Special Education Eligibility - California
To qualify for special education, a child must be adversely affected by one of 13 categories.
Is your child eligible for special education?
In 1975, Congress passed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) which ensures that all children with disabilities have access to a free, special education that suits their individual needs. IDEA outlines the process of evaluation, review and special education eligibility requirements mandated for use in all schools. In order to achieve special education eligibility, the children must first officially qualify as having special needs. In order to qualify, a child must be “adversely affected” by a disability in one of the predetermined 13 established under IDEA. If a child is suspected of having a disability, their school or parents may request an evaluation.
Though living with any disabilities can be difficult for any child, in order to receive special education eligibility, sufficient proof that the disability is adversely affecting the child must be established. In other words, suspicion of a disability alone is not enough. Special education eligibility is a very complex, multi-faceted system that covers a wide range of disabilities but in order to assure equal opportunity for all, it is vital that parents are educated about the qualifications and process.
IDEA defines 13 categories of disability, and if a child has one or multiple that adversely affect them, they qualify for special needs. These 13 categories include:
- Specific learning disability (SLD): A type of disability that impacts a child’s ability to do schoolwork. Some of the most common SLDs include dyslexia and dysgraphia.
- Other health impairments: This disability can include disorders such as ADD and ADHD — they are defined as disabilities that affect attentiveness or energy levels.
- Autism spectrum disorder (ASD): Autism is a disability that involves social skills and the ability to communicate. As indicated in the name of the disorder, there is a wide range of symptoms and severity of autism spectrum disorder as it presents very differently in individuals.
- Emotional disturbance: These disabilities include a variety of mental illnesses such as anxiety, depression, and schizophrenia.
- Speech or language impairment: This type of disability affects a child’s ability to speak and pronounce words. One of the most well-known disorders within this category is stuttering.
- Visual impairment: When children have difficulty seeing that cannot be corrected with glasses or other eye accessories, then they have this type of disability. Blindness is included in this category
- Deafness: This is when a child cannot hear all or most sounds.
- Hearing impairment: This type of disability occurs when children have severe difficulty hearing but are not fully deaf. The condition often improves or worsens over time.
- Deaf-blindness: This disability is defined by severe difficulty with both hearing and seeing.
- Orthopedic impairment: Children who have severe difficulties with mobility and lack of ability with their bodies. A common example is muscular dystrophy.
- Intellectual disability: This is characterized by below-average mental capabilities that translate to other areas of life, including social skills, self-awareness, and communication abilities. A common example is Down syndrome.
- Traumatic brain injury: These are brain issues as a result of some kind of accident.
- Multiple disabilities: This includes children with multiple disabilities defined above.
If you have any questions pertaining to this information, please don’t hesitate to contact us!
The eligibility categories for special education cover an extremely wide spectrum of challenges and disabilities that children may live with. Since many disabilities are impossible to see with the naked eye, it is incredibly important that students experiencing classroom difficulties undergo a personalized and comprehensive assessment to identify their needs and increase their opportunities for academic success.
The special education evaluation process is a key step in securing proper care and education for students with disabilities. IDEA outlines the steps of evaluation within Part B of the law. In order to begin the special education evaluation process, a child’s parent or their school must request the evaluation be completed. Oftentimes, parents are the first to recognize their child may be struggling and if they reach out to an educational professional about the matter, it is mandated that the child be evaluated and the school do so at no cost.
If the school notices the child’s struggles first, they can ask the parents for permission to complete an evaluation. In this case, the parents must provide informed written consent to follow through. An important caveat is that the school must first provide the parents with a written notice as to why they believe an evaluation is necessary and what the process will entail. The parents can then make a decision if they would like to move forward. If written consent from parents is secured, the school has 60 days to perform an evaluation.
In terms of the evaluation itself, the special education evaluation process outlined by IDEA mandates that each child who is evaluated should receive a complete, individual assessment of their intellectual and functional abilities. These tests are designed to assess a child’s overall health, vision/hearing, emotional stability, intellectual ability, motor skills, and communication ability. A variety of supplemental information should be gathered as well including but not limited to their parent’s perspective, test scores and social tendencies.
After gathering all relevant and important information about the child, it is time to review the data to determine if the child does, in fact, qualify for special education. In this phase, professionals can determine whether the existing data is enough to qualify the child for special needs or if additional information is needed. If the existing information is enough to qualify the child, the school must notify parents of the determination and reasoning for it. At this point, parents may demand the school to assess their child to further understand the nature of their status and academic needs. This is a key step because if the parents do not request an assessment, the school will not have to complete one. If an assessment is requested, it can be used to discover more about the child’s disability and the needs that must be met.
So how do you know if your child qualifies?
A group of qualified professionals & the child’s parent determine whether the child is a child with a disability by drawing upon information from sources, including aptitude & achievement tests, parent input, & teacher recommendations, as well as information about the child’s physical condition, social or cultural background, & adaptive behavior. If a determination is made that a child has a disability and needs special education & related services, an IEP must be developed for the child.
*U.S. Department of Education.
If you have any questions pertaining to this information, please don’t hesitate to contact us!
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Special Education
We focus solely on educational law in Southern California, offering legal assistance to families and children of all abilities. We’re here to help parents understand Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) and ensure that every child gets the education they deserve.
Special Education Eligibility
In 1975, Congress passed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to ensure that all children with disabilities have access to a free, specialized education tailored to their individual needs. To qualify, a child must be "adversely affected" by one of the 13 disabilities listed under IDEA. If a child is suspected of having a disability, their school or parents may request an evaluation.
Individualized Education Program
Knowing whether your student needs an individual education plan (IEP) or 504 Plan is a critical step in your special education student’s academic endeavors and may provide your student with a better framework for success in the classroom.
Federal Appeals
In a situation where you lose all or some of your legal issues in the California Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH), you are able to appeal the OAH decision in federal court. The appeal is filed within the United States District Court, which varies depending on which district you are aligned with.
504 Accommodations
A federal law that intercepts discrimination against children with special needs in the learning environment, whether on public, private, or charter school grounds. Under this arrangement, any education space that has access to federal funding MUST make the appropriate accommodations to secure the notion that all students with disabilities are provided a free public education.
Due Process
Parents and teachers can resolve issues surrounding a child’s education in a perfect world. However, in some cases, issues concerning special education may leave parents with no option other than to take a more official route — this is where due process comes in.