The Special Education Process & Your Child

Taken from the Department of Defense Education Activity

1. Prereferral
When you suspect that a student may be experiencing difficulties in academic achievement and/or developmental progress, you should contact the child’s teacher or guidance counselor to arrange a conference to discuss ideas and strategies that may help your child in the learning process. Behaviors that may indicate that this prereferral process should begin include:

  • Difficulty staying on task
  • Persistent difficulty in following direction
  • Frequent outbursts for no apparent reason
  • Difficulty in understanding what is read
  • Difficulty expressing ideas in spoken or written form
  • Difficulty solving math problems
  • Experiencing complex medical problems
  • Inability to talk as well as children of the same age
  • Demonstrating little interest in toys or stories for children of that age
  • Demonstrating puzzling behaviors
  • Inability to play with other children

2. Intervention
 Interventions are changes in routines, both at home and school, that have been recommended as a result of the prereferral process. During the intervention period, observations of your child at home, knowledge about his or her development, your expectations at home, and understanding of how your child learns can be important contributions and should be shared with school officials. Your child may also be recommended to receive support services such as remedial reading or math, counseling, psychological support, social work services, and/ or community services.

3. Referral
 At the end of the prereferral/intervention period, a conference is held with you to discuss your child’s progress. If the interventions have not been successful, then a referral to the Case Study Committee (CSC) will be made. You, as a member of the CSC (and your child when appropriate), will work with school and/or medically related personnel to decide whether to provide additional support services or to plan a comprehensive individual evaluation for your child. The individual evaluation is recommended when the committee suspects that your child may have an educational disability. Working with the CSC you will contribute to the development of the evaluation plan. This plan is designed to gain insight, through a series of tests and observations, into the suspected area of disability(ies) which may be influencing your child’s educational success.

4. Evaluation
Evaluations are special tests, observations and other activities designed to collect information which will help in determining whether your child needs special education. You will be asked to share your knowledge about your child’s development, your expectations at home, and information about how your child learns. The purpose of the evaluation will be printed on the permission form that you will be asked to sign. At this point, ask enough questions so that you really understand what this evaluation means. These evaluations will be completed by a trained team of professionals, (multidisciplinary team), include more than one test, and be administered in your child’s native language or mode of communication.

The evaluation period may require up to 45 school days from the date that you give written permission. The results of this evaluation will provide information about your child’s educational strengths and needs and help determine whether a special education program is necessary.

5. Eligibility
 After the evaluations are completed, you and other members of the CSC will meet to review all of the information. At this point, ask enough questions so that you really understand the results. During this meeting, you will help to determine if your child is eligible for special education This decision is made by comparing the evaluation results to the eligibility criteria for the suspected disability(ies) as discussed in Section One.

NOTE: What if my child is not eligible for special education?

If your child is determined not eligible for special education services by the CSC but continues to have difficulties, several alternative programs may be considered. Recommendations might include services such as Reading Improvement, English as a Second Language, Guidance Counseling, Psychological Counseling, Social Work Services, or other community services.

6. Individualized Education Program (IEP)
If your child is found eligible for special education, you will participate in developing a written plan for your child. This is called an Individualized Education Program (IEP). This program includes:

  • your child’s current educational levels
  • long range goals for a 1-year period
  • short-term objectives
  • ways in which progress will be evaluated
  • when progress will be reviewed
  • who will provide the needed services
  • the amount of time your child will be in special education
  • any modifications to the general education program
  • any related services needed such as transportation, speech, language, occupational therapy, physical therapy, etc.
  • secondary transition planning for adult life (must start no later than age 14)

    Your ideas (and your child’s when appropriate) about what you want your child to learn in the next year will be considered in developing this plan. The plan goes into effect only after you agree and sign it and may be reviewed at any time concerns arise regarding the services being provided.

7. Placement
Placement refers to the best learning environment for your child. This can include a variety of options on a continuum of services from support in the general education environment to a self-contained classroom. Placement will be determined by your child’s individual needs, strengths, goals and services required. Any decision about placement is made only after the IEP has been developed with your input, and must consider the least restrictive environment (LRE) for the student.

8. Annual Review
 Your child’s progress in achieving the goals on the IEP must be reviewed and revised each year at the Annual IEP Review meeting. Your observations about any changes in your child’s education, both positive and negative, should be shared at this time. You can prepare for this meeting by reviewing your child’s current IEP and listing ideas that you would like to have included. in the development of the next IEP. You may also ask to have this plan reviewed at any time during the school year. You (and your child when appropriate) will participate in this annual review process.

9. Three-Year Reevaluation
Your child must be reevaluated every 3 years to determine current educational needs and special education eligibility. You or the school staff may request that a reevaluation be conducted before the third year if it is believed to be necessary. You will be involved in designing an evaluation plan to determine if your child continues to be eligible for special education and/or related services.

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