Procedures

• Age of Majority
• Bus Suspension
• Change of Placement Consideration
• Child Study Process- School Based Intervention Teams
• Disabilities
• Discipline
• Dismisal from Primary Special Education Services
• Due Process - Resolution Session
• Educational Assessment - Guidelines
• Educational Services During Suspensions
• Eligibility Committee
• Extended School Year Services
• Functional Behavior Assessment and Behavior Assessment Plans
• Homebound Instruction
• In-School Suspensions
• Long Term Suspensions and Expulsions - Not Clasified
• Long Term Suspension or Expulsion - Notification to Parents
• Manifestation Determination Review
• Maintenance of Testing Protocols
• Medicaid Procedures
• Occupational Therapy Services
• Placement of Student Outside the Regular School Setting
• Prior Written Notice - Notification of Initiation or Refusal of Change
• Procedural Safeguards
• Prohibition - Mandatory Medication
• Private School Students
• Psychological Assessment - Guidelines
• Re-Evaluation of Eligibility
• Referral for Consideration of Special Education Eligibility
• Reporting a Crime Committed by a Special Education Student
• Screening Procedures
• Social / Cultural Assessment - Guidelines
• Special Education Records: Storage and Disposal
• Service Plans
• Speech Services
• Surrogate Parents - Procedure for Appointment
• Tape Recording at Special Education Meetings
• Video Recording at Special Education Meetings

On this page:

• Process to Initiate a Special Education Evaluation
• Referral Made By A School Based Intervention Team
• Facilitation of the Special Education Process at the Base School
• Parent Refusal to Consent to a Special Educaiotn Evaluation
• Facilitation of the Special Education Process at Central Office
• Formal Special Education Evaluation Process
• Exception to Timelines

1. PROCESS TO INITIATE EVALUATION

Referral Made By Any Source
All students, aged 2 - 21, inclusive, whether enrolled in public school or not, who are suspected of having a disability, shall be referred to the special education administrator or designee who may initiate the process of determining eligibility for special education service and related services. A parent, representative of the Virginia Department of Education, or other State agency or a school division representative can request an initial evaluation. If the referral is from any source outside of the School Based Intervention Team, the Administrator or designee shall request a review by the School Based Intervention Team to recommend whether an evaluation will be completed. The request for review will occur within 5 business days of the receipt of the referral for evaluation. The decision about whether to evaluate shall be made within 10 business days of the request for review.

Upon any receipt of referral for evaluation the special education administrator or designee shall complete Form 20.02. The 65 day timeline for completion of the special education eligibility begins with the referral date that is made either in writing or orally unless the School Based Intervention Team disagrees with the referral and the parent concurs.

Should the School Based Intervention Team not recommend a special education evaluation and the parent is in disagreement, a special education case manager shall be appointed. The special education case manager shall contact a special education coordinator as soon as possible and schedule an IEP Meeting with the parent. The disagreement will be considered in the context of an IEP Meeting as soon as possible. If the school remains to be in disagreement with the parent, a Notification of Initiation or Refusal of Change (Form No. 60.07) must be completed and sent to the parent. Consultation with the Special Education Coordinator assigned to your school is strongly recommended in this process.

Back to Top

Referral made by School Based Intervention Team

The School Based Intervention Team has no time constraints limiting exploration of alternatives within the general education program. When it becomes obvious that reasonable intervention strategies have not been effective and the School Based Intervention Team suspects that the student has a disability, a referral for special education evaluation or Section 504 eligibility must be initiated within 5 (five) administrative working days of the SBIT's decision. However, a School Based Intervention Team may refer a student to an IEP Team for a special education evaluation prior to implementing strategies, provided it has consulted and involved the Special Education Coordinator that serves the school. The 65-day timeline begins once a referral has been made.

 

Back to Top

2. FACILITATION OF THE SPECIAL EDUCATION EVALUATION PROCESS AT THE BASE SCHOOL

STEP ONE:
Special Education Case Manager Assigned

Upon receipt of the decision of the School Based Intervention Team to refer for a Special Education Evaluation, A Special Education Teacher or Designated Professional is assigned the student's case.

STEP TWO:
Initial tasks to be completed as soon as possible once assigned to the case.

