Metropolitan School District of
Decatur Township
5275 Kentucky Avenue
Indianapolis, IN 46221
(317) 856-5265
(317) 856-2165 fax
www.msddecatur.k12.in.us
Continuing the
Learner-Centered Journey
MSD of Decatur Township
Evaluation Procedures
The MSD of Decatur Township is committed to providing all students with a Free and
Appropriate Public Education. The following information pertains to basic procedures
regarding educational evaluations. For more detailed information, please reference
Article 7, Procedural Safeguards, or Navigating the Course.
Requesting an Educational Evaluation
When a parent or guardian has a suspicion that their child may have a disability and may be in
need of an educational evaluation, then a request can be made verbally or in writing to licensed
school personnel, which includes the principal, assistant principal, instructional coach, teacher,
speech and language pathologist, or school psychologist. The appropriate individual, usually
the school psychologist or speech and language pathologist depending on the disability in
question, will contact the parent or guardian within ten (10) school days to discuss concerns
and decide whether or not the educational evaluation will take place. Written notice must be
provided to the parent by the school indicating if the school agrees or refuses to conduct the
evaluation. This notice must include the information used to make the decision by the school, a
copy of procedural safeguards or how to obtain a written copy of procedural safeguards, and a
list of sources for parents/guardians to contact for assistance in understanding Article 7
procedures and provisions (which are contained in the Procedural Safeguards). If the school
agrees to conduct the educational evaluation, then the written notice will also include the
evaluation timeline, a description of the evaluation procedures, and how the parent may obtain
a copy of the evaluation report or schedule a meeting to discuss the results of the evaluation
prior to the case conference committee meeting. If the school does not agree to conduct the
educational evaluation, then an explanation of the parent’s right to contest the decision by
requesting mediation or a due process hearing will be provided.
If the teacher or another staff member who works directly with the student suspects a
disability, then the staff member will take his/her concerns to the school psychologist and/or
speech and language pathologist.
Before the school can conduct the educational evaluation, signed parental consent must be
obtained. Once parental consent is received, then the timeline begins for the educational
evaluation. The school has fifty (50) school days to conduct the comprehensive educational
evaluation and hold a case conference to discuss the results and decide if the student meets
the requirements to be eligible for special education services. If the student has gone through a
full RtI process and has not shown progress, then the evaluation will be completed within
twenty (20) school days. This RtI process is when a student has participated in specific
scientific, research-based interventions and instruction based on the needs of the student. The
interventions and instruction provided must have been implemented with integrity and
consistency and progress monitoring must have occurred at specific intervals throughout the
intervention process.
Eligibility Categories
There are 13 different eligibility areas for which a student could be eligible to receive special
education services. In each case, the student’s educational performance must be adversely
affected by the disability in order to receive special education services.
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a lifelong developmental disability that includes autistic
disorder, Asperger's syndrome, and other pervasive developmental disorders, as described in
the current version of the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic Statistical Manual of
Mental Disorders. The disability is generally evident before three (3) years of age and
significantly affects verbal, nonverbal, or pragmatic communication and social interaction skills
and results in an adverse effect on the student's educational performance.
Blind or Low Vision (BLV), which may be referred to as a visual impairment, means a disability
that even with best correction affects the student's ability to use vision for learning.
Cognitive Disability (CD) is manifested during the developmental period, is characterized by
significant limitations in cognitive functioning (defined as 2 or more standard deviations below
the mean) and is demonstrated through limitations in adaptive behavior (defined as 2 or more
standard deviations below the mean).
Deaf or Hard of Hearing (DHH), which may be referred to as a hearing impairment and means:
A disability that, with or without amplification, adversely affects the student’s:
 Ability to use hearing for developing language and learning
 Educational performance
 Developmental progress
The hearing loss may be:
 Permanent or fluctuating
 Mild to profound
 Unilateral or bilateral
Students who are deaf or hard of hearing may use
 Spoken language
 Sign language
 A combination of spoken language and signed systems
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Deaf-Blind, which may be referred to as dual sensory impaired, means a disability that is a
concomitant hearing and vision loss or reduction in functional hearing and vision capacity,
causes significant communication and cannot be accommodated for by the use of a program or
service designed solely for students who are: deaf or hard of hearing or blind or have low
vision.
