If the results of the evaluation cause the school to decide that the child qualifies for special education, the school must still make a decision as to the child's disability label or labels.
In order to qualify for special education, the child must meet the criteria of one or more of the 13 categories of special education, there must be evidence that the disability adversely affects the child's educational performance (though this is broadly construed to include academic and non-academic functioning, including communication, social/emotional, motor, vocational, and other areas), and the child must be determined to require specialized instruction (which can include a continuum from specialized instruction in a regular education class to placement in a highly restrictive special education setting).Once the school determines the child's eligibility labels, the school then must convene an Individualized Education Program (IEP) meeting, for the purposes of developing the child's program.
The parents may disagree with the school's decisions for many reasons. These could include that the parents do NOT believe their child needs special education, agreement that the child needs special education, but disagreement as to the child's label, or disagreement as to the IEP or proposed placement of the child. The parents have the absolute right (based on a recent amendment to the IDEA regulations) to refuse to allow the child to go into special education at the outset or to withdraw consent for special education if they decide at anytime that their child no longer should receive special education.
However, if the school recommends special education and the parents refuse it, the school cannot be held responsible at a later date for the school's failure to provide special education services.
In general, if the parents and the school agree that the student is eligible for special education, the child's IEP must be completed and implemented no later than the start of the school year or the next academic semester, whichever comes first.
Source:
Matt Cohen. Email correspondence/interview. April 28, 2009.