• The 65 day timeline is established based on the initial referral date for a special education evaluation. Check with your Special Education Coordinator for guidance.
• An IEP Team Meeting may be scheduled with the parent. If so, written notification (Form 60.01) is sent to the parent in the mail to confirm the meeting.

STEP THREE:
An IEP Team Meeting may be scheduled to complete required evaluation paperwork, but an IEP Team Meeting is not required.

The Special Education Case Manager or Designated Professional:

• IEP Team Meeting participants, including the parents, determine needed evaluation data for the special education evaluation (30.01). Consultation with a psychologist is recommended.Although not required to be present if this procedure is completed outside of an IEP Team Meeting, the IEP Team Memeber signatures are required.
• Informed parental consent is secured from the parents or guardian for the special education evaluation (30.02).
• Medicaid paperwork is completed, if appropriate (90.01).
• Ensure that parents have a copy of all paperwork to date.

STEP FOUR:
Process to finalize the initiation of the Special Education Evaluation

• Send the originals of all related documents to the Albemarle County Office of Special Education and Student Services at the Albemarle County Office Building via PONY Mail.
  • All SBIT Forms - 20.02, 20.03, 20.04, 20.05, 20.06A-B-C-D
  • All Special Education Evaluation Forms - 30.01, 30.02
  • All appropriate Medicaid Billing Information
• Ensure that a copy of all SBIT and Special Education forms are in the student's educational record.
• Notify the appropriate members of your special education evaluation team of the evaluation and timelines.
  

PARENT REFUSAL TO CONSENT TO SPECIAL EDUCATION EVALUATION

If parent refuses permission for the proposed evaluation(s) or parts of the evaluation, the School Based Intervention Team may:

1. Accept the parent's decision, stating reasons in writing. The School Based Intervention Team Chairperson should notify the Special Education Coordinator immediately if the parent disagrees with the proposal made by the school so that a Prior Written Notice be completed. The School Based Intervention Team shall provide instructional leadership to the classroom teacher to assist him/her in meeting the student's needs using the School Based intervention Team; OR
   
   
2. Use procedures provided by law to obtain permission for evaluation by appealing the parental decision to the Director of Special Education/Student Services.
   

3. FACILITATION OF THE SPECIAL EDUCATION EVALUATION PROCESS AT CENTRAL OFFICE

   Upon receipt of the EVALUATION PACKET (above), Special Services Intake will:
   

   1. Forward Medicaid Billing Information for processing.
   2. Enter the student's name on the Student Information System (SASIxp) and establish the 65-day timeline for completing the eligibility process. The initiation date will be based on the written or oral referral for a special education evaluation.
   3. Distribute copies of the Referral for a Special Education Evaluation to the Family Specialist, if appropriate.
   4. Establish a folder for the student and enclose a copy of the following:

1. Medicaid Billing Information
2. School Based Intervention Team Packet
3. Parent Permission for Student Evaluation

5. Send information to appropriate chairperson.
6. At the high schools, initial evaluations will be completed in-house. Responsibilities for maintaining timelines will rest with the school psychologist.
   
   
   

1. FORMAL SPECIAL EDUCATION EVALUATION PROCESS

1. The process for determining eligibility should be completed as soon as possible and must be completed within sixty-five (65) administrative working days of the referral for a special education evaluation.
2. The child is assessed in all areas of suspected disability.
3. In conducting the evaluation, the school will use a variety of assessment tools and strategies to gather relevant functional, developmental and academic information, including information provided by the parent that may assist in determining whether the child is a child with a disability. As part of the evaluation process, Albemarle County Schools will gather academic information about the student and not use any single measure or assessment as the sole criterion for determining whether the student is a child with a disability.
4. The school shall ensure:

1. The sixty-five (65) day time line is not exceeded and that school-based components (i.e., educational, speech and language and medical) are completed if they have been requested.
2. All parental contacts are carefully documented on the Parent Contact Form (No. 20.01).
3. Evaluation reports shall be available to the parent or parents no later than two business days before the meeting to determine eligibility. The report should be filed in the student's educational file at the student's serving school, unless some other arrangement has been made.
4. If the parent did not take the opportunity to get their copy of the reports prior to the eligibility meeting, a written copy of the evaluation report shall be provided to the parent or parents at the time of the meeting.
5. Appropriate Medicaid procedures are followed.
6. All correspondence and notification is copied and placed in the student's record.
7. Evaluations will be done in the language and form most likely to yield accurate information on what the student knows and can do academically, developmentally, and functionally, unless it is not feasible to provide or administer.