Developmental Delay (DD) is a disability category solely for students who are at least three (3)
years of age and not more than five (5) years of age, or five (5) years of age but not eligible to
enroll in kindergarten. Developmental delay means a delay of either two (2) standard
deviations below the mean in 1 of the following developmental areas or one (1) and one half
(½) standard deviations below the mean in any two (2) of the following developmental areas:
 Gross or fine motor development
 Cognitive development
 Receptive or expressive language development
 Social or emotional development
 Self-help or other adaptive development.
Emotional Disability (ED) means an inability to learn or progress that cannot be explained by
cognitive, sensory, or health factors. The student exhibits one (1) or more of the following
characteristics over a long period of time and to a marked degree that adversely affects
educational performance:
 A tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears associated with personal or
school problems
 A general pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression
 An inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships
 Inappropriate behaviors or feelings under normal circumstances
 Episodes of psychosis
Language or Speech Impairment (LI, SI) is characterized by one (1) of the following
impairments:
Language Impairments in the comprehension or expression of spoken or written language
resulting from organic or nonorganic causes that are nonmaturational in nature. Language
impairments affect the student’s primary language systems in one (1) or more of the following
components:
 Word retrieval
 Phonology
 Morphology
 Syntax
 Semantics
 Pragmatics
Speech impairments that may include fluency, articulation, and voice disorders in the student’s
speaking behavior in more than one (1) speaking task that are nonmaturational in nature,
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including impairments that are the result of a deficiency of structure and function of the oral
peripheral mechanism.
Multiple Disabilities means coexisting disabilities, one of which must be a significant cognitive
disability. The coexisting disabilities are lifelong and interfere with independent functioning,
and it is difficult to determine which disability most adversely affects educational performance.
The term does not include deaf-blind.
Other Health Impairment (OHI) means having limited strength, vitality, or alertness, including a
heightened alertness to environmental stimuli, that results in limited alertness with respect to
the educational environment that is due to chronic or acute health problems
An Orthopedic Impairment (OI) is a severe physically disabling condition that adversely affects
educational performance. The term may include impairments caused by any of the following:
 A congenital anomaly
 A disease, such as
o Poliomyelitis or
o Bone tuberculosis
 Other causes, such as
o Cerebral palsy
o Amputations or
o Fractures or burns that cause contractures
Specific Learning Disability (SLD) means a disorder in one (1) or more of the basic psychological
processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written, that adversely
affect the student's educational performance, including conditions referred to, or previously
referred to, as perceptual handicaps, brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction, dyslexia, and
developmental aphasia.
A Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is an acquired injury to the brain caused by an external physical
force, resulting in total or partial functional disability or psychosocial impairment, or both, that
adversely affects a student's educational performance. The term applies to open or closed
head injuries resulting in impairments in one (1) or more areas, such as the following:
 Cognition
 Language
 Memory
 Attention
 Reasoning
 Abstract thinking
 Judgment
 Problem solving
 Sensory, perceptual, and motor abilities
 Psychosocial behavior
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 Physical functions
 Information processing
 Speech
The term does not apply to brain injuries that are:
 Congenital or degenerative or
 Inducing by birth trauma
The Evaluation
Once parental consent is obtained, then a comprehensive educational evaluation is completed.
The educational evaluation will include the specific legal requirements as outlined by Article 7.
These requirements vary based on the suspected eligibility area. These components may or
may not include assessment in the following areas:
1. Development
2. Cognition
3. Academic Achievement
4. Functional performance or adaptive behavior
5. Communication skills
6. Motor and sensory responses
7. Social and developmental history
8. Available medical and/or mental health information
9. Assessment of progress and interventions
10. Functional behavior assessment (FBA)
11. Observation
12. Systematic observation
Eligibility
Once the educational evaluation is completed, a case conference committee (CCC) will convene
within fifty (50) or twenty (20) school days, depending on the type of evaluation, to discuss the
results.
