Determination of Eligibility

After the evaluation, or re-evaluation, is completed, the IEP team, which includes you the parent, meets to review the data and information to determine eligibility and includes all available information to determine if your child has a disability and needs special education. To be eligible for special education, your child must be determined to have a disability as defined as one of 14 categories below that adversely affects educational and/or functional performance and requires specialized instruction.  The eligibility categories are:

    • Intellectual Disability
    • Hearing impairment, including deafness
    • Speech or language impairment
    • Visual impairment, including blindness
    • Emotional disturbance
    • Orthopedic impairment
    • Autism
    • Traumatic brain injury
    • Other health impairment
    • Multiple disabilities
    • Deaf/blindness
    • Developmental delay for children ages 3 to 10
    • Acquired Brain Injury
    • Specific learning disability
      • Oral Expression
      • Listening Comprehension
      • Written Expression
      • Basic Reading Skills
      • Reading Comprehension
      • Math Calculation
      • Math Reasoning

The school district must give you Written Prior Notice (WPN) of the eligibility decision. WPN ensures that parents have the information they need to make an informed decision about their child’s education. Your written parental consent is required for the eligibility decision.  The WPN explains what they are asking for your consent for and why.

You have 14 calendar days to respond to the request for consent.  It is important that you respond in some way because if you do not, then the school district may not be responsible for providing special education services.   To learn more about WPN see the FAQs or check out PIC’s WPN and parental consent  online module.

Next Step – Development & Approval of the IEP

school meeting with parent and student

Frequently Asked Questions

Having a medical diagnosis does not automatically qualify a child for special education, though in some cases a medical diagnosis may be needed as part of the information used to determine eligibility.  A doctor diagnoses a condition, and the IEP Team must determine if that condition requires specialized instruction.   A child may have a medical condition such as ADHD or Autism that is well-managed, meaning it does not adversely affect their ability to learn or function within the general education setting.

Not necessarily. For instance, a child may be diagnosed with ADHD and their inability to focus for a sustained period of time and executive functioning delays adversely impact their educational performance and the IEP Team determines they require specialized instruction.  ADHD can be considered an Other Health Impairment.  Another example is dyslexia.  A child could be found eligible under the category of Specific Learning Disability in the area of Reading.

WPN is the information required to ensure parents make informed decisions in the special education process.  It is required to have 7 pieces:

  1. The decision – What was proposed or refused
  2. Reasons why this is being proposed or refused
  3. A description of each evaluation, procedure, test, record or report used to make the decision
  4. Other options considered and why these options were rejected
  5. Other factors relevant to the IEP team’s decision
  6. Statement that parents were given a copy of Parental Rights (Procedural Safeguards)
  7. Resources parents may contact to help them understand their rights

When consent is requested, parents can respond by giving consent, refusing consent or giving partial consent. If you disagree with eligibility, you can always request another IEP meeting to discuss your concerns or provide the IEP Team with more information about why you feel your child requires.  You can also contact PIC to discuss this more.