When there is reason to suspect that a student has a disability and is in need of special education and related services, a referral should be made to the local screening committee. Referrals can be made in written, electronic or oral form by parents or staff, the Virginia Department of Education, any other state agency or other individuals regarding children who are residents of the locality or who attend a private school within Fairfax County. Each FCPS school should have a designated staff member responsible for receiving referrals to the local screening committee. All referrals should be forwarded to this designated person. If a parent makes a referral to a teacher, the parent should be directed to the designated staff member to make the referral. Referrals should be made through the use of the Multi-Purpose Referral (SS/SE-5) form. If the parent(s) makes a referral orally, they may be asked to complete the Multi- Purpose Referral form or the Multi-Purpose Referral form may be completed by appropriate school staff members. Whether received orally, electronically or in writing, the date the referral is received by the school’s designated staff member must be noted on the Multi-Purpose Referral form, as this date begins mandated timelines.

Page two of the Multi-Purpose Referral (SS/SE-5A) form must be completed by the student's classroom teacher or other appropriate school staff members, prior to the local screening committee meeting.

The local screening committee must meet within 10 days of receipt of the referral. Parents must be provided Notice of Local Screening Committee Meeting (SS/SE-83) early enough to ensure that they will have an opportunity to participate and in the parents’ native language or primary mode of communication, unless it is clearly not feasible to do so.   Should the parents be unavailable to attend within the 10 day timeline, the local screening committee must convene, make a determination regarding evaluation for special education, and provide parents documentation of the decision.

The local screening committee shall review the records and all performance evidence of the student being referred in order to make recommendations to meet the student’s educational and behavioral need and determine if there is sufficient evidence to suspect a disability. Information reviewed shall include, but is not limited to, all individual and group standardized assessments, including evaluations provided by the parent completed privately; standards of learning test scores; school enrollment history; attendance records; student work samples; teacher observational information; and information related to the student’s response to interventions. Information reviewed by the committee is documented in writing on the Local Screening Committee Report (SS/SE-14) form. Options considered, and the reason(s) for proposal or rejection, and other factors relevant to the committee decision, are also documented on the Local Screening Committee Report (SS/SE-14) form.

Once the local screening committee has reviewed all available information and documented their considerations, proposals, and rejections, a determination regarding the need for special education evaluation is notated and a rationale for this determination provided. If the committee determines there is sufficient evidence to warrant an evaluation for special education, the committee must identify the evaluation components to be administered that will enable FCPS to gather relevant functional, developmental, or academic information about the student so the eligibility team will be able to determine if the student is a student with a disability in need of special education and related services. The evaluation process must be sufficiently comprehensive to enable FCPS to determine if the student is eligible, the student’s special education and related services needs, as well as educational needs. Required assessments are indicated on the Notice and Consent for Evaluation (SS/SE-2) form. The Prior Notice of Evaluation Determination section on the Local Screening Committee Report (SS/SE-14) form should be reviewed with the parent and initials obtained, prior to requesting parent consent for the evaluation.

If the local screening committee determines there is not sufficient evidence to warrant an evaluation, the parents are provided Notice Not To Evaluate (SS/SE-13). The committee shall document what further actions are being pursued in response to the referral, with a plan noted for follow-up. The Prior Notice  of  Evaluation Determination section on the Local Screening Committee Report (SS/SE-14) form should be reviewed with the parent, initials obtained, and all questions answered regarding the decision to not evaluate.

While the Local Screening Committee Report (SS/SE-14) form contains all components of a properly comprised prior written notice, parents who request prior written notice regarding the evaluation determination shall be provided the Prior Written Notice (SS/SE-141) form within a reasonable period of time.

Evaluations must be conducted by qualified professionals and may include, as appropriate, formal and informal measures of the student’s ability; academic achievement; personal adjustment; information from the parent; and/or conferencing with the student.

