Special Education Referral for Initial Evaluation Process-Guidance for Establishing Local Education Agency Procedures

(lively music) - [Instructor] Welcome to the Special Education Referral Process for an Initial Evaluation video. In this video, we will cover in detail the legal requirements and responsibilities of a local educational agency, in other words, a public district or charter school, for responding to a parent's written request for evaluation based on federal and state rules and regulations regarding a referral for a full and individual initial evaluation, or FIIE, as well as guidance for addressing parents' verbal requests and staff and campus referrals for evaluation. We will also explore important questions for your LEA to consider when creating or updating your procedures for receiving a referral for an initial special education evaluation. By the end of this video, you will understand the legal timelines and requirements for responding to requests for evaluation and the importance of clearly written procedures for receiving initial referral requests from staff and parents. Throughout the video, there will be many resources to reference and download. The Referral for Initial Evaluation Quick Guide document highlights the key points and important resources for LEAs to consider when developing their special education operating procedures for receiving referrals and requests for initial special education evaluations. This document serves as a quick reference guide and can be accessed on the Texas SPED Support website. The special education initial referral timeline provides an overview of the timeline and legal requirements for a referral for an initial special education evaluation from the point of campus or parent request for a referral for an initial evaluation to the initial ARD committee meeting where eligibility is determined. This chart may be another helpful resource for ensuring timelines and legal requirements are implemented. This flow chart and FAQ can also be accessed on the Texas SPED Support website. Special education is available because of a federal law called the IDEA, which provides students with disabilities and their parents' special legal rights to receive these individualized learning opportunities. The Overview of Special Education for Parents form is a summary of rights required to be given to parents after a referral has been made. The form is available in English and in multiple languages on the SPEDTex website. It is recommended that you access the form for review and understanding. There are two frameworks posted to The Texas Legal Framework connected to the topic of a referral for an initial evaluation, Child Find duty and referral for possible special education services. Additionally, there are two documents posted on the Texas Legal Framework that you will need to be quite familiar with, the Notice of Procedural Safeguards and the Parents' Guide to the Admission, Review, and Dismissal Process. The Texas Education Agency, or TEA, provides the Technical Assistance: Child Find and Evaluation guide to assist LEAs in meeting their obligations under state and federal laws and regulations regarding the responsibility to identify, locate, and evaluate all children suspected of having a disability and who need special education and related services commonly referred to as the Child Find obligation. To identify all children needing special education and related services, LEAs must establish and implement continuing efforts to seek out these children and inform the public of services available to children and families. The Child Find and Evaluation guide is intended to serve as a resource for professionals in various roles in schools across the state as they design and implement Child Find and evaluation policies, procedures, and practices. We encourage you to reference these sources to expand your knowledge further and improve your practice. Let's review our learning objectives for this video. Participants will build knowledge and gain an understanding of the following, responsibilities when a local educational agency, or LEA, receives a referral for an initial evaluation based on federal and state rules and regulations, response requirements to parent requests, written and verbal, for a full and individual initial evaluation, or FIIE, considerations for LEAs when developing or updating special education operating procedures for a referral for possible special education services. Let us look at what is legally required and the responsibilities of LEAs when presented with a referral or request for an FIIE. The LEAs' Child Find duty to seek parental consent to evaluate a child suspected of having a disability and needing special education services is an affirmative one. Affirmative means LEAs are responsible for actively engaging in the Child Find process. A parent is not required to initiate that process, however, a parent can request an initial evaluation at any time. We will explore state and federal regulations to illustrate what is legally required regarding initial referrals for special education and the importance placed on notifying families of the process for initial referral requests. Let's begin with LEA responsibilities related to annual notification to parents and families. First, according to the Texas Education Code, Section 26.81, right to information concerning special education and education of students with learning difficulties. TEA must develop and provide LEAs with a written explanation of the options and requirements for providing assistance to students who have learning difficulties or who may need special education services. This must state that a parent may request an evaluation for special education or Section 504 services at any time and provide who is the designated contact person regarding options for a student experiencing learning difficulties or