SPECIFIC LEARNING DISABILITIES &
SPECIAL EDUCATION ELIGIBILITY
February 27, 2013
Daniel Hochbaum
Equal Justice Works Fellow
Sponsored by McDermott Will & Emery


Fellowship
sponsor
Has sponsored
8 two-year
Equal Justice
Works
fellowships
since 2005 in
cities all across
the US
o Fellowship
organizer
o D.C.-based
national
organization
that helps
launch the
next
generation of
public interest
lawyers
o Fellowship
host
organization
o Federally
mandated
agency that
protects the
rights of
people with
disabilities in
Illinois
THE LD PROJECT
Self Advocacy Assistance
Community Outreach
Institutional Knowledge
Direct Representation
1.
2.
3.
4.
Focus on:
Initial eligibility
 Students in need of intensive interventions
 Returning to our clients

WHAT IS SLD?
DEFINING LEARNING DISABILITIES
Forget about medical definitions
 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
(IDEA)

Term: Specific Learning Disability
 Law: 34 C.F.R. § 300.8(c)(10)

A disorder in one or more of the basic
psychological processes involved in
understanding or in using language, spoken
or written…
DEFINING LEARNING DISABILITIES
…that may manifest itself
in the imperfect ability
to:
 Listen
 Think
 Speak
 Read
 Write
 Spell
OR
 do mathematical
calculations…
…including conditions
such as:
 perceptual disabilities
 brain injury
 minimal brain
dysfunction
 Dyslexia
AND
 developmental
aphasia…
DEFINING LEARNING DISABILITIES
But wait!
There’s more!
DEFINING LEARNING DISABILITIES
… LD does not include learning problems that
are primarily the result of:
visual, hearing, or motor disabilities
 mental retardation
 emotional disturbance
or
 of environmental, cultural, or economic
disadvantage

34 C.F.R. § 300.8(c)(10)(ii)
WHICH METHODS ARE USED TO
DETERMINE WHETHER A STUDENT HAS A
SPECIFIC LEARNING DISABILITY?
DETERMINING SLD: TWO* METHODS
The Old(er)* Way:
Severe Discrepancy
A difference between
ability and
achievement
 Schools give IQ
testing and
Achievement testing
and look for a gap
 States can determine
how severe the
discrepancy must be

The New Way:
Response to Intervention
Three Tier Process
(typically)
 Increasingly intense
interventions at each
tier
 Students are
constantly screened
and interventions are
adjusted accordingly

DETERMINING SLD: 34 C.F.R. § 300.307

Need state laws
-

Can’t force severe discrepancy
-

State criteria may not require use of severe discrepancy
model in determining whether a child has an SLD
Must allow RtI
-

Each state must adopt criteria for determining whether
a child has an SLD as defined in IDEA
State criteria must permit use of a process based on the
child's response to scientific, research-based
intervention (RtI)
Other methods permitted
-
State criteria may permit use of other alternative
research-based procedures
EVALUATIONS

Referral and Consent


Timelines


See § 300.309
Schools must comply with the timelines for evaluations in
the statute
Observations

§ 300.310 states that a child suspected of having SLD must
be observed in the classroom as part of the evaluation
 School may use observation information from before the
child was referred for an evaluation OR may observe
after the referral
WHO DETERMINES SLD?
WHO DETERMINES SLD? 34 C.F.R. § 300.308

Determination of SLD is made by…
 Child’s Parents
 Child’s regular teacher
 At least one person qualified to
conduct individual diagnostic
examinations of children
Such as…
school psychologist
speech-language pathologist
remedial reading teacher
HOW DO SCHOOLS DETERMINE WHETHER
A STUDENT HAS A
SPECIFIC LEARNING DISABILITY?
DETERMINING SLD: 34 C.F.R. § 300.309
Factors Considered
 Child’s achievement levels in 1 (or more) of 8
specified areas
Oral expression
Listening comprehension
Written expression
Basic reading skill
Reading fluency skills
Reading comprehension
Math calculation
Math problem solving
DETERMINING SLD: 34 C.F.R. § 300.309

Below age or grade level

Child’s progress in 1 (or more) of these 8 areas is not
sufficient to meet age or State-approved grade level
standards when RtI is being used
OR

Pattern


Child exhibits a pattern of strengths and weaknesses in
performance, achievement, or both relative to:
 Age
 State-approved grade level standards, or
 intellectual development
that group determines is relevant to identification of SLD…
DETERMINING SLD: 34 C.F.R. § 300.309
But wait!
There’s more!
DETERMINING SLD: 34 C.F.R. § 300.309
o
Group determines that being below age/grade level
or that pattern is not primarily the result of:
 Visual, hearing, or motor
disability
 Mental retardation
 Emotional disturbance
 Cultural factors
 Environmental or economic
disadvantage
 Limited English proficiency
DETERMINING SLD: 34 C.F.R. § 300.309
1 of 8
Factors
Below age
or grade
level
OR
Pattern
Not
Primarily
because of
Other
Causes
consideration of whether the child did not receive
appropriate instruction in reading or math
consideration of data-based documentation of repeated
assessments of achievement (and progress) at
reasonable intervals
SLD Eligibility!
DOCUMENTATION OF ELIGIBILITY
o
o
All of this information must be put into an
eligibility determination document
Each member of the team must state whether they
agree with eligibility determination