Public Special Education Services
To obtain public special education services, you must follow the following four-step process:
1) Refer your child for evaluation and provide written consent for your child to be evaluated
2) Evaluate your child’s disabilities by a school district’s evaluator or a private evaluator
3) Develop an Individual Education Plan
4) Receive a special education placement
1) Refer your child for evaluation and provide written consent for your child to be evaluated
The school is obligated by law to identify, locate and evaluate children who may be in need of special education. If your child has not been identified as having a disability and you would like to make a referral on behalf of your child, you will need to do so in writing. You will want to use certified mail, return receipt requested that will provide you with documentation that you made a referral and can hold the school to the stated timeline for special education services. Within 5 school days of receipt of a referral, the school must notify the parent and seek consent to evaluate the child before any assessment begins. The school must obtain written consent from you to conduct an evaluation within five days of receipt of your referral letter.
Step 2) Evaluate your child’s disabilities by a school district’s evaluator or a private evaluator
Once the school has received your referral and consent to evaluate your child, the school is obligated to evaluate your child in all areas of suspected disability within 30 days of receiving your letter of consent. The evaluation typically consists of a psycho-educational evaluation, a social history and a classroom observation. It may be also deemed necessary to conduct other assessments to determine whether your child will need speech and language, occupational, physical or functional behavioral therapy. With parental consent, the assessment may also include a health, psychological and home assessment. You are entitled to receive all special education evaluation reports two days before the Team meeting. You must ask the school for copies of the reports in order to receive them in advance of the meeting.
If your child is not evaluated within 30 days of the evaluation or you do not agree with the City evaluator’s findings, you can pay for a private evaluator to assess your child. Since they are expensive, you may want to see if your insurance covers the cost. You can also write your principal, indicating that you want to get a second opinion at the school’s expense. The school district has a sliding scale in regard to the extent that they will pay for a private evaluation, depending on your income. If you are having trouble with the public school system, the Disability Law Center (617-723-8455) and the Volunteer Lawyers Project (617-423-0648) offer free and low cost legal services to low-income families.
Step 3) Develop an Individual Education Plan
Once your child has been tested and the evaluator determines that your child needs special services, a team of educators will work with the parents to develop an Individual Education Plan (IEP). The team must include the parent or guardian, at least one of your child’s special education teachers, at least one of your child’s regular education teachers and someone to interpret the evaluation results.
The IEP is a formal written document that addresses your child’s current educational performance, the educational goals for the following year, the special services with which your child will be provided, a statement regarding the least restrictive environment appropriate for your child, and a list of testing accommodations for your child. The IEP must be developed within 45 days the schools receipt of your letter of consent and is supposed to be updated yearly.
Step 4) Receive a special education placement
Once the parents consent to the IEP and placement, your child receives special education and related services throughout the IEP period by qualified professionals. The IEP will list the necessary services, including special teaching services, consultative services, training for teachers and other related services such as transportation, psychological services, counseling services and mobility services.