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Home > Topics > Evaluations > What You Should Know About Evaluations & Evaluators by Robert K. Crabtree, Esq. |
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What
You Need to Know about Evaluations and Evaluators Know Your Rights Your school district, under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and your state special education law, is required to fully evaluate any child who may need special education services "in all areas related to the suspected disability, including, if appropriate, health, vision, hearing, social and emotional status, general intelligence, academic performance, communicative status, and motor abilities." (34 CFR Sec. 300.304) Before the school can evaluate, and before providing or changing special education services, it must notify you in writing. For the first evaluation and placement, the school must also obtain parental consent. IDEA's requirements for parental consent vary, depending on whether the school district is seeking consent for an initial evaluation or a reevaluation and on whether the parents affirmatively respond to a request for consent or they do do not respond or cannot be located. An Initial EvaluationFor an initial evaluation, if the parents do not respond to the district's requests for consent, the district cannot go ahead with the evaluation without taking additional steps. If the district could not obtain parental consent because the child's parents cannot be identified or located, the district could request that an educational surrogate be appointed (see 20 USC 1415(b)(2)) or it could seek an order from the due process agency (presumably, this would be a "matter relating to the identification, evaluation, or educational placement of the child" and thus within the agency's jurisdiction.)
A Re-evaluation IDEA provides that a school district must "obtain informed parental consent . . . prior to conducting any re-evaluation of a child with a disability, except that such informed parent consent need not be obtained if the district can demonstrate that it has taken reasonable measures to obtain such consent and the child's parent failed to respond." (20 USC Sec 1414(c)(3)) Thus, while a school district may re-evaluate a child without obtaining parental consent, the district must be able to show documents such as records of attempts to call the parents, correspondence to and from the parents, and/or records of visits to the parents' home or place(s) of employment. (34 CFR 300.322(d))
Your
Never-ending Role As a parent,
you must make sure that all areas of possible need are assessed as quickly
as possible. While some parents would rather not allow their school system
to evaluate their child, a refusal to cooperate at this stage of the process
can backfire if you need to ask for more or for different services later.
It may also affect your ability to have the school system pay for an independent
evaluation. Due
Process After the
evaluations are completed, your child's team (includes parents, teacher, related service providers,
school and independent evaluator, chairperson, child if appropriate, and other individuals who have knowledge or special
expertise regarding the child) must meet to decide what special education services should be provided, and to write an Individualized Education Program (IEP).
Selecting
an Independent Evaluator Selecting
an independent evaluator is one of your most important decisions. Parents rarely succeed at due process hearings without the testimony of expert witnesses who are competent, experienced, and credible. Here are a few rules of thumb to help you make that decision. Working
with Your Evaluator Once you have an excellent evaluator (or team of evaluators), stick with them.
The more an expert sees of your child, the more convincing her recommendations will be. (Remember that the school district's experts -- the classroom teachers
and related service providers -- see your child every day, while the independent evaluator typically sees your child for the time it takes to test her.) Don't ask an independent evaluator for legal advice. Unless she has studied the
decisions issued by courts and hearing officers and the rules and regulations that govern the special education process, she can't advise you reliably on your options and strategies.
A Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) in the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) The special education law requires the school district to provide a "free appropriate public education" in the "least restrictive environment" (LRE), to the maximum extent appropriate.
The Paper Chase: Managing Your Child's Documents. "If you have kids with special educational needs, you can be overwhelmed with paperwork in no time at all . . ." Discipline: Suspension, Expulsions and IEPs. In this article, parent attorney Robert Crabtree teaches you about functional behavioral assessments (FBAs), behavior intervention plans (BIPs), long-term suspensions and expulsions, the child's rights, and what parents can do to protect these rights. Learn how to request a behavior assessment, an expedited hearing, and how to invoke "stay put." What You Should Know About Evaluations and Evaluators. As a parent, you must make sure that all areas of possible need are assessed as quickly as possible. While some parents would rather not allow their school system to evaluate their child, a refusal to cooperate at this stage of the process can backfire . . . " Read article Mistakes
People Make: Parents. Because the stakes are so high, it is difficult
for parents of children with special educational needs to advocate calmly
and objectively for the educational and related services their children
need. To learn about mistakes parents make, read
this article. Mistakes People Make: School Districts.What makes parents angry? Parents are angry when school personnel take actions that undermine trust, create a negative climate that destroys peace of mind, and deliver inadequate services to the child. Read article Mistakes People Make: Independent Evaluators. To make their case for services or a specific program for their child, parents usually need a competent, credible independent evaluator. Serious mistakes by evaluators can make undermine their credibility or render their opinions powerless. To learn about mistakes independent evaluators should try to avoid, read this article. Mistakes
People Make: Advocates. Because the non-lawyer advocate plays an extremely important role in the special education process, advocates must be mindful of the power of their role
and the trust parents place in them. The more serious mistakes advocates make are generally ones of excess . . . Read
article
Meet Robert Crabtree Bob Crabtree is a partner at Kotin, Crabtree, and Strong, LLP, a general practice law firm in Boston, MA. Among other areas of practice, Bob concentrates in special education and disability law. This article was originally published by the Family Education site at www.familyeducation.com Contact
Info Phone: 617/227-7031
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