The professionals completing the assessments must ensure that:

• The evaluation is sufficiently comprehensive to identify all of the student’s special education and related service needs, whether or not commonly linked to the disability category in which the student is suspected or has been classified.
• Each student is assessed in all areas related to the suspected disability, including, where appropriate, health, vision, hearing, social and emotional status, general intelligence, academic  performance,  communicative  status, motor abilities, and adaptive behavior.   These may include, but are not limited to, educational,     medical,      sociocultural,     psychological,     or      developmental assessments.
• The hearing of each student suspected of having a disability shall be screened during the evaluation process prior to initial determination of eligibility for special education and related services;
• A complete audiological assessment, including tests that will assess inner and middle ear functioning, shall be performed on each student who is hearing impaired or deaf, or who fails two hearing screening tests.
• The administration of assessments and other evaluation materials is conducted by trained and knowledgeable personnel in accordance with the instructions provided by the producer of the assessments.
• Materials and procedures used to assess a student with limited English proficiency are selected and administered to ensure that they measure the extent to which the student has a disability and needs special education, rather than measuring the student’s English language skills. Reports must indicate if the assessment was administered in a language other than English or if an interpreter was used.
• A variety of assessment tools and strategies are used to gather relevant functional, developmental and academic information about the student, including information provided by the parents, and information related to enabling the student to be involved in and progress in the general curriculum or for a preschool student, to participate in appropriate activities, that may assist in determining whether the student is a child with a disability and the content of the student’s IEP.
• That no single measure or assessment is used as the sole criterion for determining whether the student is a child with a disability and for determining an appropriate educational program for the student.
• Ensure that assessment  tools and  strategies are used  that provide relevant information that directly assists persons in determining the educational needs of the student.
• Ensure that assessments or evaluation materials that are used to assess the student:
  • Are selected and administered so as to be neither culturally nor racially discriminatory;
  • Are provided and administered in language and form most likely to yield accurate information on what the student knows and can do academically, developmentally, and functionally, unless it is clearly not feasible to do so;
  • Are used for the purposes for which the assessments or measures are valid and reliable;
  • Are administered by trained and knowledgeable personnel in accordance with the instructions provided by the producer of the test;
  • Include those tailored to assess specific areas of educational need and not merely those that are designed to provide a single general intelligence quotient.
  • Are selected and administered so as to best ensure that if an assessment is administered to a student with impaired sensory, motor, or communication   skill, the assessment results accurately reflect the student’s aptitude or achievement level or whatever other factors the test purports to measure rather than reflecting the student’s impaired sensory, motor, or communication skills (except where those skills are the factors that the test purports to measure).
  • Are technically sound instruments that may assess the relative contribution of cognitive and behavioral factors, in addition to physical or developmental factors.
• If an assessment is not conducted under standard conditions, a description of the extent to which it varied from standard conditions must be included in the evaluation report.
• Any non-standardized test, administered by a qualified professional, may be used to assist in determining whether the student has a disability and in determining the contents of the student’s IEP.
• If the evaluation requires more than one component, the components shall be completed by a multidisciplinary team, including at least one teacher or other specialist with knowledge in the area of suspected disability.
• For a student suspected of having  a learning disability,  the evaluation shall include an observation of academic performance in the general education classroom by at least one team member other than the student’s general education teacher. In the case of a student of less than school age or out of school, a team member shall observe the student in an environment appropriate for a student of that age.
• The administration of assessments must be coordinated between school divisions if a student transfers from one division to another in the same school year, and completed as expeditiously as possible.
• The student will not be required to obtain a prescription for a substance covered by the Controlled Substances Act as a condition of attending school, receiving an evaluation, or receiving services.
• For a student suspected of having a specific learning disability, the multidisciplinary team shall include:
  • The student’s general education teacher or, if the student does not have a general education teacher, a classroom teacher qualified to teach a student of that age, or if a child is below school age, a person qualified to teach that age; and
  • At least one person qualified to conduct individual diagnostic examinations of students, such as a specific learning disabilities teacher, school psychologist, speech and language clinician, or remedial reading teacher.

Following completion of individual assessments and prior to the eligibility meeting, the parent must be invited to a conference for the purpose of interpreting and discussing the assessment results. At this time, the parent should be informed of the remaining steps in the process of eligibility determination. If the referral source is someone other than the parent, this person should be notified of the evaluators’ findings, if appropriate.

Upon completion of the administration of assessments and other evaluation materials, the eligibility committee determines whether the student is a student with a disability and in need of special education and related services, as well as the education needs of the student.

