What You Need To Know About Special Education Eligibility Criteria
If your child needs special education accommodations, then by law, they are entitled to it. It is that simple. However, what isn’t that simple is the eligibility requirements and challenges to getting the care that your child needs. But that’s why we’re here.
At Augustin Egelsee, LLP we are educational law attorneys Danielle Augustin and Edwin Egelsee, and we help students across Orange County and the state of California obtain the educational supports and services they are entitled to. We have over 50 years of combined legal experience in the field of special education. We are not only well-positioned to help, but we are also passionate about helping you and your family through these challenges by answering questions and advocating for you.
Steps To Eligibility For Special Education
In order for a student to qualify as a student with a disability and receive special education services and support under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), a student must first be assessed by the school district. This assessment is usually called a psychoeducational evaluation or multidisciplinary assessment. The results of the evaluation are presented to the Individualized Education Planning (IEP) team. The IEP team consists of qualified professionals and the parent(s) of the student. The IEP team has the authority to make a decision as to whether a student is eligible for special education.
Generally, an IEP team will find that a student is eligible for special education services if:
- The student is between 3 and 22 years old
- The student meets one or more of the 13 eligibility categories:
- autism
- deaf-blindness
- deafness
- emotional disability
- hearing impairment
- intellectual disabilities
- multiple disabilities
- orthopedic impairment
- other health impairment
- specific learning disability
- speech or language impairment
- traumatic brain injury
- visual impairment
- Because of the disability, the student requires special education services and support
Methods Used To Evaluate Students
There are different ways to evaluate a student for special education. The appropriate approach depends on the specific student and the unique challenges they are facing in school. In some cases, multiple assessment tools are necessary and appropriate. Examples of these areas of assessment include:
- Individualized academic achievement – A student’s ability to complete grade-level academic work can be measured through subject-focused modules of the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test (WIAT), the Kaufman Test of Educational Achievement (K-TEA) or through less formal measures such as learning portfolios.
- Intellectual ability – Cognitive abilities can be assessed through standardized intelligence tests that include the Stanford-Binet: Fourth Edition, the Differential Ability Scales (DAS), and Wechsler tests such as the WISC-III, the WAIS-R, or the WPPSI-R.
- Social-emotional, mental health and behavior – This is a broad category and unsurprisingly, there are many tools to assess a student’s strengths and areas for improvement. Some of them include the Piers-Harris Self Concept Scale, the Behavior Assessment System for Children (BASC), the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale and the Woodcock-Johnson Scales of Independent Behavior (SIB).
- Motor skills and sensory processing – Gross and fine-motor skills can be evaluated through observation and augmented with assessments such as the Bruininks – Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency.
- Visual perception – Visual perception has many aspects that can be evaluated to determine the student’s current situation. Some of the evaluation tools include the Test of Visual Perceptual Skills (TVPS), the Motor Free Visual Perception Test, and the Bender Visual-Motor Gestalt Test.
- Speech/language – Deficits in spoken language can be determined by an evaluation conducted by a certified speech-language pathologist such as expressive/receptive language, social skills, articulation, voice, and fluency testing.
- Attention processing – Attention disorders, including ADHD and ADD, can be assessed with a number of assessment tools, including the Connors’ scales or the BASC.
- Executive functioning – This area of competency relates to being able to self-regulate one’s actions/emotions and organization skills. It can be diagnosed through a comprehensive evaluation conducted by a school psychologist.
- Health – A student’s baseline level of health and functioning can be determined by a physical screening by a school nurse including vision and hearing. This assessment also includes obtaining current medical information about the student.
These assessments provide crucial insight into the types of educational support a student requires in school. The assessment results are presented at an IEP meeting to determine special educational eligibility, along with necessary supports and services.
Categories Of Eligibility
To be eligible under IDEA, there are 13 categories:
- Autism
- Deaf/blindness
- Deafness
- Hearing impairment
- Intellectual disability
- Multiple disabilities
- Orthopedic impairment
- Other health impairment (impairment in strength, vitality, or alertness due to chronic or acute health problem, e.g., ADHD, epilepsy)
- Emotional disability
- Specific learning disability
- Speech or language impairment
- Traumatic brain injury
- Visual impairment (including blindness)
Certain eligibility categories are broader or require some more explanation to fully understand.
Other Health Impairment
The category of “other health impairment” is a very broad category that can include a student with attention deficits. This category encompasses students that have a variety of health problems such as diabetes or epilepsy that cause them to have limited alertness to the educational environment. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder ADHD falls into this category because. A diagnosis, while helpful, is not necessary to qualify for special education services under this category.
Specific Learning Disability
Generally, a student will be found to have a specific learning disability if there is a discrepancy between his or her intellectual ability (or IQ) and actual functioning in the classroom, and this difference is caused by difficulties with processing information. In determining whether a student has a specific learning disability, the school district may consider whether a student has a severe discrepancy between intellectual ability and achievement in oral expression, listening comprehension, written expression, basic reading skills, reading comprehension, mathematical calculation, or mathematical reasoning. The decision as to whether or not a severe discrepancy exists shall take into account all relevant material that is available about the student. No single score or product of scores, test or procedure shall be used as the sole criterion for the decisions of the IEP team as to the student’s eligibility for special education. In determining the existence of a severe discrepancy, the IEP team shall use specific legal procedures.
Emotional Disability
The last category that deserves some attention is that of emotional disability. Emotional disability generally encompasses students who have social-emotional, behavioral and/or mental health struggle. However, a diagnosis is not necessary to qualify under this category. A student will be found to qualify under this category if they have one or more of the following over a long period of time, in multiple settings (such as the school and the home), and it has an adverse effect on the student’s education: (1) does not have any intellectual, sensory, or health issues, however, the student is not able to learn, (2) cannot build or keep meaningful relationships with friends or with teachers, (3) has inappropriate behaviors or feelings under normal circumstances, (4) is generally unhappy or depressed and (5) becomes sick or fearful in relation to problems at home or school.
It is important to note that, although a student must be found to fall under one of the 13 eligibility categories to qualify for special education services and supports, these categories are simply legal definitions. The eligibility categories do not drive services. Therefore, if a student is found to be eligible for special education under any one of these 13 categories, then all the services and supports available under an IEP can be considered. The type of services and support must be driven by the unique needs of each individual student, not by their eligibility category.
About Autism Education In California
A diagnosis is also not necessary for a student to qualify under the category of autism. Under the education code, autism means a developmental disability significantly affecting verbal and nonverbal communication and social interaction, generally evident before age three, and adversely affecting a student’s educational performance.
Despite the number of eligibility categories, it can be difficult to identify the needs of students if their disability is not immediately apparent. There may be assumptions made by teachers and school administrators that some students are just lazy, inattentive or defiant.
Get Answers And Help From A Knowledgeable Attorney
At Augustin Egelsee, LLP, we are attorneys who are committed to providing sound legal advice to our clients and consider every student’s case to be unique. Special education law is complex; you may have many more questions that have not been addressed here. Contact our office to reach the Orange County special education attorneys at Augustin Egelsee, LLP by calling 714-602-1498 so we can discuss your circumstances, explain your rights, and set you and your family in the right direction.
We provide effective and efficient legal representation with the goal of improving the lives of the children we represent.