regarding a referral for evaluation for special education or section 504 services. Every school year, the LEA must distribute this clear written explanation to the parent of each student. LEAs may include the statement in the student handbook or a school may disseminate the statement through other means, such as a letter or newsletter, to each parent and ensure that each parent receives a copy. Now, let's look at state regulations regarding an initial referral. The Texas Administrative Code, Section 89.1011a states that referral of students for a full individual and initial evaluation, or FIIE, for possible special education and related services must be a part of the school district's multi-tiered system of academic and behavioral supports. Students not making progress in the general education classroom should be considered for all interventions and support services available to all students, such as tutorial, compensatory, response to evidence-based intervention, and other academic or behavior support services. The school district cannot require a student to participate in interventions and support services for any specific length of time prior to a referral being made or an FIIE being conducted. If the student continues to experience difficulty in the general education classroom with the provision of interventions and support services or at any time district personnel suspected disability and a possible need for special education and related services, district personnel must refer the student for an FIIE. A referral or request for an FIIE may be initiated at any time by school personnel, the student's parents or legal guardian, or another person involved in the education or care of the student. While an FIIE is being conducted, a student must continue to receive any necessary interventions and support services to target their academic or behavioral needs. State regulations further note that if a student continues to experience difficulty in the general classroom after being provided interventions, often referred to as response to intervention, or RTI, or Multi-Tiered Systems of Support, or MTSS, the LEA must refer the student for an initial evaluation for special education services. It is important to remember and we want to emphasize that intervention systems like RTI and MTSS cannot be used to deny or delay a student's referral for an evaluation. If a student is suspected of having an educational disability condition that requires special education services, the LEA should move forward with an initial evaluation while simultaneously providing interventions to the student while the evaluation is being conducted. Federal and state regulations surrounding a referral for a special education evaluation state that anyone can request an FIIE, including the student's parents or legal guardian, school personnel, or another person involved in the education or care of the student. Remember, Child Find is everyone's responsibility. An important component of an LEA's procedure for referral for possible special education services is responding to a parent or staff request for an initial referral. When a parent submits a written request for an evaluation to the LEAs director of special education or district administrative employee, the LEA must respond no later than the 15th school day after the date the request is received. The LEA must give the parent a prior written notice or PWN stating whether they agree or refuse to evaluate their child, along with a copy of the Notice of Procedural Safeguards and the Overview of Special Education for Parents form. If the LEA agrees with the evaluation request, it should provide the parent the opportunity to give written consent for the initial evaluation. If the LEA refuses to evaluate the student, the PWN must provide reasons for the decision. The requirements of a prior written notice can be found in the legal framework for the child-centered special education process prior written notice framework. There are additional resources. The prior written notice legal requirements and best practices and the prior written notice quick guide available on the Texas SPED Support website to review the legal requirements of a prior written notice as required by the IDEA, including language and timeframe, circumstances that trigger a notice and content components that must be addressed, and shared best practices for completing an appropriate prior written notice. A parent request for special education evaluation may be made verbally and is not required to be in writing. A verbal request does not require the LEA to respond within the 15-school-day timeline, as with written requests, however, it is best practice to do so for consistency and to ensure that the parent's concern is addressed promptly. The TEA Technical Assistance for Child Find and Evaluation guide recommends this best practice tip for working with families. When a parent makes a verbal request to any district staff for a special education evaluation, it is recommended to ask the parent to put the request in writing with a date and signature and promptly give this written request to the designated administrator. The LEA must then respond to the request no later than 15 school days from the date the written request is received. Each LEA needs to include in its special education operating procedures how to address verbal requests, including requests made in a language other than English for evaluation and requests by campus or district staff, including timelines for obtaining consent. Having these procedures in your operating procedures and training all district staff to follow these expectations will ensure that your LEA complies with federal and state regulations and evaluate students suspected of having an educational disability condition and needing special education services in a timely manner. The Texas Education Code also addresses