by a teacher or specialist to determine appropriate instructional strategies for curriculum implementation shall not be considered to be an assessment for eligibility for special education and related services and parental consent is not required.

All students being assessed for initial and three-year review for special education services shall have had a hearing and vision screening, unless parental permission was denied.

Assessments shall be administered by qualified personnel who are competent in both the oral or sign language skills and written skills of the individual's primary language or mode of communication and have a knowledge and understanding of the cultural and ethnic background of the student. If it clearly is not feasible to do so, an interpreter must be used, and the assessment report shall document this condition and note that the validity may have been affected.

Before any action is taken with respect to the initial placement of an individual with exceptional needs in special education instruction, an individual assessment of the student's educational needs shall be conducted, by qualified persons, in accordance with requirements including, but not limited to, all the following:

1. Testing and assessment materials and procedures used for the purposes of assessment and placement of individuals with exceptional needs are selected and administered so as not to be racially, culturally, or sexually discriminatory. The materials and procedures shall be provided in the student's native language or mode of communication, unless it is clearly not feasible to do so.

2. Tests and other assessment materials meet all the following requirements:

a. Are provided and administered in the language and form most likely to yield accurate information on what the student knows and can do academically, developmentally, and functionally, unless to do so is clearly not feasible.

b. Are used for purposes for which the assessments or measures are valid and reliable.

c. Are administered by trained and knowledgeable personnel and are administered in accordance with any instructions provided by the producer of the assessments, except that individually administered tests of intellectual or emotional functioning shall be administered by a credentialed school psychologist.

d. Are comprehensive and administered in all areas of suspected disability by trained and knowledgeable personnel using sound instruments.

3. Tests and other assessment materials include those tailored to assess specific areas of educational need and not merely those which are designed to provide a single general intelligence quotient. Assessment tools and strategies used directly assist in determining the educational needs of the child.

4. Materials and procedures used to assess a child with limited English proficiency are selected and administered to ensure that they measure the extent to which the child has a disability and needs special education, rather than measuring the child’s English proficiency.

5. Tests are selected and administered to best ensure that when a test administered to a student with impaired sensory, manual, or speaking skills produces test results that accurately reflect the student's aptitude, achievement level, or any other factors the test purports to measure and not the student's impaired sensory, manual, or speaking skills unless those skills are the factors the test purports to measure.

6. No single measure or assessment is used as the sole criterion for determining whether a student is an individual with exceptional needs or determining an appropriate educational program for the student.

7. The student is assessed in all areas related to the suspected disability including, if appropriate, health and development, vision, including low vision, hearing, motor abilities, language function, general intelligence, academic performance, communicative status, self-help, orientation and mobility skills, career and vocational abilities and interests, and social and emotional status. A developmental history shall be obtained, when appropriate. For students with residual vision, a low vision assessment shall be provided.

8.For students with chronic or acute health problems arising from diabetes whom the LEA suspects to be eligible for special education under the category of Other Health Impaired, the LEA initiates the assessment process. The assessment includes health information and incorporates current treatment plans from the child’s treating physician for health care services during school hours.

9.The assessment of a student, including the assessment of a student with a suspected low incidence disability, shall be conducted by persons knowledgeable of that disability. Special attention shall be given to the unique educational needs, including, but not limited to, skills and the need for specialized services, materials, and equipment consistent with established guidelines.

10. As part of an initial assessment, if appropriate, and as part of any reassessment, the group, which includes members of the individualized education program team and other qualified professionals, may conduct its review without a meeting.

11. Each local educational agency shall ensure that assessments of individuals with exceptional needs who transfer from one district to another district in the same academic year are coordinated with the individual's prior and subsequent schools, as necessary and as expeditiously as possible, to ensure prompt completion of full assessment.

