Special Education

Who can make a referral for an evaluation under Section 504 or Special Education?
Anyone may submit a referral; the referral, however, does not automatically result in an evaluation. By law, the decision to conduct a case study under Special Education or a Section 504 Evaluation must always be a team decision. The school's team may determine that other interventions should be implemented before an evaluation is necessary.

What is the purpose of an evaluation?
The purpose of conducting a case study evaluation is to determine eligibility for special education. Under Section 504, the evaluation is used to determine whether or not a student has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities.

Who conducts the evaluation?
A team of district personnel, from both general and special education, participate in the evaluations. Depending on the nature of the referral/needs of the child, this could involve any of the following: school psychologist, social worker, special education teacher, speech and language pathologist, occupational therapist, nurse, physical therapist, and classroom teachers. In addition, information is gathered from parents and from outside sources offered by parents.

What are the components of the case study evaluation?
The rules of IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) state that the team must discuss eight domains to determine the areas of need for the case study. These domains are: vision/hearing, health, social-emotional development, cognitive ability, academic achievement, communication, functional performance, and motor skills. The team defines these domains for the parents and then discusses the importance of each one regarding the student in referral. Together, the team members articulate the areas that need to be assessed. At the conclusion of the meeting, parents must give informed written consent for the evaluation to begin.

How is eligibility determined?
Eligibility guidelines are established in each district for each of the disabilities defined under IDEA (Individuals of Disabilities Education Act), and the evaluation results must indicate that the student meets those criteria. In addition, the team must determine that this disability has an adverse effect on the student's ability to benefit from education. In this way, part of the eligibility process is objective test data, and some is more subjectively determined based on informal activities and observations. Students with disabilities who do not qualify for an individualized education program, as required by the federal Individuals with Disabilities Act and implementing provisions of this Illinois law, may qualify for services under Section 504 of the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973 if the student (i) has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, (ii) has a record of a physical or mental impairment, or (iii) is regarded as having a physical or mental impairment.

A student shall not be determined to be a child with a disability if the determinant factor is the lack of instruction in reading or math or limited English proficiency.  

Eligibility determination is two-fold:
First, qualification criteria must be met through the comprehensive evaluation;
Secondly, the Team must determine if the need for special education exists (document the adverse effect created by the disability).

How long does it take to complete the case study?
Illinois State Rules and Regulations allow sixty (60) school days for the evaluation to be completed. This includes days of the regular school year that students are in session for instructional purposes. Typically, a case study is completed in less than 60 school days, but this is not a legal requirement.

How is the case study completed?
When the evaluation is complete, a team meeting is convened. This meeting is attended by the parents, teachers, an administrator, special education providers, and all personnel who participated in the evaluation. Parents will receive copies of all evaluation reports at the meeting, but may request to have the reports in advance of the meeting. If the student is found eligible for special education, an IEP (Individualized Education Plan) will be developed and a placement recommendation will be made. Parents may agree to have services start immediately, or may elect to consider all the information for a period of time before making such a decision. If a child is found not to be eligible for special education, alternative recommendations may be made.

Can a private evaluation be obtained?
If a student requires a case study evaluation, District 70 has a duty to conduct it, at no expense to the parents. If the parents choose to obtain an evaluation privately, this is done at parents' expense. Results of a private evaluation are "considered" and "may" be utilized during eligibility and placement decisions. However, a private evaluation, in and of itself, cannot be used to determine eligibility, as District 70 must conduct an evaluation to establish educational need. In short, District 70 must be allowed the opportunity to evaluate if expected to deliver services.

When are independent evaluations done at District expense?
District 70 must be allowed to conduct its own evaluation before a parent can request an Independent Education Evaluation (IEE). When parents disagree with District 70's evaluation of their child, they may request an IEE at public expense. This request must be made within ten (10) days of the eligibility conference. The IEE can be provided in only the same areas that were evaluated by the school, and cannot be broader in scope than the District's evaluation. The District's evaluation is determined by team consensus while discussing all domains of concern (health, vision/hearing, intellectual, communication, etc.).

 

Preparing for the Meeting

After a formal evaluation is conducted, the educational team reviews the results and prepares a report. Parents are sent the Parent/Guardian Notification of Conference form inviting them to a meeting at their child’s school to discuss testing results and possible eligibility for special education services. If the parents are not able to attend, they can contact the school and ask that the meeting be rescheduled. If the parents do not request a date change and do not attend the meeting, the meeting can proceed without the parents in attendance.

Generally, the school professionals who have completed evaluations attend the meeting and present their findings. If the meeting cannot be completed within the allotted time constraints, the parent and/or school can request that the meeting be reconvened at a later date.  At times, students may be encouraged to attend some or all of their IEP meeting to begin developing self-advocacy skills, especially by the time they reach upper elementary grades.

