Special-Education-Evaluations-2023.pdf

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SPECIAL EDUCATION EVALUATIONS

August 2023

Before a child can begin receiving special education services, the child must be evaluated to

determine if the child is eligible for these services. The evaluation helps determine if the child

has a disability and needs special education services. The evaluation is also important to

identify changes to instruction, services, and supports the child needs to succeed.

INITIAL EVALUATION

HOW DO I REQUEST AN EVALUATION?

If you think that your child may need special education services, you can request an evaluation

using the following steps:

• Write an email or letter asking that your child be evaluated;

• Include the date, your child’s full name, your name, the reasons why your child needs an

evaluation, and your contact information;

• Send the email or letter to your child’s teacher, the special education director, the principal,

the superintendent, or a counselor. You may also send an email copying all these individuals;

• Keep a copy of the email or letter for yourself. The date of this communication is important.

NOTE: You can use this fillable evaluation request letter. This can be sent by email, mail carrier, or

hand-delivered.

WHAT SHOULD HAPPEN AFTER I REQUEST AN EVALUATION?

After you send the letter or email, the school must provide a Permission to Evaluate (PTE)-Consent

Form and make it “readily available” for you to sign.

Click here for a sample copy of this form. This

form will explain reasons for the evaluation, any records or reports the school will use, and the types

of tests that the school will do. Check with the school if you have not received the PTE-Consent Form

within 10 days.

The school can only begin the evaluation after you sign the PTE-Consent Form.

You can also ask for an evaluation by speaking to a teacher or administrator. Under state law,

the school is required to give you the PTE-Consent Form within 10 days.

However, we strongly

suggest that you ask in writing for the evaluation so that you have a record of the date you

requested the evaluation.

The PTE-Consent Form for an initial evaluation should always come with a Procedural Safeguards

Notice that explains your rights. Click here for a sample Procedural Safeguards Notice.

If your school refuses to provide the PTE-Consent Form, you should request an explanation of the

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school’s refusal to provide the PTE-Consent Form. Ask the school to give you a 38T38TNotice of

Recommended Educational Placement or Prior Written Notice (NOREP/PWN)38T38T form that explains the

school’s reasons for refusing to provide the Permission to Evaluate form and conduct the requested

evaluation. You have the right to challenge any refusal to evaluate your child.

CAN ANYONE ELSE REQUEST AN EVALUATION FOR MY CHILD?

Yes. A school can request to evaluate your child if school staff think that your child might need

special education services. The school has an obligation to identify a child who may need services.

This is called “child find.”

The school also must ensure that families understand their child’s right

to special education and a parent’s important role in the process.

If the school wants to evaluate

your child for the first time, they must send you a PTE-Consent Form.

WHAT IF I DO NOT WANT THE SCHOOL TO EVALUATE MY CHILD?

Generally, it is your decision whether your child is evaluated.

Some special situations allow the

school to evaluate a child against the wishes of the parent.

If it wishes to do this, the school must

request a hearing and get permission from a hearing officer.

Additionally, you may lose the right

to make this decision if your child is in the custody of the Children and Youth system. In that

situation, a Family Court judge can give someone else the right to agree to an initial evaluation.

Note: Agreeing to an evaluation is not the same as agreeing to special education services. An

IEP must be created before services can start. If you do not approve the IEP, the school cannot

start special education services.

WHAT IF THE SCHOOL REFUSES TO EVALUATE MY CHILD?

The school must give you the written notice ‒ the NOREP/PWN ‒ explaining the decision not

to test your child or the decision that your child does not qualify for special education.

this happens, you can fight the decision by asking for mediation, filing a complaint with the

Bureau of Special Education, or requesting a special education due process hearing. You can

learn more about these steps in ELC’s Resolving Special Education Disagreements fact sheet. If

the school has violated a clear legal rule, including the 60-day timeline

for conducting an evaluation

or reevaluation,

you can file a complaint with the Pennsylvania Department of Education’s Bureau of

Special Education (BSE).

Click here for more information on how to file a complaint.

If your child turns out to be eligible for special education services after the evaluation is

conducted, and the child had to wait to get those services because the school did not do the

evaluation or failed to complete the evaluation within the required 60-day time frame, you should

request compensatory education services (make-up services) for every hour of every day that your

child failed to receive a free, appropriate public education.

These services are intended to help

your child catch up or compensate for the time the child failed to receive special education services.

WHAT HAPPENS AFTER I SUBMIT A CONSENT TO AN EVALUATION FORM AND THE SCHOOL

AGREES TO CONDUCT THE EVALUATION?

