Must an IEP Team meeting be held for every student who is due for a reevaluation?
Yes. SES recommends an IEP Team meeting even if the public agency is considering asking the parent to agree that a three-year reevaluation is not necessary.

 

What are the criteria for continued eligibility?
The AAC outlines the required minimum evaluative components and eligibility criteria for each disability area. These criteria must be met at initial eligibility as well as at each three-year reevaluation to determine continued eligibility.

 

Is parental consent required for reevaluation?
Parental consent is not required prior to the IEP Team convening to review existing data and to determine what additional data, if any, is necessary. Parents must be given the opportunity to attend the IEP Team meeting to determine what additional data is needed. If the IEP Team determines that additional data are needed in order to determine continued eligibility, parental consent must be obtained. If the parents do not respond to a request for consent to reevaluation, the public agency may proceed after reasonable efforts (at least two attempts) have been made and documented. SES suggests these two attempts be documented on the eligibility report under record review.

Parental consent is not necessary if additional data that needs to be obtained is for teacher and related service provider observations, ongoing classroom evaluations, or the administration of or review of the results of adapted or modified assessments that are administered to all children in a class, grade, or school.

 

Is it necessary to complete a new eligibility report when the IEP Team determines that additional data are needed in order to determine that a student continues to have a disability and continues to be in need of special education?
Yes. A new eligibility report must be completed each time the student is reevaluated for continued eligibility.

 

Is it necessary to complete a new eligibility report if the IEP Team determines no additional data are needed in order to make an eligibility decision?
Yes, as of May 19, 2011, a new eligibility report must be completed each time a student is reevaluated for continued eligibility.

 

What happens if the IEP Team is unable to get parental consent to conduct a three-year reevaluation?
If the IEP Team makes two attempts to get parental consent and the parent does not respond, the IEP Team may proceed with the reevaluation, as long as the IEP Team notifies the parent of the decision. If the IEP Team gets a “no” from the parent, the IEP Team has the following options:

• The IEP Team may reconsider whether or not the additional data are absolutely necessary in order to make a decision regarding continued eligibility.
• The IEP Team may request that the parent participates in a conference to discuss his or her decision.
• The public agency may ask for mediation from the ALSDE or the agency may initiate a due process hearing in order to have an impartial hearing officer to order a reevaluation to be administered over the parents’ objections. The public agency does not violate its child find obligations or evaluation obligations if it does not pursue mediation and/or a due process hearing.

 

What evaluation procedures are required for a student who is suspected of no longer having a disability?
The reevaluation for continued eligibility process should be initiated. The IEP Team must convene to consider existing data and determine what additional data, if any, are needed to determine whether the student continues to have a disability and continues to be in need of special education and related services. A new eligibility report must be completed.

 

What documentation is required when an IEP Team determines that a student no longer has a disability?
Process 2, reevaluation for continued eligibility, must be followed. When an IEP Team determines that a student no longer has a disability, an eligibility report must be completed with all existing data, as well as any updated and/or additional data. A copy of the eligibility report must be provided to the parents. The public agency must complete all sections of the eligibility report including a description of other options considered and the information used to make the decision. The eligibility report must document all required minimum evaluative components.

 

What forms are required for the reevaluation process?
The following forms are required for the reevaluation process:

Notice of Proposed Meeting/ Consent for Agency Participation

This notice invites the parents to attend the IEP Team meeting. Indicate on the form that the purpose of the meeting is to determine if additional data are needed and, if appropriate, to determine continued eligibility.

Notice of IEP Team’s Decision Regarding Reevaluation

This notice informs parents of the IEP Team’s decision regarding the need for additional data to determine continued eligibility.

Notice and Consent for Reevaluation (if appropriate)

This notice documents the parent’s consent for reevaluation or two attempts to obtain the parent’s consent is documented on the form.

Notice and Eligibility Decision Regarding Special Education Services

This form documents the IEP Team’s or Eligibility Committee’s decision regarding continued eligibility. This form must be completed each time the student is reevaluated for continued eligibility.

 

Do we have to send the Notice and Eligibility Decision Regarding Special Education Services and the Notice of Intent Regarding Special Education Services every time we make an eligibility determination?
The Notice and Eligibility Decision Regarding Special Education Services is sufficient if all sections are completed accurately. This form is a notice and, therefore, meets the notice requirements, including other options considered, etc.

 

Do the same timelines apply to reevaluations as initial referrals?
No. Reevaluations must be conducted at least every three years to determine continued eligibility. Three years from the signature date of the last eligibility report is the date by which each three-year reevaluation must be completed.

 

In the “student no longer eligible for services” date field in STISETS, what date will go in that box?
The date the Eligibility Committee or IEP Team met to determine that the student was no longer eligible for special education services.

 

If no additional data are needed for continued eligibility, do we just put the old data on a new eligibility form and sign and date it?
No. All required evaluation data used to determine eligibility status must be documented as well as any existing data collected since the last reevaluation that current data to documents the student continues to remain eligible. Remember, at reevaluation time you are documenting that the student continues to be eligible, not that he or she was eligible three years ago.

 

After the eligibility meeting is held for continued eligibility, must the IEP be reviewed?
No, not automatically. It may be necessary to review the IEP and make changes based on continued eligibility. The IEP Team decides if the IEP needs to be reviewed. If changes need to be made, the IEP Team should go to the process with the current IEP to make changes.