• Draw upon information from a variety of sources, including aptitude and achievement tests, parental input and teacher recommendations, as well as information about the student’s physical condition, social or cultural background, and adaptive behavior.
• Ensure that information obtained from all sources is documented and carefully considered.
• Ensure that the eligibility group considers data which demonstrates that prior to, or as part of the referral process, the student was provided appropriate high- quality, research-based instruction in general education settings, including that the instruction was delivered by qualified personnel. There shall be data-based documentation that repeated assessments of achievement at reasonable intervals, reflecting that formal assessment of student progress during instruction was provided to the student’s parents.
• Ensure that the student was observed in the student’s learning environment (including the general education classroom setting) to document the student’s academic performance and behavior in the area(s) of difficulty. The eligibility committee can:
  • Use information from an observation of routine classroom instruction and monitoring of the student’s performance that was done before the student was referred for an evaluation.
  • Consider information from an observation completed by a member of the eligibility committee as part of the evaluation for special education eligibility.
  • In the case of a student of less than school age or out of school, consider information provided by an observation conducted by an eligibility committee member in an environment appropriate for a student of that age.
• Ensure that there is enough information to determine the student’s present levels of academic achievement, and related developmental needs.
• Ensure that the determination that the student has a disability is not made due to: o Lack of appropriate instruction in reading, including phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary development, reading fluency, oral reading skills, and reading comprehension strategies.
• Lack of appropriate instruction in math; or
• Limited English proficiency.

In order to find a student eligible for special education services, the committee must determine that the student is a student with a disability who requires special education and related services. The eligibility determination is made by consensus of the eligibility committee. FCPS uses the criteria adopted by the Virginia Department of Education for the following areas of eligibility in determining whether the student has a disability.

• Autism
• Deaf-Blindness
• Deafness
• Developmental Delay ²
• Emotional Disability
• Hearing Impairment
• Intellectual Disability
• Multiple Disabilities
• Orthopedic Impairment
• Other Health Impairment
• Specific Learning Disability
• Speech or Language Impairment
• Traumatic Brain Injury
• Visual Impairment

The Special Education Eligibility (SS/SE-10) form and the appropriate Basis for Committee Decision form(s) must be completed by the chairperson or designee during the eligibility meeting. Eligibility committee members indicate by signature their participation in the review and discussion. If consensus is not reached by all committee members, and the report does not reflect a particular member’s conclusion, that FCPS committee member must write a separate statement presenting his or her conclusion. If the report does not reflect the parent’s conclusion, the parent may write a separate statement presenting his or her conclusion.

The eligibility decision must be made after determining which needs of the student cannot be met in general education. Specific recommendations for placement, program development, or related services are the function of the IEP team and should not be discussed as part of the eligibility determination.

A copy of the eligibility determination paperwork must be provided to the parent at the conclusion of the meeting. This documentation shall include:

• Completed Basis for Committee Decision forms indicating whether criteria were met or not met for specific eligibility categories; relevant behavior, if any, noted during the observation of the student and the relationship of that behavior to the student’s academic functioning; any educationally relevant medical findings.
• Statement of eligibility indicating whether the student has a specific disability and that there is documented evidence that, by reason of the disability, the child requires special education and related services.
• Summary of evaluation information reviewed and considered in order to make the eligibility determination and a copy of reports completed by the evaluators.
• Completed Parent Notice of Eligibility Determination (SS/SE-107).

If the parent did not attend the meeting and disagrees with the decision, an offer must be made to reconvene the eligibility committee with the parent present to reconsider the eligibility determination. If the parent was not provided a copy of the assessment reports prior to or at the eligibility meeting, the reports must be sent to the parent with the notification of the eligibility determination no later than 10 days after the meeting.

² Fairfax County Public Schools recognizes the category of developmental delay for the identification of children with disabilities for special education services for children age two, by September 30, through six inclusive.

If a parent refuses to consent to an initial eligibility determination, school staff members should attempt to resolve parental withholding of consent through informal means or may proceed with an administrative review and/or mediation to effect the proposed action. Additionally, Prior Written Notice (SS/SE-141) must be provided to the parent if the parent is in disagreement with or refuses consent for the initial eligibility determination.

Information from the initial eligibility meeting shall be forwarded to the IEP team, including the parent. Within 30 calendar days of the eligibility determination, an IEP must be developed for the student, with implementation to occur as soon as possible following parental consent to the IEP. The Virginia Regulations do not permit exceptions to this timeline. Decisions regarding the need for related services shall be made by the IEP team. If the parent is not available to attend an IEP meeting within the required timeline, school staff members must proceed with an IEP meeting and must develop and propose an IEP using FCPS’ current operating procedures.

