2460.02 - SPECIAL EDUCATION EVALUATION AND RE-EVALUATION OF STUDENTS

Grant County School

Bylaws & Policies

2460.02 - SPECIAL EDUCATION EVALUATION AND RE-EVALUATION OF STUDENTS

The Grant County Board of Education shall conduct a full and individual initial evaluation of a referred student and conduct re-evaluations of the student to determine the student’s educational needs. Specific methods for providing those activities shall be stated in the County’s administrative guidelines.

The Board shall conduct a full and individual multidisciplinary evaluation of the student’s educational needs in accordance with the procedural safeguards established by Policy 2460.05 and AG 2460.05 before any action is taken with respect to the initial placement of an exceptional student in a program providing special education and related services. The initial multidisciplinary evaluation, conveying an Eligibility Committee and the determination of eligibility shall be completed within eighty (80) days of receipt of the written parental consent for evaluation.

In situations where the student enrolls in Grant County Schools from another school district that has started, but not completed, an evaluation, Grant County Schools shall make sufficient progress to ensure a prompt completion of the evaluation. When this occurs, the parent and Grant County Schools may agree to an alternative timeframe in which to complete the evaluation.

The eighty (80) day timeframe shall not apply when the parent of the child repeatedly fails or refuses to produce the child for the evaluation.

The Board shall conduct an appropriate, individual multidisciplinary re-evaluation to determine the educational needs of each eligible student at least once every three (3) years, unless the parent and the Board agree that a re-evaluation is unnecessary. Re-evaluations may occur more frequently if the Board determines that the educational or related services needs, including improved academic achievement and functional performance, of the child warrant re-evaluation; or if the student’s parent or teach request a re-evaluation. Re-evaluations shall not occur more frequently than once a year, unless the parent and the local educational agency agree.

Evaluation Procedures
NOTICE

The Board shall provide notice to the parents of a child with a disability, in accordance with Grant County Schools Policy 2460.05, that describes any evaluation procedures the Board proposes to conduct.

CONDUCT OF EVALUATION

In conducting the evaluation, the Board shall use a variety of assessment tools and strategies to gather relevant functional, developmental, and academic information, including information provided by the parent that may assist in determining:

	A.	whether the child is a child with a disability; and
	B.	the contention of the child’s individualized education program (IEP), including information related to enabling the child to be involved in, and progress in the general education curriculum, or, for preschool children, to participate in appropriate activities.

No single measure or assessment shall be used as the sole criterion for determining whether the child is a child with a disability or deterring an appropriate education program for the child.

The Board shall use technically sound instruments that assess the relative contribution of cognitive and behavioral factors, in addition to physical or developmental factors.

Assessments and other evaluation materials shall be selected and administered so as not to be a discriminator on a racial or cultural basis. Further, the assessments and other evaluation materials shall be provided and administered in the language and form most likely to yield accurate information on what the child knows and can do academically, developmentally, and functionally, unless it is not feasible to so provide or administer.

The assessment shall be used for the purposes for which the assessments or measures are valid and reliable, and shall be administered by trained and knowledgeable personnel, in accordance with any instructions provided by the producer of such assessment.

Multidisciplinary Evaluation Team (MDET)

	A.	An evaluation shall be conducted by a multidisciplinary team or group of persons, including at least one (1) teacher or other specialist with knowledge in the area of suspected exceptionally.
	B.	The multidisciplinary evaluation team (MDET) shall also consist of:

		1.	the student’s regular education teacher; or
		2.	if the student does not have a regular education teacher, a regular education teacher qualified to teach a student of that age; or
		3.	for a child of less than school age enrolled in an early intervention or other preschool special needs program, an individual qualified to teach a child of that age;
		4.	at least one (1) person qualified to conduct individual diagnostic examinations of students, such as a certified school psychologist, speech-language pathologist or audiologist; and
		5.	a licensed physician for a student suspected of being sensory impaired (deaf, hard-of-hearing, blind, partially-sighted, or deaf-blind), physically disabled (orthopedically impaired, other health impaired, traumatic brain injured), or of having voice disorder, to verify the existence of a structural or functional pathology.