 

If a child is aging out of Developmental Delay (DD), is it required that we do further testing to determine that the student is no longer eligible or can we use DIBELS scores and grades to make the determination that he/she is no longer eligible?
It is an IEP Team decision. The reevaluation process must be completed. The IEP Team may use existing data to dismiss the student. Current data must be included on the eligibility report to support the decision.

 

Can secondary SLI be discontinued in the profile page without a new eligibility form?
LEAs have been discouraged from indicating secondary disability areas on the eligibility report since 1997. However, if the LEA where you work has persisted in adding secondary disability areas and SLI was actually indicated on the eligibility form as a secondary disability area, you must exit through the eligibility process. If SLI services were added through the IEP process and not as a secondary disability area, you must exit through the IEP process.

 

When a student transfers from another public agency within the state do you have to honor the IEP from the other agency?
If a student with a disability (who had an IEP that was in effect in a previous public agency in Alabama) transfers to a new public agency in Alabama and enrolls in a new school within the same school year, the new public agency (in consultation with the parents) must provide FAPE to the student (including services comparable to those described in the student’s IEP from the previous public agency), until the new public agency either:

• Adopts the student’s IEP from the previous public agency; or
• Develops, adopts, and implements a new IEP.

 

What if a student whose IEP has not been subject to a timely annual review, but who continues to receive services under that IEP, transfers to another public agency in the same state?
If a student with a disability was receiving special education and related services pursuant to an IEP in a previous public agency, even if that public agency failed to meet the annual review requirements, and transfers to a new public agency in the same state and enrolls in a new school within the same school year, the new public agency (in consultation with the parents) must provide FAPE to the student (including services comparable to those described in the student’s IEP from the previous public agency), until the new public agency either:

• Adopts the student’s IEP from the previous public agency; or
• Develops, adopts, and implements a new IEP.

 

Does consent have to be obtained from the parents to request records from the public agency from which the student transferred?
Parental consent is not required for the transmission of special education records between public agencies. Parental notice is required. A sample form is on the ALSDE Web site under Special Education/forms.

 

Do public agencies have a time limit on facilitating the transfer of student records?
The new public agency in which the student enrolls must take reasonable steps to promptly obtain the student’s records, including the IEP and supporting documents and any other records relating to the provision of special education or related services to the student, from the previous public agency in which the student was enrolled; and the previous public agency in which the student was enrolled must take reasonable steps to promptly respond to the request from the new public agency. If paper copies of records are requested by the new public agency, SES recommends the records be delivered within ten days of the request.

 

What is the timeline for the receiving public agency to adopt an IEP from a previous public agency or to develop and implement a new IEP?
The federal regulations do not establish timelines for the new public agency to adopt the student’s IEP from the previous public agency, or to develop, adopt, and implement a new IEP. However, the new public agency must take these steps within a reasonable period of time to avoid any undue interruption in the provision of required services. With the electronic transfer of data, the IEP should be implemented within days of the transfer.

 

If temporary consent or temporary IEP is not required and a student transfers from another state, is it necessary to get the consent for services signed?
Yes, once the student is determined to be eligible in Alabama. If the student transfers into the receiving public agency with an IEP that was in effect in the previous public agency in another state, the receiving public agency, in consultation with the parents, must provide comparable services to those described in the previously held IEP, until the new public agency conducts a new evaluation (if necessary) to determine eligibility. If the parents refuse consent for the initial (new) evaluation, the receiving public agency may not evaluate. The public agency may pursue the evaluation through mediation and/or due process, but is not required to do so.

 

If a student transfers from out-of-state and there is no IEP and the student is placed in the regular education classroom, should the IEP Team decision form be completed?
No. Students who transfer into Alabama from out-of-state must go through the initial evaluation process. The public agency should send out the Notice of Proposed Meeting/Consent for Agency Participation form, indicating that the purpose of the meeting is to discuss the need for additional data collection. Then the IEP Team meets and reviews any existing data and makes the decision regarding additional data. If additional data are needed, the Notice and Consent for Initial Evaluation is completed and the needed assessments are conducted. If no additional data are needed, the IEP Team may use existing data to determine eligibility under Alabama criteria.

 

Can a student be determined ineligible for special education (upon reevaluation) by documenting and reviewing existing data?
Yes, but a new eligibility report must be developed to document all required evaluations and all existing data used to make that decision. Current data must be included on the eligibility report to support the decision.

 

Is parental consent required for a reevaluation if the IEP team has determined the student’s records indicate that the reevaluation can be determined by a review of records?
No.

 

Do appropriate evaluations constitute a reevaluation or are these covered under a previous “consent to evaluate”?
Anytime you obtain additional appropriate evaluations, you must get parental consent to evaluate unless the parent fails to respond to a request (at least two attempts) for consent to reevaluate.

 

Are we completing new eligibility reports at all reevaluations?
Yes. A new eligibility report must be completed each time the student is reevaluated for continued eligibility.

 

How do we document parent participation in a meeting if they participate by phone?
In hard copy forms and in STISETS, on the parent signature line write, “parent participated by phone.”

 

How do we document the parent chose to participate by phone, but at the time of the meeting they did not answer the phone?
If the parent said they were going to participate in the meeting by phone and did not participate document that the parent was unavailable by phone.