specific requirements regarding referrals or requests for Section 504 or special education evaluations for students who are homeless or in substitute care. In Texas, the Child Protective Services or CPS division of the Department of Family and Protective Services, or DFPS, and the Texas Education Code use the term substitute care to refer to all children who are in the legal custody of CPS, including children who are placed either with a relative or in a licensed foster placement. In these instances, the LEA must also provide notice to the person designated to make educational decisions on behalf of the child and the child's caseworker. We've reviewed a description of the referral process for an initial evaluation and explored the federal and state regulations using this as our foundation and building upon it with guidance from the legal framework on special education operating procedures for a referral for possible special education services. Let's outline some important considerations for your LEA in developing or revising your procedures for receiving referrals or requests for initial evaluations. It is important to recognize that a referral for special education evaluation is a process that should be clear and detailed in writing in your LEA's special education operating procedures. This process should outline the steps for LEA response to an initial referral request from parents, legal guardians, school staff, or other designated persons. These are important points to consider as you create or update your LEA special education operating procedures, addressing referrals for possible special education services. Do staff and parents know who to contact regarding a referral? Is a specific staff member designated to handle each step of the referral process, and are teachers and parents informed of these contacts? Does your LEA process indicate what data will be reviewed as part of the referral or request for evaluation, and how is this considered in determining the need for proceeding with an FIIE? Does your process specify a timeframe for responding to staff and parent requests for evaluation, and what measures are in place to ensure all personnel receive training regarding these timelines? Does your LEA's process make parents and staff aware of the possible outcomes in response to a request for evaluation? We will explore these points in more detail throughout this training. For this first consideration, recall the state and federal regulations we reviewed in the first part of this training. What are some key words or phrases that come to mind? Are these referenced in your LEA's special education operating procedures for referral for possible special education services? Additional considerations include, are all LEA staff aware of their Child Find duty and what this entails, particularly for students with disabilities, including those who are three to five years old, homeless, in foster care, incarcerated, highly mobile or migrant, and military-connected? Are the LEA procedures for initial referrals and requests current and in writing? Do school staff know where to access these procedures? Here are some best practice recommendations to help ensure your LEA's identification procedures comply with federal and state regulations. It is important to designate a district and campus contact who has knowledge of current regulations and can advise staff and answer parent questions about referring a student for a special education evaluation. LEAs should review existing special education operating procedures to make sure they are updated to align with current federal and state regulations, as well as develop a process for revising these procedures when changes in special education regulations are made, as well as update due to more efficient systems or staff needs. In other words, continuous improvements. An essential practice for LEAs is to provide training each year to ensure all staff are informed of their Child Find responsibility. Child Find highlights the need to extend identification, location, and evaluation to young children from birth to the age of five who may not be enrolled in school yet. There will be situations when a family will contact their local school district to refer their child for an evaluation and possible services and supports. For children from birth through the age of two, the LEAs, as soon as possible, but no later than seven school days, provides referrals to the local ECI program for all children under three years of age discovered through the Child Find process. More information about ECI can be found on the TSS website. A link to this information is included in the Resources section at the end of this presentation. There are two situations in which the child would not be initially and/or automatically referred to an ECI program. First, if the child turns three years of age in fewer than 45 days, then the child is potentially eligible for preschool special education services. A referral should be made directly to the local school district as soon as possible. This is required per the regulations in Title 26, Texas Administrative Code, Rule 350.1207g, transition planning. Second, in Texas, children with a visual impairment or children who are deaf or hard of hearing are entitled to a free, appropriate public education from birth. Therefore, services for children with a visual impairment or children who are deaf or hard of hearing from birth through 36 months must be coordinated between the local ECI program and the school district where the child resides. For children ages three through five years old who are not yet enrolled in school, the school district should follow standard procedures for responding to a parent's request for referral of their child for an evaluation and possible services and supports. Additionally, LEAs should train front office staff on how to respond when families contact