EVALUATION PROCESS

Below is information on the referral and evaluation process.  

 Essentially, a student is referred to the child study team and a meeting is held to determine if an evaluation is warranted.  If an evaluation is warranted, another determination is made about the types of testing and other procedures that will be used to determine if your child needs special education and related services. If evaluations are conducted, reports are written and sent home to parents, and then another meeting is convened to determine if the student is eligible for special education and related services. If an evaluation will not be conducted or your child is not found eligible for special education services, recommendations may be made with respect to interventions or services to be provided in the general education environment. 

Here is some more detailed information for your review: 

What is a referral?

• A referral is a  written request for an initial evaluation to determine whether a student is eligible for” (NJAC 6A:14-1.3) special education and related services. A referral is made when one suspects a student (age 3-21) may have a disability which may require special education services.  

Who can make a referral to the Child Study Team?

• Referrals to the Child Study Team may come from a parent/guardian, school administrator, school staff member, a school committee such as I&RS (Intervention and Referral Services), or state agencies concerned with the welfare of the student.  

• For a parent/guardian to refer a student to the Child Study Team, the parent/guardian will correspond to the Director of Special Services, Christopher Kinney. The following information should be included:    

student’s name, student’s date of birth, student’s home address, reason for concern, parent/guardian’s contact information.

What is Multi-Tiered System of Support?

• The Multi-Tiered System of Support (“MTSS”) Committee is an interdisciplinary team of professionals within the school environment who meet to formulate coordinated services and team delivery systems to address the full range of student learning, behavior, social, and health problems with respect to  both general education and special education students.  The committee is made up of teachers, administrators, and other relevant school personnel who monitor student’s strengths and weaknesses, and develop strategies to assist the teacher/school personnel working with the student.  The MTSS Committee develops an Action Plan containing goals, interventions, and a timeline for the plan’s duration.

Does a referral to the Child Study Team mean my child will receive special education and related services?

• Once a referral is received, the parent/guardian will be contacted by the school and a meeting will be arranged within 20 days of receipt of the referral.  This meeting is called an Evaluation Planning meeting.  In attendance will be the student’s general education teacher, the three Child Study Team members, parent/guardian(s), and other relevant participants identified by the school or family.  The purpose of this meeting is to determine if a Child Study Team evaluation is warranted or not; an evaluation may be warranted if the team believes the student may have a disabling condition.  If an evaluation is warranted, an Evaluation Plan will be developed with the participants.  Results of the evaluations will assist in determining if a student is eligible for special education and related services.

What are related services?

• Related services are developmental, corrective, and supportive services that are required to assist a student with a disability to benefit from special education.  Related services include, but are not limited to: speech-language pathology, audiology services, counseling services, transportation, physical therapy, occupational therapy, school nurse services, social work services in schools, and parent counseling and training.

• Not all students who are eligible for special education receive related services.  Students who may require related services, but not special education, may receive supports through a Section 504 Plan.

What is an evaluation?

• An evaluation is the process used to determine whether a student has a disability.  An evaluation for a student referred to the Child Study Team for the first time is comprised of multi-disciplinary assessment in all areas of suspected disability. An initial evaluation shall include at least two assessments sand shall be conducted by at least two members of the child study team in the areas in which the child study team members have appropriate training or are qualified through their professional licensure or educational certification, and other specialists in the area of disability as required or as determined necessary.  Most often, this includes a social assessment, a psychological assessment, and/or an educational assessment. Other potential assessments may include but not be limited to speech/language therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and medical assessments).   

What is the procedure if the student is going to be evaluated?

• Once it is determined that a student will be evaluated, specific assessments will be identified.  The parent/guardian(s) must sign a form providing their written consent for the assessments to be conducted; the district cannot conduct an evaluations without a parent/guardian’s consent; consent may be revoked at any time.  Parent/guardian(s) may choose to obtain private evaluations at their own expense before or during the evaluation process. If the parent/guardian(s) wish to share this information with the Child Study Team, it will be taken into consideration in identifying if the student may be eligible for services. 

Can a parent/guardian ask for an evaluation by an outside agency?

• Parents are entitled to request an independent evaluation of their child at public cost if they are in disagreement with the evaluation provided by the District.. This is called an independent evaluation, and occurs after the district conducted its own evaluation.  Independent evaluations are provided at not cost to the parent.  If the District disagrees with your request for an independent evaluation, it may file for due process. Additionally, parents may obtain a private evaluation from the evaluator(s) of their choice to present to the school district for consideration.

I've given my consent for evaluation - now what?

• The district has, from the date of consent, ninety (90) days to complete an Initial Evaluations, write the report(s) which detail(s) evaluation results, send reports home for parent/guardian review, conduct an eligibility meeting, and conduct an IEP meeting if the student is eligible.

• Upon completion of the evaluations, an eligibility meeting will be scheduled to determine whether the student is eligible for special education and related services.   The evaluator will review their findings and answer questions.  

• The case manager will discuss the rationale for determination of eligibility or non-eligibility.  The first decision is whether the student possesses a disability that adversely affects educational performance and requires special education and related services.  If a student is determined to be eligible, an IEP (Individualized Education Program) meeting may be held or reconvened.  

If a student is eligible, does that mean he or she will be in a separate special education class?

• No. Together, the IEP Team consisting of the Child Study Team, parent/guardians(s), and teachers will develop a program that meets the student's needs in the least restrictive environment. Federal and state law compels schools to consider programs in the least restrictive environment. The least restrictive environment is the requirement that students with disabilities receive their education, to the maximum extent appropriate, with nondisabled peers.