For students who are not currently enrolled in FCPS, if the student is found eligible for special education, school staff members should discuss service options available to the student. For Fairfax County residents, an IEP can be developed and a proposal made of services and placement required in order for the student to receive a free appropriate public education (FAPE) should the student enroll in FCPS. If the parents elect to maintain enrollment of their child in a private school within Fairfax County, an individual service plan (ISP) may be appropriate. The ISP option would be appropriate if the student required the related service of speech and language, occupational therapy, vision, and/or physical therapy on the proposed IEP.

Nonresident students who are placed by their parents in private schools within Fairfax County and whose parents do not intend to enroll them in a public school setting in their local jurisdiction, may be offered an ISP if appropriate. The ISP option would be appropriate if the student required the related service of speech/language, occupational therapy, vision, and/or physical therapy on the proposed IEP.

The IEP reevaluation committee is comprised of the parent, or student if 18 years of age or older, and a team of professionals consistent with an IEP team, to include:

• At least one special education teacher or, where appropriate, at least one special education provider of the student;
• At least one general education teacher of the student, if the student is or is expected to, participate in the general education environment;
• A representative of the local education agency who is qualified to provide or supervise the provision of specially designed instruction to meet the unique needs of students with disabilities; is knowledgeable about the general curriculum; and is knowledgeable about the availability of resources of the local education agency;
• Other individuals who have knowledge or special expertise regarding the student, including related services personnel, as appropriate. This may include a representative of a private school if the student is currently attending one.

Parents must be notified of the IEP reevaluation committee meeting early enough to ensure they have an opportunity to participate. Every effort must be made to ensure that one or both parents are present at the meeting. If neither parent can attend, other methods to ensure parent participation should be used, including individual or conference telephone calls. A record must be kept of each parent contact. These contacts may include detailed records of telephone calls made or attempted and the results of those calls; detailed records of visits made to the parent's home; or copies of correspondence sent to and received from the parent.

The IEP reevaluation committee convenes to review existing evaluation data available for the student and the reasons for the reevaluation request. Existing evaluation data may include, but is not limited to, previous evaluation data, current teacher narrative(s), current service provider progress reports and/or observations (to include progress toward meeting IEP goals), current classroom based assessments and work samples, private evaluation reports provided by the parents, and any other relevant information. In addition, all information provided by the parent, orally or in writing, must be considered.

On the basis of the review and input from the student’s parents, the student’s IEP reevaluation committee determines what, if any, additional assessments are needed in order to determine.

• If the student continues to be a student with a disability.
• Present educational needs of the student.
• Present level of academic achievement and related developmental needs.
• Whether the student needs special education and related services, and.
• Whether any additions or modifications to the special education and related services are needed to enable the student to meet the goals set out in the IEP of the student and to participate, as appropriate, in the general education curriculum.

If the IEP reevaluation committee determines that no additional data is required to determine eligibility then the review of existing data is considered the evaluation. Prior written notice must be provided to the parents of the determination that no additional data is required. When a decision is made that no additional data is required, the committee can proceed with making an eligibility determination as outlined below. The parent has  the  right  to request  assessments  about  their child’s  educational  needs and/or to request assessments to determine whether their child continues to be a child with a disability and in need of special education and related services. However, FCPS is not required to evaluate a student solely because the student is graduating with a standard or advanced diploma, even through this will be considered a change in placement. Prior Written Notice (SS/SE-141) shall be provided to parents informing them that upon graduation the student will no longer be eligible for special education and related services.

If additional evaluation data is required to determine continued eligibility, the IEP reevaluation committee determines what evaluation components are needed.  The school psychologist should be included as a member of the IEP reevaluation committee when assessments are being considered to determine a change in or an additional area of disability and when assessments are being considered to determine whether the student continues to be a student with a disability and in need of special education and related services. However, should the parent request assessments during a reevaluation meeting in which the school psychologist is not present; the reevaluation committee does not need to reconvene. The reevaluation committee should consider the parent’s request at the time it is made.

After the assessments are completed and prior to the eligibility meeting, the parent must be invited to a conference to discuss the results of the assessments. At this time, the parent should be informed of the remaining steps in the reevaluation process. Parents must be notified of the eligibility meeting early enough to ensure that they have an opportunity to participate. The parent must be provided Notice of Eligibility Meeting (SS/SE-142). If parents are unable to attend and request that the eligibility meeting be postponed, any postponement must not extend the meeting date beyond the 65 business day timeline or beyond the triennial due date, whichever comes first.

