2460.03 - ELIGIBILITY OF SPECIAL EDUCATION STUDENTS

Grant County School

Bylaws & Policies

2460.03 - ELIGIBILITY OF SPECIAL EDUCATION STUDENTS

The Grant County Board of Education shall establish and convene an Eligibility Committee to determine whether:

	A.	the referred student meets the eligibility criteria in one (1) of the designated exceptionalities;
	B.	by reason thereof, needs special education and related services.

Specific methods for conducting these activities shall be stated in the County Board’s AG 2460.03.

Eligibility Meetings

The County Board shall establish an Eligibility Committee (EC) of qualified professionals and the parent.

Procedures for Determining Eligibility

	A.	The EC shall draw upon information from a variety of sources, such as ability and achievement tests, parent input, teacher recommendations, physical condition, social or cultural background and adaptive skills and ensure that information obtained from all of these sources is documented and carefully considered.
	B.	The EC shall:

utilize the results of the multidisciplinary evaluation as the primary source of information to determine the student’s educational needs and if:

			a.	the student meets the eligibility criteria in one (1) of the designated exceptionalities;
			b.	needs specially designed instruction;
			c.	the student no longer meets the eligibility criteria or no longer needs specially designed instruction;
			d.	ensure that the determinant factor for a student’s eligibility is not:

1 lack of instruction in reading or math;

limited English proficiency.

When a student is suspected of being learning disabled, the committee must also complete a team report that includes:

		1.	whether a student has a specific learning disability;
		2.	the basis for making the determination;
		3.	the relevant behavior noted during the classroom observation of the student;
		4.	the relationship of that behavior to the student’s academic functioning;
		5.	the educationally relevant medical findings, if any;
		6.	whether there is a severe discrepancy between achievement and ability which is not correctable without special education and related services;
		7.	determination concerning the effects of environmental or cultural difference or economic disadvantage;
		8.	written certification by each committee member as to whether the report reflects his/her conclusions. If the report does not reflect his/her conclusions, the committee member must submit a separate statement presenting those conclusions.

			e.	compile and submit determination results for eligible students to the IEP team;
			f.	document the specific exceptionality for State and Federal reporting purposes;
			g.	recommend options for those students deemed ineligible and refer the student to the school team;
			h.	provide parents copies of the evaluation reports and documentation of eligibility determination.

Definitions and Eligibility Criteria
Autism

	A.	Autism is a developmental disability significantly affecting verbal and nonverbal communication and social interaction, generally evident before age three (3) that adversely affects a student’s educational performance. Other characteristics often associated with autism are irregularities and impairments in communication, engagement in repetitive activities and stereotyped movements, resistance to environmental change or change in daily routines, and unusual responses to sensory experiences. The term does not apply if a student’s educational performance is affected primarily because the student has a behavior disorder, as defined in this policy. A child who manifests the characteristics of autism after age three (3) could be diagnosed as having autism if the criteria in b of this section are satisfied.
	B.	Documentation will assure that the student meets a total of six (6) (or more) items from 1, 2, and 3 below, with at least two (2) from 1, and one (1) each from 2 and 3:

qualitative impairment in social interaction, as manifested by at least two (2) of the following:

			a.	marked impairment in the use of multiple nonverbal behaviors such as eye-to-eye gaze, facial expression, body postures, and gestures to regulate social interaction;
			b.	failure to develop peer relationships appropriate to developmental level;
			c.	a lack of spontaneous seeking to share enjoyment, interests, or achievements with other people (e.g., by a lack of showing, bringing, or pointing out objects of interest);
			d.	lack of social or emotional reciprocity.

qualitative impairments in communication as manifested by at least one (1) of the following:

			a.	delay in, or total lack of, the development of spoken language (not accompanied by an attempt to compensate through alternative modes of communication such as gesture or mime);
			b.	in individuals with adequate speech, marked impairment in the ability to initiate or sustain a conversation with others;
			c.	stereotyped and repetitive use of language or idiosyncratic language;
			d.	lack of varied, spontaneous make-believe play or social imitative play appropriate to developmental level.

restricted repetitive and stereotyped patterns of behavior, interests, and activities, as manifested by at least one (1) of the following:

			a.	encompassing preoccupation with one (1) or more stereotyped and restricted patterns of interest that is abnormal either in intensity or focus;
			b.	apparently inflexible adherence to specific, nonfunctional routines or rituals;
			c.	stereotyped and repetitive motor mannerisms (e.g., hand or finger flapping or twisting, or complex whole-body movements);
			d.	persistent preoccupation with parts of objects.