the school about having their children, ages three through five years old, tested for a suspected disability, advertise any screening dates and procedures for children three through five years of age, and if the ARD committee determines the child is eligible for a disability and needs special education and related services, the school district will need to explain dual enrollment to the parents. As we discussed earlier in this presentation, state regulations indicate that students experiencing difficulty in the general classroom should be considered for all support services available to all students before referral. Therefore, your LEA special education operating procedures need to include a description of your MTSS, including RTI, used to address student needs. This should consist of steps the LEA takes to ensure that referring a student suspected of having a disability is not delayed due to a lack of interventions. The Texas SPED Support website has a wealth of information regarding implementing an MTSS framework. The best practices for MTSS should include universal screening, evidence-based practices done with fidelity, progress monitoring, and database decision-making. Well-functioning MTSS practices should have high-quality tier one, which consists of a research-based curriculum, including all students, English learners, special education, gifted and talented, et cetera, small groups, differentiations, scaffolding, and accommodations. Tiers two and three should use evidence-based interventions and supplement tier one. Fidelity of MTSS implementation is critical throughout tiers one, two, and three. It is important to remember that although state regulations indicate that students experiencing difficulty in the general classroom should be considered for all support services available to all students, it does not state that the student must receive these supports before evaluation. LEAs should not require students suspected of having a disability and needing special education services to receive interventions for a specific time or progress through a certain number of tiered interventions before being referred for an initial evaluation. As we discussed earlier in this presentation, a referral for an initial evaluation can be made by a student's parent or legal guardian, school staff, or another person involved in the education or care of the student. While a timeframe for responding to parent written requests for evaluation is the only one specified in regulations, it is best practice to respond to referral requests from each of these sources within a reasonable timeframe so there is no delay in providing an initial evaluation to any student suspected of having a disability condition. Here are some important questions to consider as you detail the steps for addressing initial referral requests in your LEA special education operating procedures. If any staff member in your LEA receives a parent's written or verbal request for an evaluation, do they know what to do next? How should the request for referral be documented? Who is the campus or district staff member that needs to be informed of the request? What is the timeframe for notifying the designated staff person of the request? This notification should be made promptly to allow sufficient time for the request to be reviewed and a prior written notice to evaluate or to refuse to evaluate is given to a parent not longer than 15 school days from the date the request is received. What does this designated staff member do when learning of the request for evaluation? Is a campus team charged with reviewing the request in light of student data? How soon should this team meet after the LEA receives the request? What is the timeline for responding to the parent request and which staff member is responsible for replying? These are important points to consider when developing or reviewing your process for initiating a referral for a special education evaluation. Does your LEA's process for receiving initial referral requests include a dedicated team to review student data? Do your LEA procedures describe the multiple sources of data examined to determine the need to proceed with an evaluation? Once you have gathered all this data, what is your LEA process for analyzing this information to determine if an evaluation is necessary? It is important to designate a campus team to review referrals and make decisions regarding the need for evaluation. It is best practice for an evaluation staff member, such as a school psychologist or SP and/or an educational diagnostician, to serve on this team since these professionals are highly trained and have expertise in special education evaluation and educational disability conditions. Sources of student data that are important to consider include report card grades, conduct and discipline information, curriculum-based assessment such as local benchmarks, statewide assessment results, progress in response to intervention, and current information from the child's teachers and parents. TEA Technical Assistance: Child Find and Evaluation advises LEAs to gather and systematically analyze information about students. This document also reminds LEAs to consider tiered interventions, evaluation for services and/or accommodations under Section 504, and special education evaluations simultaneously rather than sequentially. It is recommended that LEAs establish a procedure for analyzing data to guide the campus team in determining whether or not to move forward with an initial evaluation. We'll explore one possible tool for analyzing student data on next slide. The Student Data Review guide when considering a referral to special education is available for you to use when reviewing and analyzing student data to determine progress and the need for referral for a special education evaluation. The Student Data Review guide addresses 20 different