If the student is found eligible for special education services:
 Current psychoeducational evaluation report written by the multidisciplinary team
found evidence to indicate any of the thirteen (13) special education eligibilities outlined
in Article 7.
 The CCC agrees that the student is eligible.
 An Individual Education Plan (IEP) is developed and sent home within ten (10) business
days. An initial IEP requires a parent signature before any part of the IEP can be
implemented.
 The student’s IEP will be reviewed at least once annually at a mutually agreed upon time
between school personnel and the child’s parent.
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If the student is found ineligible
 Current psychoeducational evaluation report written by the multidisciplinary team did
not find evidence to indicate any of the thirteen (13) special education eligibilities
outlined in Article 7.
 The CCC agrees that the student is not eligible.
 A Notice of Ineligibility is finalized and sent home to the parent within ten (10) business
days. This document does not require a signature.
 Evaluation findings are considered to be valid for one (1) year after the case conference
date.
Reevaluations
Once a student is eligible for special education and/or related services, any subsequent
evaluation of the student is considered a reevaluation.
Procedures NOT defined as a Reevaluation include:
 Test administered to all students
 Screening of students by a school staff member to determine implementation of
appropriate curriculum
 Review of existing data of a student
 Collection of progress monitoring data for Response to Instruction (RtI) or researchbased interventions
The MSD of Decatur Township must consider reevaluation for each student:
 At least once every three (3) years; however it is addressed yearly through the Indiana
IEP (IIEP) system; and/or
 If the school determines that additional information is needed to address the special
education or related service needs of the student; and/or
 If the reevaluation is requested by the school or the student’s parent.
Parent or staff may request a reevaluation for the purposes of:
 Reestablishing eligibility for special education and related services
o This reevaluation is due at the next annual case conference meeting.
 Determining that the student is eligible for special education and related services under
a different or additional eligibility category
o This reevaluation case conference must be convened within fifty (50) school
days of the date parental consent was received by licensed school personnel.
 Informing the case conference committee of the student’s needs.
o This reevaluation case conference must be convened within fifty (50) school
days of the date parental consent was received by licensed school personnel.
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A reevaluation may be requested at any time by a parent – either in a case conference, or
outside of a case conference. Once the reevaluation request is received by licensed school
personnel, the timeline begins. The same timelines apply to reevaluations as to evaluations.
Situations which may require a reevaluation:
 A change in eligibility area is suspected
 An additional eligibility area is suspected
 The school suspects that the student no longer demonstrates one or more of his/her
current eligibilities for special education services.
 Additional information is needed to help guide the most appropriate educational plans
for the student, including an occupational or physical therapy evaluation or the need for
assistive technology.
 A student with a disability moves into the MSD of Decatur Township and needs further
assessment data.
A parent request for a reevaluation can be made verbally or in writing to licensed school
personnel. If the parent fails to respond to the school’s request for a reevaluation, the school
may conduct the reevaluation without parental consent if the school has made appropriate,
documented efforts to obtain consent (i.e., phone calls, e-mails, letters home, home visit, etc.).
If the parent refuses consent, the school may pursue mediation or a due process hearing in the
event they still wish to proceed with the reevaluation.
If the school determines that a reevaluation may be needed, the Teacher of Record (TOR) and
the school psychologist will discuss the concerns to determine whether or not a reevaluation is
warranted. This can occur at the annual case conference meeting with the parent or outside of
the case conference meeting.
After a request for a reevaluation is made, written notice must be provided to the parent by the
school indicating if the school agrees or refuses to conduct the reevaluation. This notice must
include the information used to make the decision by the school, a copy of procedural
safeguards or how to obtain a written copy of procedural safeguards, and a list of sources for
parents/guardians to contact for assistance in understanding Article 7 procedures and
provisions (which are contained in the Procedural Safeguards).