What are the special education classifications? 

• Under New Jersey Administrative Code Title 6A, Chapter 14, students between the ages of 3 and 21 are eligible for special education and related services if they meet the criteria for one or more of fourteen recognized disabilities. Eligibility is determined collaboratively by the IEP team, who can recommend classification only if the student’s academic deficiencies are not the result of “a lack of instruction in reading, including the essential components of reading instruction, or math or due to limited English proficiency” (N.J.A.C. 6A:14-3.5(b)).

• What follows is a list of the fourteen NJ eligibility classifications, along with a “plain English” description of each one. If you want to read exactly what the law says about each one, click the link above to read the law online, or download the NJ Special Ed Code at the bottom of this page (PDF).  You can also contact your or your child’s case manager to ask for a NJ Special Education Code booklet.

*It is important to note that the following descriptions are for special services eligibility ONLY, and do not necessarily reflect medical diagnostic criteria.

Auditorily Impaired: Corresponds to “auditorily handicapped” in federal eligibility legislation. Students with this disability can not hear within normal limits due to:

• Physical impairment

• One of the two following conditions

• Deafness – complete inability to hear

• Hearing impairment – Can be a permanent or fluctuating inability to hear

Regardless of the cause, the impairment adversely affects academic performance.

Autism: Students with the “Autism” classification have a pervasive developmental disability that may impact their ability to interact socially and communicate, both verbally and nonverbally. These students are often resistant to changes in environment and routine, and find comfort in repetition.

Intellectual Disability: Students with this classification have significantly below average levels of cognitive functioning along with deficits in adaptive functioning (basic life skills). According to NJ law, there are three levels of cognitive impairment:

• Mild – These students are considered comparatively high functioning.

•  Moderate – These students require life skill training, but should be able to function with minimal supervision after training.

•  Severe – These students are unable to care for themselves, and require caregiver supervision for even their most basic needs

Communication Impaired: These students have language disorders that are not a result of an auditory impairment. Testing for this impairment involves the addition of a speech-language therapist to the evaluation team. Students with CI may also be eligible for additional speech & language services.

Emotional Regulation Impaired: These students’ educational performance is adversely affected by one or more of the following:

• An inability to learn that cannot be explained by intellectual, sensory, or health factors

•  An inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships with peers/teachers

• Inappropriate behaviors or feelings under normal circumstances

• A general pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression

• A tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears associated with personal or school problems

Multiply Disabled: Students have two or more disabling conditions, the combination of which cannot be accommodated for in a program designed solely to address one of the impairments.

Deaf/blindness: Simultaneous hearing and visual impairments which cause such severe communication, developmental, and/or educational problems that programs strictly for the deaf or for the blind cannot accommodate the student’s needs.

Orthopedically Impaired: Student has a severe malformation, malfunction, or loss of bone, muscle, or tissue that adversely affects educational performance (medical documentation is required).

Other Health Impaired: A medical assessment is required for this classification. Students with the OHI classification are characterized by having limited strength, vitality or alertness due to chronic or acute health problems. This/these condition/s adversely affect the student’s educational performance.

Preschool Child with a Disability: For children between the ages of three and five who experience developmental delay (33% delay in one area or 25% delay in two or more areas) in one or more of the following areas:

• Physical (gross/fine motor; sensory)

• Cognitive

• Communication

• Social/emotional

• Adaptive

Social Maladjustment: Students exhibit a consistent inability to conform school behavior standards. This behavior is seriously disruptive to the education of the student and/or other students, and is not due to the conditions described under Emotionally Disturbed.

Specific Learning Disability (SLD): A disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in language skills that manifests in an imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or perform mathematical calculations.

Specific learning disabilities may be determined by finding a severe discrepancy between current achievement and intellectual ability in:

• basic reading skills

• reading comprehension

• oral expression

• listening comprehension

• mathematical calculation

• mathematical problem solving

• written expression

• reading fluency

SLDs may also be identified by utilizing a response to scientifically based interventions. SLDs are not the results of visual, hearing, or motor disabilities, general cognitive deficits, emotional disturbance or environment, or cultural or economic disadvantage.

Traumatic Brain Injury: An acquired injury to the brain caused by external force/insult to the brain, resulting in full or partial functional disability or psychosocial impairment.

Visually Impaired: A visual impairment (partial or total) that adversely impacts a student’s educational performance. An assessment by a specialist is required.

Download the New Jersey Administrative Code, Title 6A, Chapter 14 here:

https://www.state.nj.us/education/code/current/title6a/chap14.pdf

 Does a student need an IEP for speech services?

• Yes.  Some students requires services for a speech and/or language disorder in articulation, phonology, fluency, voice, or any combination, unrelated to dialect, cultural differences, or the influence of a foreign language, that adversely affects a student’s educational performance. Some students may have a language disorder that qualifies a “Communication Impaired” (see above), but the student requires the services of a speech/language specialist only. In either case, the student would be eligible for speech-language services via a speech-only IEP. 

 What is an IEP? 

• An IEP (Individualized Education Program) is a legal document that is developed for the student who is eligible to receive special education and related services. The IEP is a written plan that describes in detail a student’s special education program. It describes how the student is currently performing and the student’s specific instructional needs. It must include detailed and measurable annual goals and short-term objectives or benchmarks.