The diagram on the following page outlines the process that must be followed under federal and

state law for conducting an evaluation.

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* This evaluation must be administered in the child's native language or other mode of

communication “unless it is clearly not feasible to so…” 23 CFR 300.304 (c)(ii).

Parent Signs

Consent for an

Evaluation

Evaluation Begins*

“Qualified professionals,” which may include a school

psychologist, speech pathologist, teachers, or specialists, begin

testing and gathering data about the child.

Academic

Testing

Language

Testing

Motor Testing

Ability

Testing

Social Skills

Testing

Outside

Sources

Teacher

Input

Parent Input

Evaluation Report (ER)

Within 60 days of consent, the school must give you an ER, which includes

the findings from the evaluation and recommendations for your child. The

ER will state whether your child is eligible for special education.

Individualized Education Program (IEP) Meeting

If your child is eligible for special education, the school must create an IEP, which is

the annual plan for your child’s education, within 30 days of the ER. The ER should

be used to create an IEP. Parents are an important part of this process and must

consent in order for any special education services to start. You may agree to some

services and not to others. The IEP will be implemented within 10 days of consent.

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HOW DOES THE EVALUTION TEAM DECIDE IF MY CHILD GETS AN IEP?

The evaluation team will answer two questions:

1. Does your child have a disability?

The law lists 13 different types of disabilities that qualify a child for special education

services.

A medical diagnosis of a disability (such as ADHD) does not automatically make the

child eligible for special education. A child cannot qualify for special education if their learning

problem is caused by something other than a disability. For example, a child may be struggling

because the child has not had proper instruction in reading or math.

2. Because of that disability, does your child need specially designed instruction and related

services?

The evaluation team will consider whether your child needs “specially designed instruction”

(SDI) ― instruction that is not part of the typical curriculum ― because of a disability. You

should think about what your child needs to learn and what changes would help your child learn

that are not a part of the typical curriculum.

If the answer to both questions is YES, then your child will qualify for special education and an IEP.

CAN EVALUATIONS BE COMPLETED IN LESS THAN THE 60-DAY TIMELINE?

Yes. Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), a key special education law, all

students who are suspected of having disabilities that would make them eligible for special

education must be evaluated or reevaluated within 60 days after receiving a signed Permission to

Evaluate (PTE) or Permission to Reevaluate (PTRE). Evaluations can be completed before 60-day

timeline elapses, but this is not required.

CAN STUDENTS WHO ARE HOMELESS, IN FOSTER CARE, OR IN THE JUVENILE JUSTICE BE

EVALUATED ON AN EXPEDITED TIMELINE?

Yes. Students experiencing homelessness or involved in the child-welfare or juvenile justice

systems are considered “highly mobile,” and can receive expedited evaluations and reevaluations.

These assessments are completed within 30 days rather than within 60 days, in accordance with

guidance from the United States Department of Education’s Office of Special Education and

Rehabilitative Services.

It is best practice to evaluate all “highly mobile” students on an

expedited basis to ensure they can receive needed evaluations and appropriate services, which are

often disrupted due to frequent moves.

To learn more about students’ rights to timely evaluations, review this fact sheet, and to learn

more about students’ rights in the special education context, see ELC’s Guide For Parents and

Advocates on the Right to Special Education in Pennsylvania.

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IMPORTANT POINTS ABOUT SPECIAL EDUCATION EVALUATIONS

There are several important points for you to know if you are seeking an evaluation for your child:

• The school cannot tell you that it is putting your child on a waitlist for an evaluation. The

timelines are requirements. When you request an evaluation, the school has two options:

1) give you a PTE-Consent Form to sign consent for the evaluation; OR 2) give you written

notice about why an evaluation is not necessary.

You can agree to extend the timelines.

• The evaluation is free. You cannot be asked to pay for any part of the evaluation.

• The evaluation must be done in your child’s native language or the language that will lead to

the most accurate results. The evaluation also must consider your child’s cultural

background so that the testing will not be racially or culturally biased.

• No single test can determine whether a child has a disability or needs special education.

WHAT IF MY CHILD MOVES TO ANOTHER DISTRICT BEFORE THE INITIAL EVALUATION IS DONE?

The same timelines still apply. A school may not have more than 60 calendar days

to finish the

evaluation if the child moves into a new school district before the initial evaluation is done.

However, the school can get more time if you agree and the school is working to get it done

quickly.

The new and old schools must coordinate testing to evaluate the child as soon as

possible.

Your child’s records should be shared quickly between the schools. In some cases, a new

school may request additional time to repeat some tests, using its own team of professionals. The

school must obtain your consent to extend the deadline for completing the evaluation.