Members of the MDET shall be:

		1.	be appropriately certified, licensed, or otherwise qualified to administer the evaluations for which they are responsible;
		2.	trained in the use of the specific assessment instruments or techniques for which they are responsible;
		3.	knowledgeable in the area of concern; and
		4.	knowledgeable in the applicable State and Federal regulations.

Evaluation Components

A. For an initial evaluation, the student shall be evaluated in all areas related to the suspected exceptionality including, if appropriate, health, vision, hearing, social, and emotional status, adaptive skills, behavioral performance, general intelligence, academic performance, communicative status, motor abilities, assistive technology services and/or device, post-secondary interest/preferences and vocational aptitudes.

	B.	When evaluating a student with an exceptionality, the evaluation shall be sufficiently comprehensive to identify all of the student’s special education and related services needs, whether or not commonly linked to the suspected or identified exceptionality.
	C.	For re-evaluations and initial evaluations, if appropriate, a team which meets the membership requirements of the Individual Education Program (IEP) Team and other qualified professionals as appropriate:

shall review existing evaluation data on the student, including:

			a.	evaluations and information provided by the parents of the student;
			b.	current classroom-based, local or State assessments and classroom-based observations; and
			c.	observations by teachers and related service providers; and

shall, on the basis of that review, and input from the student’s parents, identify what additional data, if any, are needed to determine:

			a.	whether the student has a particular category of exceptionality as autism, behavioral disorder, blind and partially sighted, deaf-blindness, deaf and hard-of-hearing, mentally impaired, orthopedically impaired, other health impaired, preschool special needs, specific learning disabilities, speech/language impairments, traumatic brain injury, or continues to have a disability and such educational needs;
			b.	the present levels of academic performance and related developmental needs of the child;
			c.	whether the child needs special education and related services, or in the case of a re-evaluation of a child, whether the child continues to need special education and related services; and
			d.	whether any additions or modifications to the special education and related services are needed to enable the student to meet the measurable annual goals set out in the IEP and to participate as appropriate in the general education curriculum;

shall administer tests and other evaluation materials as may be needed to produce the data identified as needed; and

If the determination under paragraph C 2. c of this section is that no additional data is needed to determine whether the child continues to be a child with disability, the County shall notify the child’s parents:

		1.	of that determination and the reason for it; and
		2.	of the right of the parents to request an evaluation to determine whether, for purpose of services under this part, the child continues to be a child with a disability and to determine the child’s educational needs.

	E.	The County is not required to conduct the evaluation described under Evaluation Component B above unless request to do so by the parents.
	F.	An evaluation is not required before the termination of a student’s eligibility due to graduation with a regular high school diploma, or exceeding the age of eligibility for a free appropriate public education under State law. For a child whose eligibility under this part terminates due to graduation or exceeding the age of eligibility, the Board will provide the child with a summary of the child’s academic achievement and functional performance, which shall include recommendations on how to assist the child in meeting the child’s post-secondary goals.
	G.	When verbal communication is not an effective means of communication for the student, the student shall be evaluated to determine the need for an alternative means of communication.
	H.	Re-evaluations of a sensory impaired student shall be conducted more frequently if specified on the certified audiologist’s or physician’s report.
	I.	The County shall document information from the parent concerning the student, such as developmental history and behavior in the home and community, and make the written information available to the Eligibility Committee.
	J.	For students with disabilities age fourteen (14) (or younger, if appropriate), the County shall obtain information pertaining to the student'’ post-secondary interest and preferences.
	K.	Each evaluator, including the classroom teacher, shall write, sign and date an individual evaluation report and make the written report available to the Eligibility Committee.
	L.	Assessments of children with disabilities who transfer from one (1) school district to another school district in the same academic year shall be coordinated with such children’s prior and subsequent schools, as necessary and as expeditiously as possible, to sendure prompt completion of full evaluations.

West Virginia Board of Education Policy 2419
WV State Code 18-20-1 through 9
U.S.C. (P.L. 105-17) Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Amendments of 1997