Referral or Request for Initial Evaluation

Parent Requests:

If a parent requests an evaluation, school teams have an obligation to respond to the parent promptly (within 10 school days) to discuss this request. School teams are encouraged to explain the intervention process whereby students receive interventions in the general education setting before a referral for special education services is made. Referrals for students suspected of a Specific Learning Disability must receive intervention through our district response to instruction and intervention (RTI2) process. **A special education referral for a student suspected of a specific learning disability may be initiated at any time. RTI may not be used to delay or deny an evaluation for special education. (See section 5.1 Special Education Referral Procedures of the RTI2 Manual)

Teams may deny a parent's request for an evaluation; however, the denial documentation must be sent to your level coordinator for approval before this information is conveyed to the parent. Justification of this denial should include a Prior Written Notice and progress monitoring data. If the denial is approved, the Prior Written Notice may be sent to the parent who should be apprised of his or her due process rights. 

Support Team (S-team) Referrals: 

School teams may refer students for evaluation once all pre-referral interventions have been exhausted and the team suspects a disability based on a lack of sufficient progress or response to intervention. For more information please see the S Team Hub. Again, referrals for students suspected of a Specific Learning Disability must follow our district RTI process. For more information please see the RTI Hub.

Initial Evaluation Process:

Once the team determines that a special education evaluation is warranted, the Certifying Specialist will generate an Initial Consent for Eligibility Evaluation form in EdPlan and a Prior Written Notice; providing copies of each document to the parent(s). Once signed consent is returned, the Certifying Specialist must enter the referral date, initial consent for eligibility evaluation received date, along with the suspected disability in the Referral Tab in EdPlan. This will trigger the 60 calendar day evaluation timeline. All evaluations must be completed and an eligibility meeting must be held by this due date. 

The Special Education Case Manager will be responsible for scheduling the eligibility meeting, creating the Invitation to a Meeting document (giving the parents 10 days notice of the meeting), sending an Outlook invitation to the IEP team, and developing and providing the parents with a copy of the Prior Written Notice for this meeting. "Disagreement on IEP Team decisions to change program-no change allowed for 14 calendar days to afford parent the opportunity to file due process (State Board of Education Rule 0520-01-09-.13)." The timeline for parents to file for Due Process does not begin until they receive the Prior Written Notice, therefore timeliness is imperative. It is recommended that the eligibility meeting be scheduled 45 days out from when the Initial Consent was obtained from the parent to ensure compliance with the 60-day timeline.  The Certifying Specialist may enter eligibility information in the Evaluation tab of TN Pulse. This information may also be used in conjunction with additional data on the present levels of educational performance. It is crucial that the Certifying Specialist and Special Education Case Manager collaborate with regard to the areas that are marked exceptional. Any skill area labeled as exceptional must have a corresponding IEP goal.