REEVALUATION

ONCE MY CHILD HAS AN IEP, WHEN MUST MY CHILD BE REEVALUATED?

Every child who receives special education must be reevaluated every three years UNLESS

The school and the parent agree

in writing that the reevaluation

is not necessary

No reevaluation

The child has an intellectual

disability

The reevaluation must occur at

least every 2 years

The school believes that the

child may not have a disability

any longer

Reevaluation must occur before

the child’s IEP is removed

The parent requests a

reevaluation based on lack of

progress or changed needs

Reevaluation can occur before

the three-year reevaluation, but

not more than once per year

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Think carefully before you agree to pass on (“waive”) your child’s reevaluation. Three years (or

two years for a child with an intellectual disability) is a long time in the life of a child. Even if

the child’s disability has not changed, their needs, strengths, weaknesses, and behavior may

have changed. Such changes show that the child’s IEP should be revised using more recent

information.

The school also does not have to reevaluate the child if the child will no longer be eligible for

special education due to graduation or age.

In Pennsylvania, students can continue to receive

special education until the student’s 22nd birthday.F

At that point, the school district must

instead give the student a written summary of academic achievement and functional performance,

as well as recommendations for how the child can achieve their postsecondary goals.

If your child plans to enter college or a technical/vocational program, a recent evaluation will help

inform a “Section 504 accommodations plan” that identifies accommodations and services your

child may need in postsecondary programs (e.g., extended time for tests). Your child’s right to an

IEP does not apply to these programs. Learn more about Section 504 here.

WHAT MUST A REEVALUATION DECIDE AND HOW?

There are many purposes for a reevaluation:

The reevaluation process begins with a review of information about the child by the IEP team. This

could include PSSA scores, report cards, and progress monitoring reports. The team must decide what

additional information, including testing, interviews, and work samples, is needed for the

reevaluation.

You can also request specific testing if you have concerns regarding whether or not

your child may have a new disability or is making progress, or to inform transition planning for children

age 14 and older.

Once this information is collected, the team will produce a Reevaluation Report.

Click here for a sample annotated Reevaluation Report from the Pennsylvania Department of Education.

WHY

REEVALUATE?

To see if a

child still needs

an IEP

To decide if

the child is

progressing

To see if IEP

changes are

needed

To learn the

child’s current

needs

To consider a

new disability

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WHAT IF I DISAGREE WITH THE SCHOOL ABOUT THE EVALUATION?

The school must give you a NOREP, a written notice explaining the decision about whether your child

qualifies for special education.

If you disagree with the school’s testing and evaluation, you can

request an “independent educational evaluation” or IEE.

This is an evaluation conducted by a

qualified examiner, such as a certified school psychologist who is not employed by the school. You can

request that the school pay for an IEE in writing and then the school must either 1) pay for the IEE or

2) request a special education due process hearing to defend its evaluation.

You can also obtain your

own IEE at your own expense and the IEP team must consider its findings and recommendations.

You can also challenge the school’s decision in several different ways: by asking for mediation, filing a

complaint with the Bureau of Special Education, or requesting a special education hearing. You can

learn more about these steps in our fact sheet on resolving special education disagreements.

If your child turns out to be eligible for special education services and the child had to wait to get

those services because the school did not properly determine your child was eligible, you should

ask for compensatory education (makeup services) to help your child catch up for the time the

child was deprived of services.

The Education Law Center-PA (ELC) is a nonprofit, legal advocacy organization with offices in Philadelphia and

Pittsburgh, dedicated to ensuring that all children in Pennsylvania have access to a quality public education. Through

legal representation, impact litigation, community engagement, and policy advocacy, ELC advances the rights of

underserved children, including children living in poverty, children of color, children in the foster care and juvenile

justice systems, children with disabilities, multilingual learners, LGBTQ students, and children experiencing

homelessness.21

ELC’s publications provide a general statement of the law. However, each situation is different. If questions remain

about how the law applies to a 0T43T0T43Tparticular situation0T43T0T43T, contact ELC’s Helpline for information and

advice ― visit www.elc-pa.org/contact or call 215-238-6970 (Eastern or Central PA) or 412-258-2120 (Western PA) ― or

contact another attorney of your choice.

22 Pa. Code § 14.123(c).

34 C.F.R. § 300.300(a)(1)(i).

22 Pa. Code § 14.123(c).

34 C.F.R. § 300.111; 22 Pa. Code § 14.121.

34 CFR § 300.322.

34 C.F.R. § 300.300(a)(1)(iii).

34 C.F.R. § 300.300(a)(1)(i).

See, e.g., Maritime Academy Charter Sch., No. 24725-20-21 (SEA PA, May 6, 2021) (IHO ordered that student could be

evaluated despite his parent’s lack of consent due to the student’s history of psychiatric diagnoses and significant,

atypical behaviors that put the student, other students, and staff at risk).

