Special Education: Requesting an eligibility evaluation
…A parent or public agency may initiate a request for an initial evaluation to determine if a child [has] a disability.…
- An initial evaluation must be conducted to determine if a child is eligible for special education services when a [school] suspects or has reason to suspect that:
- The child has a disability that has an adverse impact on the child’s educational performance; and
- The child may need special education services as a result of the disability.
- The [school] must designate a team to determine whether an initial evaluation will be conducted.
- The team must include the parent and at least two professionals….
- The team may make this decision without a meeting. If a meeting is held, parents must be invited to participate….
[Schools must respond] promptly to requests initiated by a parent or public agency for an initial evaluation to determine [special education eligibility].
Obtaining a Special Education evaluation for Individualized Educational Program (IEP) eligibility can be a lengthy process. In Oregon, schools have 60 school days to complete an evaluation after receiving signed parental consent. If a parent requests an evaluation, they must wait for the school to decide whether to offer one, which may not happen immediately. Once the school agrees to conduct an evaluation, a meeting is scheduled to plan the evaluation and obtain parental consent. Following signed parental consent, the school has 60 school days to complete the evaluation, which can easily extend beyond three calendar months due to weekends and holidays that do not count as school days.
An initial evaluation must be completed within 60 school days from written parent consent to the date of the meeting to consider eligibility.… An evaluation may be completed in more than 60 school days under the following circumstances…:
- The parents of a child repeatedly fail or refuse to produce the child for an evaluation, or for other circumstances outside the school district's control.
- The student is a transfer student in the process of evaluation and the district and the parents agree in writing to a different length of time to complete the evaluation…;
- The district and the parents agree in writing to extend the timeline for an evaluation to determine eligibility for specific learning disabilities ….
I encourage you to familiarize yourself with your rights, as reviewed by the Oregon Department of Education in their Procedural Safeguards Notice. I recommend making your request for an evaluation in writing, including clear requests, your signature, and the date, to prevent any misunderstandings that might delay the process (see Parent Request Template below).
Parent Request Template
[Full Name of Parent]
[Address of Parent]
[Date]
[Name of School]
[Address of School]
To whom it may concern,
I am a parent of [Full Name of Your Child]. My child has been struggling at school. [Provide detailed information about your concerns, using supporting evidence such as test scores, teacher communications, work samples, etc.]
I have been working with [Name of Your Child’s Teacher or Teachers] to help my child, and [I have not seen any improvement or the problems have been getting worse]. [Describe any interventions that were tried, including after-school tutoring, differentiated or small-group instruction, response to intervention (RtI), informal accommodations in the classroom, a Section 504 Plan, and evaluation for a diagnosis (e.g., through your pediatrician).]
Therefore, I am writing to formally request that my child be evaluated for special education services under the Child Find obligations of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
I look forward to working with you within the next 10 school days to develop an assessment plan to begin the evaluation process. Pursuant to the Procedural Safeguards Notice, please ensure that I receive copies of assessment results at least two days before any meeting because I cannot effectively inspect and review the records unless I receive those copies. Thank you very much for your help.
Sincerely,
Signature of Parent
[Printed Name of Parent]
Refer to the infographic flowchart below from Understood.org, titled IEP Roadmap: How Kids Get Special Education, to follow the typical paths from an evaluation to an IEP.
© Understood.org | unendorsed cropped infographic used by invitation to download and share
The table below outlines the descriptions of disability categories for Special Education eligibility, as adapted from the Oregon Administrative Rules.
Oregon Disability Category Descriptions |
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speech and language disorders
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a school-age child up to 9 years old with delays that are at or below the 7th percentile (i.e., 1.5 standard deviations or more below the mean) in two or more of the following developmental areas:
Children at least 3 years old who are not yet school-age may also qualify with a delay that is at or below the 2nd percentile (i.e., 2 standard deviations or more below the mean) in one of the developmental areas above.
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a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written, which may manifest itself in an imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or do mathematical calculations (e.g., perceptual disabilities, brain injury, dyslexia, minimal brain dysfunction, and developmental aphasia), meeting all the following criteria:
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significantly subaverage general intellectual functioning, meeting all the following criteria:
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limited strength, vitality, or alertness (including a heightened alertness to environmental stimuli) that results in limited alertness with respect to the educational environment, is due to a chronic or acute health problem, and is permanent (or expected to last for more than 60 calendar days). Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) might qualify for Special Education under this category or for accommodations under Section 504.
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developmental disability meeting all the following criteria:
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exhibiting at least one of the following characteristics over a long period of time and to a marked degree that adversely affects a child's educational performance:
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an acquired injury to the brain caused by an external physical force that is permanent (or expected to last for more than 60 calendar days) and results in impairment in one of the follow areas:
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motor impairment (e.g., caused by cerebral palsy, spina bifida, muscular dystrophy or traumatic injury) that results in deficits in the quality, speed, or accuracy of movement, is permanent (or expected to last for more than 60 calendar days), and meets one of the following criteria:
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impairment in hearing, whether permanent or fluctuating, that is so severe that the child is impaired in processing linguistic information through hearing, with or without amplification, and meets one of the following criteria:
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vision that, even with correction, adversely affects a child's educational performance (e.g., low vision, total blindness, limited visual acuity after correction, restricted visual field, and progressive eye conditions)
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This table is adapted from the Oregon Administrative Rules, Chapter 581, Division 15, and is not intended to serve as a primary source of information.
[Schools] must comply with a parent’s request to inspect and review records without unnecessary delay and…before any meeting regarding an IEP….
It is…important to ensure that parents have the information they need to participate meaningfully in IEP Team meetings, which may include reviewing their child’s records.…It would be appropriate for parents to review documents related to the determination of eligibility prior to the eligibility determination….
Your right to inspect and review education records includes:
- Your right to a response from the school…to your reasonable requests for explanations and interpretations of the records;
- Your right to request that the school…provide copies of the records if you cannot effectively inspect and review the records unless you receive those copies; and
- Your right to have your representative inspect and review the records.
Parents are important members of the teams that determine Special Education eligibility and develop IEPs; it’s crucial that you can participate meaningfully in meetings about your child. Special Education eligibility evaluations can include several lengthy assessment reports (e.g., 6 to 13 pages each) from multiple Special Education providers (e.g., a School Psychologist, a Special Education Teacher, a Speech and Language Pathologist, an Occupational Therapist, etc.). Therefore, I encourage you to request copies of records to review before meetings (see the last paragraph of the Parent Request Template above).
You…may request a due process hearing on any matter relating to a proposal or a refusal to initiate or change the identification, evaluation or educational placement of your child….
If you encounter problems, you may be able to file a request for a due process hearing, as described in the Procedural Safeguards Notice. The Oregon Department of Education provides a Due Process Hearing Request form. To better advocate for your child, you might need to learn more about Special Education. FACT Oregon, a local non-profit, aims to assist Oregonians who need Special Education. WrightsLaw.com and several books published by Nolo provide information about Special Education. However, all of this information is certainly not a substitute for personalized advice from a knowledgeable lawyer. If you want or need the help of a trained professional, consult an attorney licensed to practice in your state.