Referral Process
1. Student is referred for evaluation by the intervention team at the school,
his/her teacher, or his/her parent due to concerns that the student may
have a disability. If the student has not been through the intervention
team process, the referral information must describe interventions
attempted to support the student and the student’s response to those
interventions.
2. As part of the referral, the special education coordinator at the school is
responsible for submitting ALL of the following information to the
District Office as a complete packet:
a. Referral information (Teacher Referral Form or Parent Request for
Assistance and Teacher Referral Form). If the referral comes from
school staff, a Parent Request for Assistance is not required; if,
however, the referral comes from the parent, the packet must also
include a Teacher Referral Form
b. Current grades and assessments (classroom grades, CBM, PASS,
SCANTRON, DIBELS, MAP RIT scores/percentiles including
class/grade average,…)
c. Intervention team information (if applicable) or information about
attempts to improve performance in addition to instruction in the
typical curriculum and the student’s response to this intervention
including progress monitoring data (see Prior to the Referral)
d. Developmental History
e. Information about the child’s vision and hearing (if no formal
screening or evaluation has been done, the teacher and parent
must complete the functional vision and hearing screening forms)
f. Attendance information
g. Behavioral information if there are behavior/social/emotional
concerns
i. A behavior intervention plan that has been implemented for
at least 4 weeks and the child’s response to the plan
ii. Discipline referrals including specific behaviors, number of
times removed from class, length of each removal, and other
pertinent data
h. Other relevant information (previous IEP, 504 plan, previous
evaluation reports, …)
i. The Referral Checklist certifying that you have reviewed all
information in the referral packet to ensure all forms are
completed, you have followed up on any needs referenced in the
referral information (requested previous IEPs or evaluations from
previous district, followed up with parent on any medical or
attendance issues that might be impacting the child’s
performance,…), and you have sent the parent the procedural
safeguards notice.
*NOTE: Make sure all forms are completely filled out (birthdate, names,
signatures, …) and that the packet is compete before sending to the district
office. Sending incomplete packets creates unnecessary delays in ensuring
the school is appropriately fulfilling its Child Find responsibilities under
IDEA.
3. At the same time the referral packet is sent to the district office, the
coordinator must send the parent a copy of the district’s procedural
safeguards notice and document the date sent on the Referral Checklist
4. The referral information is reviewed and an evaluation planning meeting
is set up by the coordinator. The evaluation planning team includes
membership similar to that of an IEP team – the general education
teacher(s) of the student in the area(s) in which the student is having
difficulty, a special education teacher, the district school psychologist, an
LEA representative, the parent, and any others who might have
information useful to the evaluation planning process.
5. At the evaluation planning meeting, the special education coordinator
will complete Sections I, II, III, and IV of the Evaluation/Reevaluation
Report and Documentation of Eligibility as the team reviews
information already known about the student in the areas under Section I
(Reason for Referral, Summary of Interventions, Demographic…). The
coordinator is responsible for ensuring that information in the report is
complete and written in a professional manner (complete sentences,
correct spelling, grammar, and punctuation, child/parent-friendly
language, …). The coordinator is also responsible for completing the
meeting and PWN.
a. If the team decides they have enough information to determine
eligibility under both prongs of IDEA (meets eligibility criteria AND
needs special education services to access and progress in the
general curriculum), the school coordinator only completes
Sections I and II and has the parent sign consent for the initial
provision of special education services. The team then signs the
Evaluation/Reevaluation Report and Documentation of Eligibility
signature page. The coordinator is responsible for indicating on
the signature page the name(s) of any member who participate by
telephone or via computer. The team then either develops an IEP
to address the educational needs determined by the evaluation
team or schedules a time within 30 calendar days to develop the
IEP. The coordinator then sends the Evaluation/Reevaluation
Report and Documentation of Eligibility as a Word Document (not
handwritten or in pdf format) to the district office to be completed
by the school psychologist. The coordinator sends the parent a
copy of the minutes/PWN.
b. If the team decides it does not have enough information to
determine eligibility under both prongs of IDEA (meets eligibility
criteria AND needs special education services to access and
progress in the general curriculum), the team determines what
additional information needs to be gathered and by whom. The
school coordinator gets consent to evaluate signed by the parent
and forwards it immediately to the district psychologist. The
Evaluation/Reevaluation Report and Documentation of Eligibility
is not signed at this point since the evaluation has not been
completed and eligibility has not been determined. It will be
signed when eligibility is determined. The district psychologist will
send the coordinator a summary of the information requested by
the team and person responsible for collecting it (Additional
Information Requested by the Evaluation/Reevaluation Team form)
following the meeting.
6. The coordinator is responsible for ensuring that all assessment pieces
requested by the evaluation team are gathered. This includes contracting
with appropriately certified/licensed personnel to conduct assessments
and ensuring that those assessments are completed and turned in to the
district psychologist within the 60 calendar days from receipt of the
consent to evaluate.
7. The team meets within 15 business days of completion of the evaluation
to determine eligibility. The coordinator is responsible for setting this
meeting up. The district psychologist will be responsible for completing
Section V prior to the meeting and Sections VI and VII (if appropriate) at
the meeting.
a. If the team determines the student is not eligible, the team signs the
Evaluation/Reevaluation Report and Documentation of Eligibility.
The
school
coordinator
is
responsible
for
getting
the
Evaluation/Reevaluation Report and Documentation of Eligibility
signed by all members (or documenting persons in attendance
through telephone conference or other means) and for sending the
parent a copy of the Evaluation/Reevaluation Report and
Documentation of Eligibility, minutes of the meeting, and PWN to
document the decision.
b. If the student is eligible, the school coordinator has the parent sign
consent for the initial provision of special education services. The
team
signs
the
Evaluation/Reevaluation
Report
and
Documentation of Eligibility.
The school coordinator is
responsible for getting the Evaluation/Reevaluation Report and
Documentation of Eligibility signed by all members (or
documenting persons in attendance through telephone conference)
and for sending the parent a copy of the Evaluation/Reevaluation
Report and Documentation of Eligibility, minutes of the meeting,
and PWN to document the decision. The team then either develops
an IEP to address the educational needs determined by the
evaluation or schedules a time within 30 days to develop the IEP.
8. The coordinator is responsible for ensuring the parent is sent a copy of
the IEP and meeting minutes/PWN and that all staff involved in the
implementation of the IEP has the information needed to begin providing
FAPE to the child.