34 C.F.R. § 300.300(a)(3)(i).

34 C.F.R. § 300.300(a)(2)(iii); 237 Pa. Code § 1147.

34 C.F.R. § 300.300(b)(4)(ii).

34 C.F.R. § 300.503(b).

22 Pa. Code § 14.123(b) (note that the 60-calendar day timeline does not include summer days).

Note that this is not the only basis to file a complaint with the Bureau of Special Education.

34 C.F.R. § 300.153; see also State Complaint Process, The Office of Dispute Resolution, at

https://odr-pa.org/parent-resources/state-complaint-process.

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M.C. v. Cent. Reg'l Sch. Dist., 81 F.3d 389, 391-92 (3d Cir. 1996) (the “child is entitled to compensatory education

for a period equal to the period of deprivation”).

See G.L. v. Ligonier Valley Sch. Dist. Auth., 802 F.3d 601, 625 (3d Cir. 2015) (citing D.F. v. Collingswood Bd. of

Educ., 694 F.3d 488, 498 (3d Cir. 2012)); see also Reid ex rel. Reid v. D.C., 401 F.3d 516, 518 (D.C. Cir. 2005)

(compensatory education should “aim to place disabled children in the same position they would have occupied but for

the school district's violations of IDEA").

34 C.F.R. § 300.8.

34 C.F.R. § 300.306(b)(1).

Letter from Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services to State Director of Special Education (Nov. 10,

2022), https://sites.ed.gov/idea/files/Letter-to-State-Directors-of-Special-Education-on-Ensuring-a-High-Quality-

Education-for-Highly-Mobile-Children-11-10-2022.pdf.

Letter from Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services to State Director of Special Education (Nov. 10,

2022), https://sites.ed.gov/idea/files/Letter-to-State-Directors-of-Special-Education-on-Ensuring-a-High-Quality-

Education-for-Highly-Mobile-Children-11-10-2022.pdf.

22 Pa. Code § 14.123(c).

34 C.F.R. § 300.17.

34 C.F.R. § 300.304(c)(1)(i).

34 C.F.R. § 300.304(b)(2).

22 Pa. Code § 14.123(b) (note that the 60-calendar day timeline does not include summer days).

34 C.F.R. § 300.301(d)(2).

34 C.F.R. § 300.301(e).

34 C.F.R. § 300.323(g)(2).

34 C.F.R. § 300.305(e)(2).

20 U.S.C. § 1412(a)(l)(A); 34 C.F.R. § 300.102(a)(3); see also IDEA B FAQ: Responses to Policy Revision to Age of

Eligibility, Penn. Dept. of Educ., at https://www.education.pa.gov/Pages/IDEABFAQ.aspx.

34 C.F.R. § 300.305(e)(3).

34 C.F.R. § 300.305(a)(2).

34 C.F.R. § 300.43.

34 C.F.R. § 300.503(b).

34 C.F.R. § 300.502.

34 C.F.R. § 300.502(b).

34 C.F.R. § 300.502(c).

Request for Evaluation to Determine Eligibility for Special Education

____________________

Parent’s Name

____________________

Address

____________________

Contact Information

____________________

Principal’s Name

____________________

School Name

_____________________

School Address

Date_______________

Dear Principal ___________________,

I am writing to request that my child __________________________________ whose date of

birth is _____________receive an evaluation to determine eligibility for special education

services. [If applicable: My child’s language is _____________________. My language is

_____________. Accordingly, I request that: ___ my child be evaluated in their preferred

language and/or ___ I receive interpretation and translation services.] My child is currently in

the _____grade at _________________. I am concerned about the progress my child is making

at school in the following areas:

Specifically, I am concerned about the following:

Therefore, I am requesting that my child receive a comprehensive psychoeducational evaluation

to determine whether my child needs services, and if so, what services and supports are needed. I

would like to participate with the school staff to decide what testing is done and what other

information should be collected and provided about my child.

In addition to this request in writing, I made a request verbally for a comprehensive

psychoeducational evaluation on or about _______________ to ____________________. Please

provide me with a copy of a Permission to Evaluate Consent Form (PTE) within the required 10-

day period and I will sign it.

Thank you for your time and consideration. I can be reached at _________________or

__________________ should any questions arise.

Sincerely,

_________________________

CC. Director of Special Education: _______________________

Main Classroom Teacher: __________________________