Eligibility Categories

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) - Data Analysis Sheet

• Verbal and nonverbal communication is significantly affected (Required) 

     -Delay in or total lack of spoken language with no
      attempts to compensate through gestures or mime.

     -Inability to initiate or sustain a conversation.

     -Stereotyped and repetitive use of language.

• Social interaction is significantly affected.  Generally evident before the age of three (required) 

     -Delayed, absent, or atypical ability to relate to
      people or the environment. Behaviors such as the
      inability to use nonverbal behaviors such as eye-to-
      eye gaze, facial expression, body language, etc.

     -Failure to develop peer relationships appropriate to
      age/grade

     -Lack of spontaneous seeking to share enjoyment or
      interests.

     -Lack of social reciprocity

• Repetitive stereotyped movements

     -e.g., hand or finger flapping or twisting, or complex
      whole-body movements, self-stimulating or self-
      injurious behavior

• Resistance to change 

     -i.e., inflexible adherence to specific nonfunctional
      routines

Developmental Delay: Data Analysis Sheet (3-5)
                                                                  Data Analysis Sheet (6-8)

Evidence of one descriptor must be selected.

• Global Delay

     -Cognitive development and adaptive behaviors are
      delayed 1.5 standard deviations (SD) below the
      mean when compared with the standard score
      expected for chronological age (CA) (e.g., 22 points
      below the mean of 100)  OR

• Delay compared to a standard score in three or more areas.

     Delays of 1.5 SD below a standard score (e.g., 22
    points below the mean of 100) in three or more of the
    following areas:  

     -Motor development - must include all: Fine, gross,
      sensory, and perceptual motor skills.

     -Communication – must include both: speech and
      language

      -Academic development

      -Adaptive behavior

     -Cognition  OR

• Deviation from age expectations across settings, but data is inconclusive.

     -Describe the pattern(s) of learning that is
      significantly different from peers or age expectations.

Emotional Disability: Data Analysis Sheet

Evidence of at least one descriptor must be selected

• Emotional conditions that interfere with learning.

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

Example:  Exhibits significantly limited self-control, including an impaired ability to pay attention not due to ADD/ADHD).

     -Out of touch with reality; the presence of auditory
      and visual hallucinations, thought disorders,
      disorientation, or delusions.

• Emotional conditions that significantly interfere with social development.

     -An inability to build or maintain satisfactory
    interpersonal relationships with peers and teachers.

     -Withdrawal, avoidance of social interaction and/or
      lack of personal care

     -Displays consistent pattern of aggression toward
      objects or persons to an extent that development or
      maintenance of satisfactory relationships is
      prevented.

• Displays of unexpected and atypical affect for the situation.

     -Inappropriate types of behavior or feelings under
      normal circumstances (out of touch with reality;
      presence of auditory and visual hallucinations,
      thought disorders, disorientation or delusions).

    -Cannot get mind off certain thoughts or ideas;
      cannot keep self from engaging in repetitive and/or
      useless actions.

    -Pervasive oppositional, defiant, or noncompliant
      responses.

• Unhappiness or depression.

• Physical symptoms or fears

Intellectual Disability: Data Analysis Sheet

• Identified subaverage general intellectual functioning manifested
  during the developmental period (required)

     -Intellectual functioning that is two or more standard
      deviations (2+ SD) below the mean.

     -The developmental period is generally birth through
      age eight.  Developmental milestones, rate, and
      patterns of learning, and understanding of abstract
      concepts are significantly below age expectations.

• Deficits in at least two adaptive skill areas manifested
  during the developmental period (required)

     -Deficits in at least two adaptive behavior areas
    (behaviors that involve carrying out activities of daily
    living and social competence):
Communication
Daily living
Socialization
Motor skills.

     -The developmental period is generally birth through
      age eight.  

Multiple Disabilities:  Data Analysis Sheet

• Identified subaverage general intellectual functioning manifested
  during the developmental period (required)

     -Intellectual functioning that is three or more
      standard deviations (3+ SD) below the mean.

     -The developmental period is generally birth through
      age eight.  Developmental milestones, rate, and
      patterns of learning, and understanding of abstract
      concepts are significantly below age expectations.

• Deficits in at least two adaptive skill areas (required)

     -Deficits in at least two adaptive behavior areas
    (behaviors that involve carrying out activities of daily
    living and social competence):
Communication
Daily living
Socialization
Motor skills

• Concomitant (co-existing) impairments in combination cause severe educational needs.