areas with input from teachers and parents, looking at grades over time, district benchmarks, STAR results and comparison data, interventions including type, fidelity, progress monitoring, accommodations, attendance, discipline, school changes, retention or summer school, second language, prior assessments, physical health, outside evaluations, and other at-risk factors. It is intended for campus teams to use this guide for data gathering. You can access these resources on the Texas SPED Support website. In addition to the Student Data Review guide, when considering a referral to special education, there is a supplemental response form for considering an initial referral for emergent bilingual students. This supplemental response form is designed to help culturally and linguistically diverse or CLD review teams consolidate the referral information for emergent bilingual or EB students for easy reference as they analyze a variety of information. The document is separated into five sections, home and background, speech-language development, educational history and performance, assessments, formal and informal, and social development and at-risk factors. The identification of a suspected disability condition in students who are EB requires an investigation into the cultural, linguistic, and educational background of the student. A typical progression of skills occurs during second language acquisition that could appear as a disability condition. You can access these resources on the Texas SPED Support website. Since LEAs are legally required to respond to a parent's written request for an FIIE within 15 school days from the date this request is received, it is imperative that all LEA staff are provided annual training on the current LEA process for receiving parent requests and referrals for evaluation. This will facilitate consistency across your LEA in addressing parent requests for special education, ensure LEA compliance with state and federal law, and guarantee prompt evaluation when a disability condition requiring special education services is suspected. It is very important for LEAs to consider training all staff every year on the federal and state regulations related to addressing parent requests for evaluation, including the timeline and required documentation for both written and verbal requests. One important consideration is ensuring your LEA's operating procedures include how school staff should respond to a parent's verbal request for an evaluation. It is also key to establish procedures designating specific staff roles to create, update, and implement the training, as well as develop a method to document the completion of this training annually for all district personnel. Although legally an LEA must respond to all parent requests for evaluation, no timeline is specified for verbal requests. TEA Technical Assistance for Child Find and Evaluation offers the best practice tip for LEAs addressing verbal requests by assisting the parent with putting their request into writing and following the legal regulations for parent written requests for evaluation. When developing or revising your LEA process, it is important to specify which staff members are responsible for developing, updating, and implementing annual staff training, and the method for documenting this training to support the action your district is taking to assure compliance. It is best practice for school personnel with extensive knowledge and understanding of the legal requirements and current special education regulations related to initial referrals and parent requests for evaluation to be involved in creating and implementing this training. Special education administrators, evaluation professionals such as an educational diagnostician, or SP, and your LEA legal counsel are examples of staff well-suited to design and/or deliver this training. As noted during our review of state legal guidelines surrounding FIIE referral, LEAs are required by state law and regulation to distribute annually the Aiding Students Who Have Learning Difficulties or Who Need Special Education or Section 504 Services statement informing parents of their right to request a special education evaluation at any time. The LEA may include the statement in the student handbook or may disseminate the statement through a letter or newsletter to each parent and ensure that each parent receives a copy. Do you and all LEA staff know the key points contained in this statement and how they are distributed to parents each year? Are all LEA staff aware of the district referral process and know where it can be accessed? This is important so that all LEA staff are informed about local procedures and know where to direct parents when questions regarding an initial special education referral arise. It is also best practice to provide information programs for families regarding your initial referral procedures. If a parent provides an outside evaluation from a physician or other service provider, does your LEA procedures specify how this information should be considered in determining the need for evaluation? How is the receipt of this evaluation documented? Who is the campus staff member designated to receive outside evaluations, and are all personnel aware of who this is? To ensure timely consideration of outside evaluation reports, it is a good idea to include in your LEA procedures that the date the school receives the outside report is documented on the report and in the data management system used by your LEA. A best practice is for the school staff to have training and expertise that is the most closely related to the scope of the outside evaluation to review the report and guide the campus referral team in considering this information. For example, an outside evaluation focused on emotional, social, and behavioral concerns that diagnoses a student with an anxiety disorder should be