In conducting the evaluation, the Local Educational Agency shall use a variety of assessment tools and strategies to gather relevant functional and developmental and academic information, including information provided by the parent, that may assist in determining whether the child is a child with a disability and in developing the content of the child's individualized education program, including information related to enabling the child to be involved in and progress in the general curriculum or, for preschool children, to participate in appropriate activities; not use any single procedure as the sole criterion for determining whether a child is a child with a disability or determining an appropriate educational program for the child; and use technically sound instruments, that include health and development information for students with diagnosed health conditions, that may assess the relative contribution of cognitive and behavioral factors, in addition to physical or developmental factors. For a child with a diagnosed health condition, the LEA solicits health information from the child’s primary physician as a part of the Assessment Plan, including whether the child’s condition affects strength, vitality or alertness and the health care services required.

Upon completion of administration of tests and other evaluation materials the determination of whether the child is a child with a disability shall be made by a team of qualified professionals and the parent of the child; and a copy of the evaluation reports and the documentation of determination of eligibility will be given to the parent.

The Assessment Report includes, but is not limited to:

1. Whether the student needs special education and related services
2. The basis for making the determination,
3. The relevant behavior noted during the observation of the student in an appropriate setting,
4. The relationship of that behavior to the student’s academic functioning,
5. The educationally relevant health and development, and medical findings, if any, including any treatment plans from the child’s treating physician for health care services during school hours,
6. The need for specialized services, materials and equipment for students with low incidence disabilities.
7. Discussion of the extent to which assessment reflects the student’s skill and aptitude levels.
8. A written report that includes the findings of each assessment.
9. If the assessment was administered by an interpreter, a statement regarding the validity of the assessment.

10. The extent to which testing varied from standard conditions.

Information related to enabling the child to be involved in and progress in the general education curriculum or for preschool students, to participate in appropriate activities.

Consideration of independent evaluations.

In making a determination of eligibility, a child shall not be determined to be a child with a disability if the determinant factor for such determination is lack of instruction in reading or math. The normal process of second-language acquisition, as well as manifestations of dialect and sociolinguistic variance, shall not be diagnosed as a handicapping condition.

As part of an initial evaluation (if appropriate) and as part of any reevaluation, the IEP team and other qualified professionals, as appropriate, shall review existing evaluation data on the child, including evaluations and information provided by the parents of the child, current classroom-based assessments and observations, and teacher and related services providers observation; and on the basis of that review, and input from the child's parents, identify what additional data, if any, are needed to determine whether the child has a particular category of disability, or, in case of a reevaluation of a child, whether the child continues to have such a disability; the present levels of performance and educational needs of the child; whether the child needs special education and related services, or in the case of a reevaluation of a child, whether the child continues to need special education and related services; and whether any additions or modifications to the special education and related services are needed to enable the child to meet the measurable annual goals set out in the individualized education program of the child and to participate, as appropriate, in the general curriculum. If after the review of existing evaluation on the student indicates that there is no need to conduct additional evaluations, the LEA will notify the parent of the determination and the reasons for it; and notify the parent of their right to request an assessment.

The LocalEducational Agency shall administer such tests and other evaluation materials as may be needed to produce the data identified by the IEP Team.

Each Local Educational Agency shall obtain informed parental consent prior to conducting any reevaluation of a child with a disability, except that such informed parent consent need not be obtained if the local educational agency can demonstrate that it had taken reasonable measures to obtain such consent and the child's parent has failed to respond.

If the IEP Team and other qualified professionals, as appropriate, determine that no additional data are needed to determine whether the child continues to be a child with a disability, the local educational agency shall notify the child's parents of that determination and the reasons for it; and the right of such parents to request an assessment to determine whether the child continues to be a child with a disability; and shall not be required to conduct such an assessment unless requested to by the child's parents.

Due to the fact that abilities can fluctuate as children mature, it is recommended that a comprehensive evaluation occur at least every six years or whenever major changes are being considered for a child’s educational program.

If the parent refuses initial consent for placement in special education, the district of residence cannot pursue due process but is also released from the law’s requirement of providing a free appropriate public education to the student.

A local educational agency shall evaluate a child with a disability before determining that the child is no longer a child with a disability.

Legal Reference:

20 USC § 1412 (a)(7)

30 EC 56327

34 CFR 300.301

34 CFR 300.304

34 CFR 300.306(a)(2),

5 CCR 3023.

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May 2011