Understanding the Initial Evaluation

The school is responsible for testing any child that may have a disability.  IDEA's "child find" requirement means that your child’s school must actually be seeking out and finding students who are potentially eligible for special education and then conducting an evaluation.  34 CFR 300.111.   As a parent if your school hasn’t requested to evaluate your child you can request this to be done.  34 CFR 300.301 (b)

The initial evaluation is the very first step to getting your child an IEP to help them succeed.  The initial evaluation is required before the school can create IEP.   An initial evaluation is a series of tests to determine your child’s needs.  A parent must give “informed consent” prior to the evaluation being conducted.  Informed consent means that you understand how and why your child is being tested and what the testing will entail.  A district cannot conduct an initial evaluation of a child suspected of having a disability without first obtaining informed parental consent. 34 CFR 300.300 (a)(1)(i).  If you refuse an initial evaluation for your child you are refusing an offer of special education services and the school will not have any responsibility to provide special education or individualized services.  Now be aware that if your child is already eligible for special education that under IDEA there is a difference between the initial evaluations, which is done to look at eligibility for special education, (34 CFR 300.301 ) and reevaluations of students who already are receiving special education and related services under the IDEA (34 CFR 300.303 ).   If your child is already eligible, please see the re-evaluation section.

 Evaluations are free.   It is the responsibility of the district to evaluate your child – not your responsibility.     A school district may fulfill this requirement by having its own personnel evaluate the student, or by arranging a third-party evaluation at no cost to the parents. However, the district cannot require the parents to obtain their own evaluation.  Amusingly the case that established this in the 9th circuit was N.B. and C.B. v. Hellgate Elem. Sch. Dist., 50 IDELR 241 (9th Cir. 2008).  Now how is that for the name of an Elementary School!

It should be a full and individualized evaluation.  The school should be evaluating your child’s communication, emotional health, IQ scores, learning ability, motor abilities, processing speed, social skills, and be comprehensive enough to identify any and all of your child’s needs.   This evaluation should use a variety of assessment tools and strategies. 

Don’t Worry About Labels!  Many parents are concerned about how their child is “labeled.”  The classification system under IDEA and your state law is not related to the services your child will be provided, their IEP must provide for their needs across areas. 

Assessment tools and Strategies. The initial evaluation should use a variety of tests, data, and information.  Tests alone will not give a comprehensive picture of your child.  For instance, a child with Autism may do very well on academic tests and have good grades, but be struggling with communication and social skills.    Only by gathering information and data from many sources can the school get a complete picture of your child’s needs.   For more information on sources of data please see Tests, Measurements & Assessments.

 Specific Learning Disabilities. If your child is suspected of having specific learning disabilities IDEA establishes a secondary special evaluation procedures in addition to the general evaluation requirements for all students with disabilities.  34 CFR 300.309 (a).  The goal is to make sure the school understands the disability fully – there is a big difference between a processing speed issue, dyslexia or dysgraphia and different educational models and accommodations will be needed based on that child’s individual issues. 

 Timeline for the Initial Evaluation.  Different states have different timelines but none of the timelines can be longer than the requirements of IDEA.   IDEA requires that the student ve evaluated and an IEP meeting must be held to determine eligibility and offer an IEP if appropriate within the required 60 days.  34 CFR § 300.301(c)(1)(i)  Therefore it is better to request an evaluation sooner rather than later if you suspect your child has a disability!