     -Determine eligibility under one or more of the
        following disability categories:
Autism Spectrum Disorder
Deaf
Hearing Disability
Orthopedic Disability
Other Health Disability
Visual Disability including Blindness

Other Health Disability: Data Analysis Sheet

• A chronic, acute health condition or a medically fragile condition (required)

         -Chronic health condition:  The condition is long-term
          and either not curable, has residual features, or the
          disease develops slowly and persists for a long period
          of time.

        -Acute health condition:  The condition is of quick
          onset or begins abruptly and with marked intensity,
          then subsides after a short period of time.

• Limited strength and vitality resulting in limited alertness in the educational environment

     -The health condition leads to limited strength,
      vitality:  Lack of durability, energy, or vigor resulting
      in decreased capacity to perform school activities. 
      Inability to maintain effort caused by a lack of
      resilience or stamina.

OR

• Limited alertness including a heightened alertness to environmental stimuli which results in limited alertness in the educational environment.

     -Limited or heightened alertness:  Inability to
      maintain awareness, vigilance, mindfulness, or
      attentiveness that may be caused by environmental
      stimuli or an internal ability to maintain focus.

     Examples:
      Discrepancy from peers in
      Focus/sustaining effort
      Organization skills (materials, written work, thoughts)
    Work completion (following directions, on-task
    behavior, homework, self-initiation, independence).

Specific Learning Disability: Data Analysis Sheet

• Appropriate instruction was provided in the area of concern (required)

     -Identify the core instruction and scientific research-
      based interventions provided in the area of concern.

• Observation of the student with a focus on the area of concern (required)

     -Observe specific behaviors that are directly
      connected to the academic performance of the
      student.

• Average cognitive functioning ability (required)

     -Student does not have an intellectual disability (a cognitive
      assessment is NOT required!)

     - Student is performing at or near grade level expectations in at
      least some academic areas, and/or demonstrates age-typical
      social skills, self-care skills, and the ability to navigate the
      community.

• NOT achieving adequately for his/her age or meeting grade-level standards despite appropriate instruction

Deficit in at least one of the following area(s) and supported by data (required)

     -Listening Comprehension:  Difficulty perceiving or
      understanding what is heard
    -Oral Expression:   Difficulty using meaningful
      language for the purpose of communication
    -Basic Reading:  Difficulty with phonological
      awareness,  phonics, and/or sight recognition
    -Reading Fluency:  Difficulty with accurate and rapid
      expressive oral reading
    -Reading Comprehension:  Difficulty understanding
      literal, inferential, or critical passages read orally or
      silently
    -Written Expression:  Difficulty using language to
      clearly communicate ideas, thoughts, and feelings in
      a written format (Fine motor skills are NOT assessed
      as a part of written expression and Spelling,
      handwriting, capitalization, and punctuation alone
      do NOT constitute a severe delay or discrepancy.)
    -Math Calculation: Difficulty working out problems
    given preset rules where only one answer is
    acceptable.
    -Math Reasoning:  Difficulty using math reasoning
    and problem-solving skills.

Traumatic Brain Injury: Data Analysis Sheet

• Identified medical evidence of injury to the brain (required)

     -Medical evidence of an acquired injury to the brain,
      caused by an external physical force.

• Impairment in one or more areas as a result of the open or closed injury (required)

     -Cognition
    -Language
    -Memory
    -Attention
    -Reasoning
    -Abstract thinking
    -Judgment
    -Problem-solving
    -Sensory, perceptual, and motor abilities
    -Psychosocial behavior
    -Physical functions
    -Information processing
    -Speech

• Description of student academic or behavioral performance (required)

     -Total  or partial functional disability or psychosocial
      impairment

Speech or Language Disability: Data Analysis Sheet

• Developmental or cognitive abilities (required)

     -Cognitive abilities do not need to be a “test.”  Ability
      level may be inferred from everyday behaviors (e.g.,
      ability to problem-solve, process information, etc.)

      -However, there must be input from multiple
      informants and sources.  

A significant problem in the comprehension or production or both of an oral communication system that is NOT consistent with other developmental or cognitive abilities (required)

Evidence of at least one descriptor of the student’s oral communication system must be selected:

• Articulation

     -Articulation:  Atypical production of speech sounds
      characterized by: substitutions, distortions,
      additions, or omissions that interfere with the
      intelligibility of speech.

     -Phonological disorder:  An impairment in the
      student’s communication system to orally sequence
      sounds in words, phrases and sentences. 