E. The following evaluation components may be completed for eligibility determination:

1. Educational:
   Written report by qualified special education teacher describing current educational performance and identifying precise instructional strengths and weaknesses in academic skills and language performance. Any classroom observations and / or reports from student's classroom teachers should be included in the report. (Form No. 40.02, 40.03, 40.04, 40.05)
   
   
2. Psychological:
   Written report from certified psychologist based on the use of a battery of appropriate instruments which may include individual intelligence test(s), psycho-educational tests, and personality assessment. (Form No. 40.01)
   
   MEDICAID: A Psychologist Diagnostic Clinical Interview (Form No. 00.05) must be completed prior to the psychological evaluation (Form No. 00.06) or records review (Form No. 00.07) that may be a part of the initial evaluation.
   
   
3. Social/Cultural: Written report from qualified family specialist which describes family history structure and dynamics; developmental and health history; and social/adaptive behavior in the home, school, and community. The information is obtained through interviews with parents or primary caretakers in addition to use of other social appraisal methods. (Form No. 40.06)
   
   
4. Speech/Language/Hearing:
   Screened by qualified pathologist. Written report is completed concerning hearing, articulation, language fluency, and voice functioning. (Form No. 40.07)
   
   All requests for outside hearing Acuity, Auditory Processing or Voice/Laryngeal Function required prior to voice therapy should be forwarded to the Special Education Coordinator who serves your school at the County Office Building (Form 30.07).
   
   The Speech and Language Pathologist completes the Speech and Language Evaluation Report which includes information from the Educational Reports for Speech and Language (Form 40.11). For pre-school children, the special needs preschool teacher completes educational screening.
   
   NOTE: ALL INITIAL EVALUATIONS MUST HAVE A HEARING SCREENING COMPLETED DURING THE INITIAL EVALUATION PERIOD.
   
   
5. Medical:
   Written report from licensed physician indicating general medical history and any medical/health problems that may impede learning (Form No. 40.12, 40.13).
   
   
6. Hearing Screening:
   The hearing of each student suspected of having a disability shall be screened during the eligibility process prior to initial determination of eligibility for special education.
   
   
7. Other:
   Specialty evaluations such as motor, vision, etc. as necessary and appropriate.
   
   (NOTE: Parental refusal of the completion of a medical evaluation due to religious conviction shall be submitted in writing to the Director of Special Education/Student Services. This document shall be signed and notarized by the parents. Once the Director of Special Education/Student Services has granted a wavier, the school shall then proceed accordingly with determination of eligibility.
6. Evaluation reports shall be available to the parent or parents two business days before the meeting to determine eligibility. The report should be filed in the student's educational file at the student's base school, unless some other arrangement has been made with the parents. In addition, written reports need to be available at the eligibility meeting with a copy for the parent (if not picked up earlier).
   
   
7. At any time during the evaluative process the parents, guardians, or surrogate may request termination of the evaluation. If the parent request is not done in writing, the principal shall convene the IEP Team and document this information in writing.
   
   
8. Special Rule for Eligibility Determination:
   In making a determination of eligibility, a student shall not be determined to be a child with a disability if the determinant factor for such determination is lack of appropriate instruction in reading, including the essential components of reading instruction, lack of instruction in math, or limited English proficiency. The essential components of reading instruction include phonemic awareness; phonics; vocabulary development; reading fluency, including oral reading skills; and reading comprehension strategies.

 

EXCEPTION TO TIMELINES

Timelines do not apply if:

• A student enrolls in an Albemarle County Public School after a timeline has begun for an evaluation and before a determination for eligibility for special education and related services has been made by the child's previous school system. In addition, the timelines would not apply if the Albemarle School is making sufficient progress to ensure the prompt completion of the evaluation and the Albemarle School and parent agree to a specific time when the evaluation will be completed.
• The parent of the child repeatedly fails or refuses to produce the child for the evaluation.

Back to Top