Introducation Special Education Programs: Lesson 3

One of the most critical and difficult aspects of special education programs is the identification of eligible students. A number of problems arise in deciding which children should receive services. Criteria for verification of a disability may be subjective or subject to change. Instruments used to judge ability, achievement or personality are often less than adequate and may be inaccurate. The decision is critical because the identification of a student as eligible for special education can have a serious long term impact on a student.

Incorrectly identifying students as disabled and failing to identify students who need services are both potential problems. Specific procedures have been established to improve the identification process and to insure fairness. Two of these procedures are the use of the student assistance team and the multidisciplinary evaluation team. The student assistance team seeks to find alternative solutions when students are having difficulty. The student assistance team may be composed of regular teachers, counselors and administrators. School psychologists or special education teachers may also be a part of the student assisstance team. If the student assistance team is not able to solve the problem, the student may be referred for evaluation by the multidisciplinary team. Individuals from a variety of areas including psychologists, teachers, administrators, and other specialists make up the multidisciplinary team. The multidisciplinary team determines whether a student is eligible for special education services based on criteria established by federal and state regulations. Specific procedures and written documentation of the identification process must occur.

Screening and Referral

It is the responsibility of the school to find and identify all students who have disabilities. As part of this responsibility, the school conducts screening activities to find students who might, after further evaluation be verified as having a disability. Hearing screening, vision screening, and group achievement testing are all examples of screening activities. Screening activities include preschool as well as school age children.

**Identification of Children with Disabilities**
Nebraska Administrative Code, Chapter 51 - Section 006.01
006.01A	Each resident school district shall document annually its effort to identify, evaluate and verify all children with disabilities.

A referral is a written request asking for an individual evaluation of a child. Before a student can be evaluated the school must obtain written permission of the parents or an order from the Department of Education. If the child is of school age, a group called the student assistance team must first address the problems and determine that special education is the only viable alternative.

Teachers, counselors, administrators, parents or the student assistance team may make referrals. Once a referral has been made, an individual evaluation of the child must be completed within a reasonable amount of time.

**Referral Definition**
Nebraska Administrative Code, Chapter 51 - Section 003.35
003.35	Referral shall mean the submission of a written request for an individual evaluation of a child suspected of having a disability.

Student Assistance Team

Schools must make every effort to resolve students' problems within regular educational programs. Only when it is not possible to resolve the problem is a student referred for evaluation to determine if they are eligible for special education. Problem solving teams, often referred to as student assistance teams (SAT), are established by schools to assist teachers in coping with learning and behavior problems. Before being referred for a multidisciplinary evaluation, the student assistance team must address the student's and/or the teacher's problem. General education personnel, including teachers, counselors and/or administrators generally are members of the student assistance team. The purpose of the team is to utilize problem solving strategies to help teachers in general education deal with the problem or problems. The student assistance team must document the intervention strategies implemented to assist the student. When the student assistance team has employed all appropriate alternatives without success, they may refer the student for a multidisciplinary evaluation. When a referral occurs, the student assistance team forwards records and information that they have used to the multidisciplinary team.

**Student Assistance Team Definition**
Nebraska Administrative Code, Chapter 51 - Section 003.42
003.42	Student assistance team (SAT) shall mean a group of persons utilizing problem solving and intervention strategies to assist the teacher(s) in the provision of general education.

**006.01B Student Assistance Team (SAT) or Comparable Problem Solving Team**

Nebraska Administrative Code, Chapter 51 - Section 006.01B
006.01B1	For school aged students, a general education student assistant team or a comparable problem solving team shall be used prior to referral for multidisciplinary team evaluation.
006.01B2	The SAT or comparable problem solving team shall utilize and document problem solving and intervention strategies to assist the teacher in the provision of general education.
006.01B3	If the student assistance team or comparable problem solving team feels that all viable alternatives have been explored, a referral for multidisciplinary evaluation shall be completed. A referral shall include information from the SAT or comparable problem solving team, meeting the requirements of 006.01B and a listing of the members of the SAT or comparable problem solving team.

Multidisciplinary Team

The formal determination of eligibility for special education programs must be made by a team of individuals. This team is referred to as a multidisciplinary team because it consists of members from various professions including teachers, psychologists, physicians, speech-pathologists and others. This team of persons representing a variety of disciplines verifies that a student has a disability. The use of a team approach provides additional validity to the verification process and provides information from an extended range of perspectives. Verification often involves information relating to medical, psychological, educational, and social characteristics of the student as well as information regarding the school environment. The verification process often involves interpretation of assessment data, interpretation of subjective information, and the use of professional judgment to determine eligibility.