Behavior Disorders

A behavior disorder is a condition exhibiting one (1) or more of the following characteristics over a long period of time and to a marked degree that adversely affects the student’s educational performance:

		1.	an inability to learn which cannot be explained by intellectual, sensory, or health factors;
		2.	an inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships with peers and teachers;
		3.	inappropriate types of behavior or feelings under normal circumstances;
		4.	a general pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression;
		5.	a tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears associated with personal or school problems;
		6.	a schizophrenic condition.

	B.	The term does not apply to students who are socially maladjusted, unless it is determined that they meet the above definition.
	C.	Documentation will assure that a student meets all of the following criteria:

		1.	continues to exhibit a behavior disorder consistent with the definition after interventions have been implemented;
		2.	exhibits the characteristic(s) over an extended period of time and to a marked degree;
		3.	exhibits behavior(s) that is not primarily the result of physical, sensory, or intellectual deficits.

Blind and Partially Sighted

	A.	Blindness or partial sight is an impairment in vision that even with correction adversely affects the student’s educational performance.
	B.	Documentation will assure that the student meets one (1) or more of the following:

		1.	Visual acuity – A measure of 20/70 or less in the better eye with best correction recorded in either far point or near point.
		2.	Visual field limitation – Angle of vision is 20 degrees or less in the better eye.
		3.	Progressive eye disease – A deteriorating eye condition which will result in loss of visual efficiency (e.g., glaucoma, retinitis pigmentosa or macular degeneration) as verified by a licensed optometrist or ophthalmologist.
		4.	Cortical visual impairment – A visual loss caused by a disturbance of the posterior visual pathway and/or cortex.

Deaf-Blindness

	A.	Deaf-blindness is concomitant hearing and visual impairments the combination of which causes such severe communication and other developmental and educational needs that these impairments cannot be accommodated by special education services solely for the deaf or hard of hearing, or for the blind or partially sighted student.
	B.	Documentation will assure that a student meets all of the following:

		1.	the eligibility criteria for deaf and hard of hearing;
		2.	the eligibility criteria for blind and partially sighted.

Deaf and Hard of Hearing

Deafness and other hearing impairments are auditory acuity deficits that delay or inhibit the development of speech and/or language skills and adversely affect developmental and educational performance.

		1.	A hearing impairment is a deficit in hearing, whether permanent or fluctuating, that adversely affects the student’s educational performance but that is not included under the deafness in this section.
		2.	Deafness is a hearing impairment that is so severe that the student is impaired in processing linguistic information through hearing, with or without amplification, to the extent that specially designed instruction is required.

Documentation of one (1) or all of the following:

		1.	a hearing loss;
		2.	auditory pathology impairments resulting in one (1) of the impairments defined above.

Gifted

	A.	Giftedness is exceptional intellectual abilities that are evidence of outstanding capability and require specially designed instruction and/or services beyond those normally provided by the regular school program.
	B.	For gifted students, grades 1-8, documentation that a student meets both of the following:

		1.	Intellectual Ability
			General intellectual ability, a full scale score of 2.0 or more standard deviations above the mean on a comprehensive test of intellectual ability, with consideration of 1.0 standard error of measurement at the sixty-eight percent (68%) confidence interval.
		2.	Achievement/Performance

			a.	At least one (1) area of academic achievement as measured by an individual standardized achievement test, indicating that the student requires specially designed instruction in one (1) or more of the four (4) core curriculum areas, or
			b.	At least one (1) area of classroom performance, as determined during the multidisciplinary evaluation, indicating that the student requires specially designed instruction in one (1) or more of the four (4) core curriculum areas.

For exceptional gifted, grades nine (9) through twelve (12), documentation that a student meets the eligibility criteria for gifted and one (1) or more of the following:

		1.	the eligibility criteria for one (1) or more of the disabilities as defined in this section;
		2.	the definition for economically disadvantaged;
		3.	the definition for underachievement, which takes into consideration the student’s ability level, educational performance and achievement levels;
		4.	the definition for psychological adjustment disorder as documented by a comprehensive psychological evaluation.