• Voice

     -The absence of voice or presence of abnormal
      quality, pitch, resonance, loudness, or duration of
      phonation

• Fluency

     -Fluency disorder:  Deviations in the continuity
      smoothness, rhythm, or effort in spoken
      communication. 

     -These patterns may also be accompanied by
      excessive tension and or secondary behaviors such
      as avoidance or struggle.

• Oral Language

     -A discrepancy of 1.5 standard deviations between
    the student’s estimated cognitive level and
    performance on at least two standardized measures
    in the areas of semantics, grammar, or both.

    -Language conditions:  The breakdown in
    communication as characterized by problems in
    understanding or in using spoken language.  These
    include:

    Morphology – The system that governs the internal
    structure of words and construction of word forms.

    Syntax – The system governing the order and
    combination of words to form sentences and the
    relationships among the elements in a sentence.

    Semantics – The system that governs the meanings of
    words and sentences.

Deaf: Data Analysis Sheet

•  in the speech frequencies (required)

     -A hearing loss averaging greater than 70 dB in the
      speech frequencies (500Hz-4000Hz)

Evidence of ONE of the following descriptors must be selected.

• Identified Processing delays

     -The hearing loss impairs auditory processing of
      linguistic information. 

     -Affected areas should include:  listening, speaking,
      reading, and writing  

     -The areas affected are with or without amplification.

     -There must be evidence that the student’s
      performance is significantly lower than peers

• Adverse Effect

     -The hearing loss adversely affects educational
      performance.

     -All findings should lead to the conclusion that the
      unique behaviors/challenges the student is
      experiencing are associated with the disability and
      are occurring frequently and at a level of intensity
      that adversely affects performance in the PRESENT
      educational setting or natural environment.

Deaf-Blindness: Data Analysis Sheet

• Identified as deaf or hard of hearing (required)

     -See criteria for deaf or hard of hearing

• Partially sighted, blind, or progressive visual impairment (required)

     -See criteria for partially sighted, blind, or progressive
      visual impairment

• Adverse Effect (required)

     -Concomitant hearing and visual disabilities cause
      severe communication and other developmental and
      educational needs.

     -All findings should lead to the conclusion that the
      unique behaviors/challenges the student is
      experiencing are associated with the disability and
      are occurring frequently and at a level of intensity
      that adversely affects performance in the PRESENT
      educational setting or natural environment.

Hard of Hearing: Data Analysis Sheet

• Identified hearing loss in the speech frequencies (required)

     -A hearing loss whether permanent or fluctuating,
      averaging 26-70 dB in the speech frequencies
      (500Hz-4000Hz).

Evidence of ONE of the following descriptors must be selected.

• Identified Processing delays

     -The hearing loss impairs auditory processing of
      linguistic information. 

     -Affected areas should include:  listening, speaking,
      reading, and writing  

     -The areas affected are with or without amplification.

     -There must be evidence that the student’s
      performance is significantly lower than peers

• Adverse Effect

     -The hearing loss adversely affects educational
      performance.

     -All findings should lead to the conclusion that the
      unique behaviors/challenges the student is
      experiencing are associated with the disability and
      are occurring frequently and at a level of intensity
      that adversely affects performance in the PRESENT
      educational setting or natural environment.

Orthopedic Disability: Data Analysis Sheet

• Identified orthopedic disability (required)

     -Medical evidence that a severe orthopedic disability
      exists.

     -Congenital anomaly or disabilities caused by disease
      or other causes are to be considered.  Examples:   
      Poliomyelitis, Bone Tuberculosis, Cerebral palsy,
      Amputations, Fractures or burns that cause
      contractures.

• Adverse effect of the orthopedic disability on educational performance (required)

     -Information to link the orthopedic disability and the
      adverse effect it has on educational performance.

     -All findings should lead to the conclusion that the
      student’s orthopedic disability is pervasive and
      affects educational performance in the PRESENT
      educational setting or the natural environment is
      adversely affected.

Visual Disability: Data Analysis Sheet

• Evidence of a visual impairment (required)

Any visual impairment, including partial sight, blindness, or progressive vision loss.

AND

• There is an adverse effect on educational performance (required)

     -The vision impairment, even with correction, is adversely affecting the student’s educational performance.

**Although Chapter 60 has not yet been updated, the eligibility criteria were revised in 2017 in alignment with the Eligibility Determinations for Children Suspected of Having a Visual Impairment including Blindness Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act memo.**