**Multidisciplinary Team Definition**
Nebraska Administrative Code, Chapter 51 - Section 003.27
003.27	Multidisciplinary evaluation team (MDT) shall mean a group of persons whose responsibility is to evaluate the abilities and needs of a child referred for evaluation and to determine whether or not the child meets the eligibility criteria in 92 NAC 51-006.

For more information on the rules regarding Multidisciplinary teams see Rule 51, Section 006.03.

Evaluation Procedures

Before a child is initially placed in a special education program, the school must conduct a full and individual evaluation of the child's educational needs. Testing and evaluation materials and procedures used for the purposes of evaluation and placement of handicapped children must be selected and administered so as not to be racially or culturally discriminatory.

Tests and other evaluation materials must also:

be provided and administered in the child's native language or other mode of communication, unless it is clearly not feasible to do so;
have been validated for the specific purpose for which they are used; and
be administered by trained personnel in conformance with the instructions provided by the producer.

The multidisciplinary team must also insure that tests and other evaluation materials assess specific areas of educational need. Instruments designed to provide a single general intelligence quotient are not sufficient. The evaluation team must insure that they do not use a single procedure as the sole criterion for determining an appropriate education program for a child.

Tests must also be selected and administered so as to best ensure that when a test is administered to a child with impaired sensory, manual, or speaking skill, the test results accurately reflect the child's aptitude or achievement level or whatever other factors the test purports to measure, rather than reflect the child's impaired sensory, manual, or speaking skills (except where those skills are the factors that the test purports to measure).

The multidisciplinary team or a group of persons must conduct the evaluation. The team must include at least one teacher or other specialist with knowledge in the area of the suspected disability. This evaluation must address all areas related to the suspected disability, including, where appropriate, health, vision, hearing, social and emotional status, general intelligence, academic performance, communicative status, and motor abilities.

**General Evaluation Procedure Requirements**
Nebraska Administrative Code, Chapter 51 - Section 006.02
006.02A	Evaluations shall be provided and administered in the child's native or predominant language or other mode of communication unless it is not feasible to do so. Evaluation instruments shall have been validated for the specific purpose for which they are used; and shall be administered by trained personnel in conformance with the instructions provided by their producer. Testing materials and procedures must be selected and administered so as not to be racially or culturally discriminatory;
006.02B	Tests and other evaluation materials shall include those tailored to assess specific areas of developmental, educational, and vocational need and not merely those which are designed to provide a single general intelligence quotient;
006.02C	Tests shall be selected and administered so as to best insure that when a test is administered to a child with impaired sensory, manual, or speaking skills, the test results accurately reflect the child's aptitude or achievement level or whatever other factors the test purports to measure, rather than reflecting he child's impaired sensory, manual, or speaking skills (except where those skills are the factors which the test purports to measure); and
006.02D	No single procedure shall be used as a sole criterion for determining an appropriate educational program for a child.

Placement of Students

Before a student can be placed in a special education program and provided services the multidisciplinary evaluation team (MDT) must verify that the student meets the criteria and the parents of the student must agree to the placement. Students cannot be placed in special education programs unless both the disability has been verified and written permission has been obtained from parents. If the parents do not agree to the placement, the school may seek a hearing to obtain an order for placement. The same requirements apply to both initial placement and future changes in the educational placement.

When making a decision about where to place a student and what types of services to offer a school must:

Use information from a variety of sources, including aptitude and achievement tests, teacher recommendations, physical condition, social or cultural background, and adaptive behavior;
Insure that information obtained from all of these sources in documented and carefully considered;
Insure that the placement decision is made by a group of persons, including persons knowledgeable about the child, the meaning of the evaluation data, and the placement options; and
Insure that the placement decision is made in conformity with the least restrictive environment rules.

If the school determines that a child has a disability and needs special education and related services, they must develop an individualized education program (IEP) for the child. To read more about the specific requirements schools must meet when placing students please refer to Rule 51, Section 008.02.

Reevaluation Procedures

The school must reevaluate each child at least every three years to determine if their placement is still appropriate. The evaluation may occur sooner, if necessary, or if the child's parent or teacher requests an evaluation. This reevaluation must follow the same guidelines as the initial placement evaluation.

**Reevaluation**
Nebraska Administrative Code, Chapter 51 - Section 006.05
006.05A	A reevaluation of each previously verified disability, based on the verification procedures required in 92 NAC 51-006, shall be conducted at least every three years or more frequently if conditions warrant or if the child's parent(s) or teacher requests a reevaluation.

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