The Special Education Process

Steps in the special education process

Identification

The first step in the special education process is when a child is identified as a student with a disability. That can happen in a variety of ways, including:

A parent provides a diagnosis to the school
A teacher recognizes the signs of a disability and notifies Student Services
Another service provider notices signs of a disability and notifies Student Services
A parent requests an evaluation of the student

If you receive a request from a parent for an evaluation or a message that raises the potential of a disability, you should contact Student Services as soon as possible.

You can access a sample Request to Evaluate here and a sample Permission to Evaluate here.

You can access a template Evaluation Report here.

Evaluation

Once a student has been identified as a student with a potential disability, the District or Charter School will do an evaluation of the student to assess whether the child is a student with a disability.

Depending on the reason for the evaluation, an evaluation may be specific to a suspected disability, or comprehensive to evaluate all the student's potential needs. Specialists may be contracted to perform specialized evaluations or to supplement school staff.

At the conclusion of the evaluation, the District or Charter School will issue an Evaluation Report with its conclusions and recommendations.

See here for a discussion of the types of assessments commonly used in evaluations.

Eligibility

There are three possible outcomes of an evaluation:

The child is a Student with a Disability found to be Eligible for Special Education. These are students whose disability interferes with their ability to access education. They are entitled to an Individualized Education Plan and specially designed instruction. Students with IEPs should be reevaluated every 3 years.
The child is a Student with a Disability who is not eligible for special education. These are students who have a disability do not need specially designed instruction because they can access education with reasonable accommodations. They are entitled to accommodations pursuant to a Section 504 Service Plan.
The child is not a student with a disability.

For a summary of the differences between IEP and 504 eligibility, click here.

Observe a sample IEP meeting here.

Meeting with IEP/504 Team

Once a child has been identified as a Student with a Disability, a meeting is convened to discuss the accommodations or SDIs that will be offered to the student. The IEP Team or 504 Team typically includes:

Parent(s)
Student Services
General education teacher(s)
Special education case manager
Service providers (i.e. OT, speech/language pathologist, etc.)
representative from the School District

Parents have the right to bring an attorney and other professionals who they have contracted to help with their child's disability.

IEP/504 Plan is Developed

After the IEP/504 meeting, the student's IEP or 504 Service Plan is developed.

Section 504 Service Plans can be quite short, and include the accommodations being provided to the student.

IEPs are typically quite long and in addition to evaluative material, are legally required to contain:

Present levels
Measurable annual goals
Progress data
SDIs/accommodations
Duration of services
Percentage of time spent in general education classroom
Transition services (for students over the age of 14)

You can access an IEP template here.

You can see common accommodations/SDIs here.

Implementing the IEP/504

Once it is finalized, the IEP/504 Plan is implemented by the student's team.

While the student's case manager will oversee the implementation of the SDIs and accommodations, it is the responsibility of the general education teacher to implement many of the SDIs and accommodations provided in the Plan.

Accommodations vary widely and may include:

Wheelchair accessible aisles
Chunked assignments
Electronic assistive devices
Educational aides
Extra time on tests
Verbal presentation of assignment expectations

Classroom teachers must be aware of which students have IEPs or 504 Plans and must be familiar with their contents. If you are unsure what to do, contact Student Services.

Monitoring Student Progress

Students with IEPs are entitled to regular data documenting progress made on the student's annual goals. Case managers are typically responsible for collecting and managing that data, in cooperation with Student Services, but classroom teachers will frequently be asked for input on the student's progress.

It is important that classroom teachers be aware of the goals in a student's IEP and that data on assessments and other progress is easily accessible if it is requested.

Progress is incorporated into the following year's IEP meeting.