Special Considerations

		1.	When a student is being considered for eligibility based upon an ability score that falls within the minus range of a 1.0 standard error of measurement, at 2.0 standard deviations above the mean, the EC shall document that the student has the potential to achieve or perform at a level expected of a student scoring 2.0 standard deviations above the mean.
		2.	If determined that the eligibility criteria and/or assessment instruments discriminate against a student because the student belongs to a historically under-represented gifted population, eligibility for gifted services shall be based upon criteria that complement the definition and eligibility for gifted as described in this policy. To determine whether a student demonstrates the potential for intellectual giftedness, absent a definitive cognitive measurement that meets the traditional eligibility criteria, the eligibility committee must consider all data gathered by the multidisciplinary evaluation team. These data include, but are not limited to, individual achievement, group achievement, classroom performance, teacher input, inventories, scales, checklists, student product(s) and parent information.
		3.	Before the end of the eighth grade year, the EC shall review the evaluation data for each identified gifted student to determine eligibility as an exceptional gifted student in grades 9-12. The records for each eighth grade student are then referred to the IEP team.
		4.	If the student is eligible as exceptional gifted, the IEP team shall develop an IEP. If the student is not eligible as exceptional gifted, the IEP team shall write a four (4) year plan that appropriately addresses the student’s educational needs, including honors/advanced education, when appropriate. The implementation and annual review of this plan are required by the County Board. The review team shall include the student, parent, school counselor, and building administrator.

Mentally Impaired

	A.	Mental impairments are substantial limitations in present functioning characterized by significantly sub-average intellectual functioning existing concurrently with related limitations in two (2) or more of the following applicable adaptive skill areas: communication, self-care, home living, social skills, community use, self-direction, health and safety, functional academics, leisure, and work. Mental impairments manifest before age eighteen (18).
	B.	Documentation that the student meets all of the following:

		1.	general intellectual functioning level is approximately seventy (70) to seventy-five (75) or below on scales with a mean of 100 and standard deviation of fifteen (15);
		2.	related limitations in two (2) or more adaptive skill areas substantially below the average level of functioning;
		3.	age of onset is eighteen (18) or below.

Orthopedically Impaired

	A.	Orthopedic impairments are severe physical conditions which adversely affect the student’s educational performance. The term includes: disabilities caused by congenital anomaly (e.g., spina bifida, congenital amputation, and osteogensis imperfecta), disabilities caused by disease (e.g., osyeomyelitis, poliomyelitis, arthritis), and disabilities from other causes (e.g., amputation, cerebral palsy, dystrophies and atrophies, and conditions which cause contracture).
	B.	Documentation of both of the following:

		1.	a physical disability as diagnosed and described by a licensed physician;
		2.	the existence of educational needs as a result of the physical disability or health condition.

Other Health Impaired

	A.	Other health impairments are disabilities of limited strength, vitality, or alertness that adversely affect the student’s educational performance including a heightened alertness to environmental stimuli that results in limited alertness with respect to the educational environment, and that is due to chronic or acute health problems such as asthma, attention deficit disorder or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, cancer, diabetes, epilepsy, heart condition, hemophilia, lead poisoning, nephritis, rheumatic fever or sickle cell anemia.
	B.	Documentation of both of the following:

		1.	a chronic or acute medical or health condition as diagnosed and described by a licensed physician;
		2.	the existence of educational needs as a result of the medical or health condition.

Preschool Special Needs

	A.	Preschool special needs are developmental delays in two (2) or more of the following areas: cognition, fine motor, gross motor, communication, social/emotional/affective development, self-help that are manifested in children ages 3-5.
	B.	Documentation that the child is functioning at, or lower than, seventy-five (75%) percent of the normal rate of development in two (2) or more of the following areas: cognition, fine motor, gross motor, communication, social/emotional/affective development and/or self-help skills.
	C.	Special Considerations:

		1.	Special education and related services for the eligible preschool child shall be provided as of the child’s third birthday.
		2.	The County will participate in transition planning conferences arranged by the designed lead agency for Part C.
		3.	For a child transitioning from a Part C early intervention program, an interagency transition plan must be developed to assure that when a child turns three (3) years of age either an IEP or Individual Family Service Plan (IFSP) which meets the requirements of Individual Educational Program and Consideration of Special IEP Factors is set forth in Policy 2419, regarding the Individual Education Program Process has been developed and implemented by the County Board.
		4.	For a child who turns three (3) in the spring/summer, the County Board is responsible for implementation of the IEP services for children as of the third birthday, regardless of which agency provides the services.
		5.	If appropriate, a child who turns three (3) years old in the fall may begin Part B services under the County Board at the beginning of the school year preceding the third birthday.