Convening the Meeting

Following an introduction of all in attendance, the Student Identification Information and Parent/Guardian Information form is passed around for participants to sign in. A signature in this location provides a record of attendance at the meeting and does not indicate agreement with any decisions made during the meeting.

Each of the evaluators reviews his/her results and generally prepares a written report documenting their findings. Written and oral reports from a private evaluator can be submitted at this time. An advocate or a school representative can also participate in reviewing all information presented at this meeting. Any sections from a private evaluation that the school accepts can be entered on the Documentation of Evaluation Results form, along with evaluation data gathered by the school.

Special Note: The school has the right to accept or reject, in part or in whole, the information presented from private evaluations.  

If the meeting is for eligibility of an IEP,  all evaluators have presented their testing/screening results, the team (including the parents) reviews the Eligibility Determination (All Disabilities other than Specific Learning Disability) form. The team determines if the child meets criteria. 

Writing the IEP

If eligibility in one or more disability categories has been determined, the meeting moves to the formal writing of the Individual Educational Plan (IEP). The IEP includes: the child’s strengths, present levels of academic achievement and functional performance (Present Levels of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance Form). The effects of the child’s disability on involvement and progress in the general education curriculum must be detailed as well.

The IEP team then writes Annual Goals which are specific, measurable and address the deficits identified. For each goal, the child’s current level of academic performance is stated and individual benchmarks are developed. The benchmarks are the smaller steps toward reaching the annual goal. Goals are reviewed by the service provide three or four times a year.

An IEP is a legal document. It is governed under IDEA, the Individual with Disabilities Education Act, which assures that services meet state and federal requirements. District 70 provides services, supports, accommodations as documented in each student’s IEP.

In brief, the IDEIA eligibility process is more involved than that required under Section 504. Instructional services, goals, services, and accommodation under the IDEIA are delineated in a plan called an Individualized Education Program (IEP). The IEP is a legal document which describes the student's disability, instructional supports/accommodations, goals, related services, and other relevant educational programming information. IEPs are also reviewed annually and subject to re-evaluation for eligibility every 3-years.

The Educational Accommodations and Supports form describes the specific supplementary aids, accommodations and modifications that the child receives as indicated on the IEP. Accommodations are specific adjustments made to the regular school curriculum, based on the student’s learning difficulties. The Assessment form lists the testing and other accommodations the child requires for class-based, district-wide and state-wide assessments.

Modifications are made when the general education curriculum is determined to be inappropriate for the student and an alternative curriculum is necessary. The Educational Services and Placement form explains in what areas the child will participate in the general education curriculum (with and without supplementary aids) and the amount of special education and related services the child will be receiving. Based on the IEP goals, Educational Placement is determined.

What does the terms "student with a disability" signify? 

• Autism (AUT)
• Deaf-blindness (D/B)
• Deafness (D)
• Emotional disability (ED)
• Hearing impairment (HI)
• Cognitive disability (CD)
• Multiple disabilities (MD)
• Orthopedic impairment (PI)
• Other health impairment (OHI)
• Specific learning disability (SLD)
• Speech or language impairment (S/L)
•  Traumatic brain injury (TBI)
•  Vision impairment (VI).

What is the term "developmental delay" (DD) mean?
The term "developmental delay" (DD) may be assigned to children aged 3 through 9. It shall be defined as a mild delay in two or more of the following areas or a moderate to severe delay in a single area.
The domains are:
a. physical development
b. cognitive development
c. communication development
d. social or emotional development
e. adaptive development.

EXTENDED SCHOOL YEAR (ESY)

Extended School Year or ESY is available for eligible students with Individual Education Plans (IEPs) to provide a free appropriate public education (FAPE).  The student’s IEP team makes this determination and considers the following factors: rate of progress, regression and recoupment of skills over breaks and severity of disability.  The student must qualify for each service received as part of ESY.  Per IDEA, ESY is provided for the maintenance of acquired skills and knowledge, not the acquisition or continued development of new skills. 
 

ISBE ESY FAQ March 2021

 

PUNS Assistance

• PUNS (Prioritization for Urgency of Need for Services)

  PUNS is a database of Illinois children, adolescents, and adults with developmental disabilities who want or need developmental disability services. The PUNS database helps the Division of Developmental Disabilities identify and plan for your services. Registering in PUNS is the first and most important step you and your family can take to receive Home and Community Based Waiver services from the Illinois Department of Human Services/Division of Developmental Disabilities.

  Parents who need help understanding the PUNS database, the steps needed to register students, how to contact the appropriate developmental disabilities Independent Service Coordination Agency (ISC), and the documentation and information parents/guardians will need for the registration process, may contact Dr. Chris Otto at cotto@d70schools.org for assistance.