If the school agrees to conduct the reevaluation, the reevaluation procedures and timeline
must be included in the notice. If the school refuses to conduct the reevaluation, the actions
the parent can take to challenge the school’s decision must be included in the notice.
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Related Services
Article 7 Definition of Related Services: “Related services” means transportation and
developmental, corrective, and other supportive services that are required for a student to
benefit from special education. The public agency must provide related services to a student if
the student’s case conference committee determines that related services are necessary for the
student to benefit from special education. (511 IAC 7-43-1 Sec. 1. (a))
Related services may be given as:
 Direct services by qualified professionals; or
 Integrated services by school personnel acting in accordance with the instructions of
qualified professionals
Related services include the following:
 Audiological services
 Counseling services
 Early identification and assessment of disabilities in children
 Interpreting services
 Medical services for the purpose of diagnosis and evaluation
 Occupational therapy (OT)
 Orientation and mobility services
 Parent counseling and training
 Physical therapy (PT)
 Psychological services
 Recreation (including therapeutic recreation)
 Rehabilitation counseling
 School health services, school nurse services, school social work services
 Transportation
 Other supportive services
Related services do NOT including the following:
 A medical device that is surgically implanted (e.g., a cochlear implant)
 The optimization of a surgically implanted device’s functioning (e.g., mapping for a
cochlear implant)
 Maintenance and/or replacement of a surgically implanted device
Parent Involvement from The Center for Parent Information and Resources
Parents have been recognized as vital members of the IEP Team or CCC since the passage of
Public Law 94-142 in 1975. Everyone agrees that parents have an enduring and passionate
interest in the well-being and education of their child. So it makes perfect sense that Congress
would ensure that parents are represented on the IEP Team or CCC, front and center. The
school must invite the parents to the IEP meeting or CCC early enough to ensure that one or
both parents have the opportunity to attend and participate.
Typically, parents know their child very well—not just the child’s strengths and weaknesses, but
all the little qualities that make their child unique. Parents’ knowledge can keep the team
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focused on the “big picture” of the child; they can help the team to create an IEP that will work
appropriately for the child. Parents can describe what goals are most important to them and to
their child, share their concerns and suggestions for enhancing their child’s education, and give
insights into their son or daughter’s interests, likes and dislikes, and learning styles. By being an
active IEP team member, parents can also infuse the IEP planning process with thought about
long-term needs for the child’s successful adult life.
PARENT RESPONSIBILITIES: (From Navigating the Course)
In order for the parent(s) of a child with a disability to access a FAPE for a child, the parent(s)
must:
• Give written consent for educational evaluations of the student;
• Participate as a member of the CCC in developing and revising the student’s IEP;
• Give written consent for the school to implement the student’s initial IEP;
• Partner with school personnel as the student’s advocate to identify and ensure
appropriate special education and related services; and
 Ensure the IEP is designed to meet the student’s unique educational needs in
the Least Restrictive Environment appropriate for the child.
Procedural Safeguards Links
http://www.doe.in.gov/sites/default/files/specialed/navigatingthecourse.pdf
http://www.doe.in.gov/sites/default/files/specialed/notice-procedural-safeguards-newmedicaid-consent.pdf
http://www.doe.in.gov/sites/default/files/specialed/sampleproceduralsafeguardswithmedicaid
consentnotice-spanish.pdf
Resources
ASK Indiana (About Special Kids), 1-800-964-4746 www.aboutspecialkids.org
IN*SOURCE, 1-800-332-4433 www.insource.org
Indiana Department of Education, 1-877-851-4106 www.doe.in.gov
Indiana Protection and Advocacy Services Commission, 1-800-622-4845, TTY – 1-800-838-1131
www.in.gov/ipas
Center for Parent Information and Resources http://www.parentcenterhub.org/resources/
Parent Participation Questions & Answers http://www.parentcenterhub.org/repository/qa2/
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