Specific Learning Disabilities

	A.	Specific learning disabilities are a heterogenous group of disorders manifested by significant deficits in the acquisition and use of listening, speaking, reading, writing, reasoning, or mathematical abilities. Specific learning disabilities are intrinsic to the individual and may be present across the life span. Although specific learning disabilities may occur with other disabilities (for example, sensory impairments or behavior disorders), or with extrinsic influences (such as cultural differences, insufficient or inappropriate instruction), specific learning disabilities are not the result of these disabilities or influences. Deficits in attention, self-regulatory behaviors, social perception, and social interaction may also exist but do not by themselves constitute a specific learning disability.
	B.	Documentation of all of the following:

		1.	general intellectual functioning at or above one standard deviation below the mean, in consideration of 1.0 standard error of measurement;
		2.	a severe discrepancy between achievement and intellectual ability in one (1) or more of the following areas: oral expression, listening comprehension, written expression, basic reading skills, reading comprehension, mathematics calculation, or mathematics reasoning.

			a.	The discrepancy shall be determined by a comparison of age-based standard scores of ability and achievement. A regression formula shall be used to determine the severity of the discrepancy. A severe discrepancy is defined as a minimum of 1.75 standard deviations difference, taking regression and 1.0 standard error of measurement into account.
			b.	A method utilizing the standard error of the difference scores shall be used only if the technical data (i.e., test correlations) necessary to account for the effects of regression are not available.
			c.	A severe discrepancy between ability and achievement that is NOT primarily the result of:

		1.	a sensory or motor disability;
		2.	a mental impairment;
		3.	a behavior disorder;
		4.	environmental or cultural differences or economic disadvantage as determined by comparing the student to other students in a similar situation (e.g., the same geographical area, similar socio-economic status, etc.);
		5.	insufficient or inappropriate instruction.

	C.	Special Considerations:
		The EC, on the basis of all evaluation data, may determine that a student is eligible for special education services when a valid determination of general intellectual functioning and/or a severe discrepancy cannot be obtained due to special considerations. The specific information regarding the criterion in question which supports the decision shall also be documented on the Specific Learning Disabilities Team Report.

Speech/Language Impairments

	A.	A speech/language impairment is a communication disorder such as stuttering (fluency), a language impairment, impaired articulation, or voice impairment that adversely affects a student’s educational performance.
	B.	Documentation will assure that a student exhibits one (1) or more of the following communication disorders:

Language – A student with a language impairment exhibits:

			a.	language abilities significantly below expected language performance for the students’ chronological age, cognitive stage of development, gender or cultural/social background;
			b.	a language quotient (LQ) of 77 or less and/or at least 1.5 standard deviations (SD) below the mean, or a significant discrepancy between language and nonverbal reasoning;
			c.	a severe deficit in receptive, expressive or pragmatic language which prevents appropriate communication in school and/or social situations as measured by formal and/or informal diagnostic procedures.

Articulation – A student exhibits an articulation impairment when:

			a.	intelligibility due to speech sound errors is below the expected performance levels for the student’s chronological age, cognitive stage of development, gender, or cultural/social background;
			b.	application of developmental norms and severity ratings from diagnostic tests verify speech sounds that may not develop without intervention.

Fluency – A student exhibits a fluency impairment when:

			a.	interruptions or dysfluencies in one (1) or more speaking situations are inconsistent with normal patterns of fluency;
			b.	interpretation of evaluation data verifies the existence of a fluency impairment.

Voice – A student exhibits a voice impairment when:

			a.	impairment(s) in pitch, loudness or quality exist;
			b.	the existence or absence of a structural or functional pathology is verified by an otolaryngologist.

Special Considerations:

		1.	Lack of discrepancy between cognitive level (i.e., mental age) and communication performance (i.e., language age) shall not be the sole factor to determine a severely speech and language disordered student’s eligibility for services. Other factors which must be considered are informal evaluation results, physical ability, educational and therapy history.
		2.	A student’s eligibility for speech and language services cannot be determined on the basis of having a primary language other than English or a language difference. Appropriate evaluation must verify the presence of an impairment in the primary and/or all languages spoken.

Traumatic Brain Injury

	A.	Traumatic brain injury is an acquired injury to the brain caused by an external physical force, resulting in total or partial functional disability or psychosocial impairment, or both, that adversely affects a student’s educational performance. The term applies to open or closed head injuries resulting in impairments in one (1) or more areas, such as cognition, language, memory, attention, reasoning, abstract thinking, judgement, problem-solving, sensory/perceptual/motor abilities, psychosocial behavior, physical functions, information processing, and speech. The term does not apply to brain injuries that are congenital or degenerative, or brain injuries induced by birth trauma.
	B.	Documentation of all of the following criteria:

		1.	an injury to the brain caused by a physical force or internal occurrence has been diagnosed by a licensed physician or neuropsychologist;
		2.	the existence of cognitive, language, behavior, executive skills and/or motor problems as a result of the injury.

West Virginia Board of Education Policy 2419
WV Code 18-20-1, et seq.
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act