The process of starting Special Education services can seem to be a long, confusing, and at times frustrating process. Often frustration and confusion come from misunderstandings about the legal guidelines regulating Special Education services. This article will help to clarify the process.
Special Education services are legally required for children who have a disability recognized by the IDIEA guidelines which impacts their education so that they require specialized instruction to make meaningful academic progress. So there are two parts to these requirements 1) the child must have a disability and 2) the child must require that specialized instruction.
Most people have heard of the “No Child Left Behind” legislation. IDIEA, as it is also referred to, defines at the national level what disabilities would allow a child to be eligible for Special Education services. There may be some variations from state to state, but the federal guidelines are considered a minimum standard. The disabilities that qualify for Special Education services are:
Intellectual Disability
Emotional Disability
Orthopedic Impairment
Hearing Impairment
Deafness
Speech or Language Impairment
Visual Impairment
Autism
Traumatic Brain Injury
Other Health Impairment
Specific Learning Disability
Deaf-Blindness
Multiple Disabilities
Along with listing these disabilities, the legal guidelines also define them. As strange as it may seem, it is not unusual for a child to have a diagnosis that they received from a doctor or mental health provider, but not meet the definitions that your school system legally has to follow. This is because your doctor or mental health provider works under different definitions for these disorders. It is also possible that your child may indeed have one of these disabilities, but they are able to overcome them to learn without specialized teaching. There are other supports available for students with disabilities that don’t require Special Education…. But that’s a whole other blog post.
Common signs that may lead you or your child’s teacher to suspect that your child may need Special Education services would include a reading level about two years below your child’s grade level or failing grades despite putting forth strong efforts. It is important to rule out other possible causes for these difficulties, such as having missed many days of school or needing glasses, because it would not be fair, for example, to say your child has a reading disability if they just cannot see the words they are trying to read.
If you or your child’s academic team suspect that your child may be eligible for Special Education services, the first step would be to have a “Child Find” meeting. The name of this meeting comes from the idea that school districts are required to “find” or identify children who may have disabilities to make sure they are receiving appropriate supports. The people at the Child Find meeting would usually include you, your child’s teacher, principal, a special education teacher, a school psychologist and other staff related to the concerns about your child, such as a Speech and Language Pathologist or Occupational Therapist. The purpose of this meeting is to look over the information that you and your school has about your child (such as reading levels, the supports or intervention services they are already receiving, or medical history) that suggests a disability may be present. Following this review, you and the school staff will decide if there are concerns that should be ruled out (such as does your child need glasses?) or if it sounds likely that your child will qualify for Special Education services. If after reviewing this information the team thinks that your child may have one of the disabilities listed above, you will be asked to give permission for an evaluation to take place. The evaluation must be completed within 60 days of your permission. When the evaluation has been completed, your team will again meet to decide if your child does or does not meet the legal guidelines for Special Education services.
If you are concerned that your child may have a disability, feel free to share those concerns with your child’s teacher or principal. They can share ideas to help your child be successful at school or help you to start the Special Education process. Keep an eye out for future blog posts about disabilities and what a Special Education evaluation looks like.
Special Education services are legally required for children who have a disability recognized by the IDIEA guidelines which impacts their education so that they require specialized instruction to make meaningful academic progress. So there are two parts to these requirements 1) the child must have a disability and 2) the child must require that specialized instruction.
Most people have heard of the “No Child Left Behind” legislation. IDIEA, as it is also referred to, defines at the national level what disabilities would allow a child to be eligible for Special Education services. There may be some variations from state to state, but the federal guidelines are considered a minimum standard. The disabilities that qualify for Special Education services are:
Intellectual Disability
Emotional Disability
Orthopedic Impairment
Hearing Impairment
Deafness
Speech or Language Impairment
Visual Impairment
Autism
Traumatic Brain Injury
Other Health Impairment
Specific Learning Disability
Deaf-Blindness
Multiple Disabilities
Along with listing these disabilities, the legal guidelines also define them. As strange as it may seem, it is not unusual for a child to have a diagnosis that they received from a doctor or mental health provider, but not meet the definitions that your school system legally has to follow. This is because your doctor or mental health provider works under different definitions for these disorders. It is also possible that your child may indeed have one of these disabilities, but they are able to overcome them to learn without specialized teaching. There are other supports available for students with disabilities that don’t require Special Education…. But that’s a whole other blog post.
Common signs that may lead you or your child’s teacher to suspect that your child may need Special Education services would include a reading level about two years below your child’s grade level or failing grades despite putting forth strong efforts. It is important to rule out other possible causes for these difficulties, such as having missed many days of school or needing glasses, because it would not be fair, for example, to say your child has a reading disability if they just cannot see the words they are trying to read.
If you or your child’s academic team suspect that your child may be eligible for Special Education services, the first step would be to have a “Child Find” meeting. The name of this meeting comes from the idea that school districts are required to “find” or identify children who may have disabilities to make sure they are receiving appropriate supports. The people at the Child Find meeting would usually include you, your child’s teacher, principal, a special education teacher, a school psychologist and other staff related to the concerns about your child, such as a Speech and Language Pathologist or Occupational Therapist. The purpose of this meeting is to look over the information that you and your school has about your child (such as reading levels, the supports or intervention services they are already receiving, or medical history) that suggests a disability may be present. Following this review, you and the school staff will decide if there are concerns that should be ruled out (such as does your child need glasses?) or if it sounds likely that your child will qualify for Special Education services. If after reviewing this information the team thinks that your child may have one of the disabilities listed above, you will be asked to give permission for an evaluation to take place. The evaluation must be completed within 60 days of your permission. When the evaluation has been completed, your team will again meet to decide if your child does or does not meet the legal guidelines for Special Education services.
If you are concerned that your child may have a disability, feel free to share those concerns with your child’s teacher or principal. They can share ideas to help your child be successful at school or help you to start the Special Education process. Keep an eye out for future blog posts about disabilities and what a Special Education evaluation looks like.