reviewed by a school psychologist. The campus speech language pathologist, or SLP, should review a private speech evaluation. If the campus professional reviewing the outside evaluation has questions or needs additional information, informed consent should be obtained from the parent to contact the outside provider. The TEA Technical Assistance for Child Find and Evaluation states that outside evaluation and diagnosis provided by a parent, outside therapeutic services or tutoring, and hospitalization are some of the circumstances that may indicate the need for evaluation when combined with other data sources. Since federal regulations mandate that an LEA's Child Find duty includes evaluating all students with disabilities whose parents enroll in private schools located in the LEA, it is important to have in your special education operating procedures how evaluations are scheduled for students placed in private schools or homeschool. To ensure LEAs fulfill their legal obligation to evaluate all students enrolled in private school or attending homeschool within the LEA who are suspected of having a disability and needing special education services, LEAs need to have clear written procedures for scheduling these evaluations. First, LEAs should ensure all staff are informed that homeschooled students or those who attend private schools within the LEA are covered under Child Find. This includes identifying all private schools within your LEAs and the LEA campuses closest to each private school and providing this information to LEA staff. A best practice is for LEAs to designate a specific LEA staff member to serve as the district contact person for collaborating with private schools and coordinating the evaluation process. Additionally, as a best practice, LEAs should offer training for private schools regarding current federal and state regulations and your LEA procedures for referring private school students for evaluation. Since federal regulations mandate that an LEA's Child Find duty includes evaluating all students with disabilities, including those students suspected of having dyslexia, it is important to have in your special education operating procedures how the LEA will evaluate these students previously served under Section 504. Train LEA staff in the change from evidence-based dyslexia instruction becoming specially designed instruction or SDI. Identify all students identified with dyslexia previously under Section 504 and prioritize their needs for special education evaluations. Schedule collaboration time between special education teachers and providers of dyslexia instruction to check for understanding about special education evaluations and the standards-based IEP or SB IEP process. As we come to the end of our training, let's review some key takeaways. It is important to identify the LEA staff member who is the district or campus contact person for special education referrals that should be notified whenever an FIIE request is received from parents or staff. Remember that each LEA is legally required to respond to a parent's written request for evaluation within 15 school days from the date it is received by school personnel. At this time, if the LEA agrees an evaluation is needed, it should provide the parent the Notice of Procedural Safeguards, the Overview of Special Education for Parents form, a PWN of evaluation, and the opportunity to give consent. If the LEA does not believe an FIIE is necessary, it must provide the parent with the Notice of Procedural Safeguards and PWN detailing database reasons supporting this decision. LEAs must also respond to a parent's verbal request for an initial evaluation, however, this legally does not have to occur within the 15-day timeline that applies to parent's written requests for evaluation. To address verbal requests promptly and prevent delay of Child Find, it is best practice for LEAs to assist the parent with putting the request for evaluation into writing and then follow the legal guidance regarding parent written requests for evaluation. It is also important for LEAs to establish a process for reviewing and analyzing multiple sources of student data when responding to an initial referral request and determining the need for a special education evaluation. Developing a district-wide process will facilitate consistency in decision-making regarding referrals. This presentation has also noted that LEAs should not delay or deny evaluations for children suspected of having a disability because they have not participated in the RTI process. Students suspected of having a disability are not required to progress through all tiers of an RTI system before being referred for an evaluation. If a student is suspected of having dyslexia and/or related disorders, LEAs must refer the student for an initial evaluation. Finally, it is important for LEAs to provide annual training to district staff regarding federal and state regulations on FIIE referrals and related local procedures to ensure legal compliance and that all students suspected of having a disability are referred for special education evaluation in a timely manner. As we conclude this video, here's a compiled list of resources we mentioned throughout the training. We encourage you to access these resources and expand your knowledge. Please visit TEA's Texas SPED Support. Texas SPED Support is a one-stop shop to find all resources related to special education. Please follow Texas SPED Support on Facebook, Threads, and Instagram at TexasSPEDSupport. Thank you so much for joining us today to learn more about the special education referral process for an initial evaluation. If you have any questions or need more information, please connect with your Regional Child Find/Evaluation Statewide Contact. You can access the statewide contact list by clicking the link in the handout or scanning the QR code. (lively music)