The eligibility committee is composed of the parent, or student if 18 years of age or older, and a team of qualified professionals consistent with the make-up of the IEP team membership, one of whom shall have either assessed or observed the student.  The eligibility committee will determine whether the student is a child with a disability and requires special education and related services.

The team of qualified professionals includes:

• Principal or designee
• School psychologist
• Staff  members  representing  the  disciplines  providing  assessments  (at least one must have assessed or observed the student)
• General education teacher of the student
• Special education teacher

On occasion, other FCPS staff members may participate in the eligibility determination. These staff members should be knowledgeable regarding evaluation and special education eligibility issues. The parent(s) may also invite individuals who have knowledge or special expertise regarding their child to participate in the eligibility meeting. The determination of the knowledge or special expertise is made by the party who invited the individual.

Continued eligibility for special education must be determined within 65 business days of the date the reevaluation request was received and no later than the triennial due date.

Upon completion of the administration of requested assessments and other evaluation materials, the eligibility committee determines whether the student is a child with a disability and in need of special education and related services, and the education needs of the student.

In interpreting evaluation data and making an eligibility determination, the committee shall:

• Draw upon information from a variety of sources, including aptitude and achievement tests, parental input, and teacher recommendations, as well as information about the student’s physical condition, social or cultural background, and adaptive behavior;
• Ensure that information obtained from all sources is documented and carefully considered;
• Ensure that the student was observed in the student’s learning environment (including the general education classroom setting) to document the student’s academic performance and behavior in the area(s) of difficulty. The eligibility committee can:
  • Use information from an observation in routine classroom instruction and monitoring of the student’s performance that was done before the student was referred for an evaluation;
  • Consider information from an observation completed by a member of the eligibility committee as part of the evaluation for special education eligibility;
  • In the case of a student of less than school age or out of school, consider information provided by an observation conducted by an eligibility committee member in an environment appropriate for a student of that age.
• Ensure that there is enough information to determine the student’s present levels of academic achievement, and related developmental needs.

The Special Education Eligibility (SS/SE-10) form and the appropriate Basis for Committee Decision form(s) must be completed by the case manager, eligibility chairperson or designee during the eligibility meeting. Eligibility committee members indicate by signature their participation in the review and discussion. If consensus is not reached by all committee members, and the report does not reflect a particular member’s conclusion, that FCPS committee member must write a separate statement presenting his or her conclusion. If the report does not reflect the parent’s conclusion, the parent may write a separate statement presenting his or her conclusion.

The eligibility decision must be made after determining which needs of the student cannot be met in general education. Specific recommendations for placement, program development, or related services are the function of the IEP team and should not be discussed as part of the eligibility determination.

A copy of the reevaluation eligibility determination paperwork must be provided to the parent at the conclusion of the meeting. This documentation shall include:

• A completed basis for committee decision forms indicating whether criteria were met or not met for specific eligibility categories; relevant behavior, if any, noted during the observation of the student and the relationship of that behavior to the student’s academic functioning; any educationally relevant medical findings.
• A statement of eligibility indicating whether the student has a specific disability and that there is documented evidence that, by reason of the disability, the student requires special education and related services.
• A summary of evaluation information reviewed and considered in order to make the eligibility determination and a copy of reports completed by the evaluators.
• A completed Parent Notice of Eligibility Determination (SS/SE-107).

If the parent did not attend the reevaluation eligibility meeting and disagrees with the decision, an offer must be made to reconvene the committee with the parent present to reconsider the eligibility determination. If the parent was not provided a copy of the assessment reports prior to or at the eligibility meeting, the reports must be sent to the parent with the notification of the eligibility determination.

When a school cannot identify or with reasonable efforts locate someone who qualifies as a “parent” in accordance with the Virginia Regulations, the school will contact the OSEPS Due Process and Eligibility section, who will confirm the need for a surrogate and appoint a surrogate within 30 calendar days for the student, if one is needed. Once appointed, notice will be provided, in writing, to the student, as appropriate to the disability, the appointed surrogate parent, and the person charged with the responsibility for the student, that the appointment has been made. The surrogate parent will be assigned to serve for the duration of the school year unless a shorter period of time is appropriate given the content of the child’s IEP. At the end of each school year, following a review, a determination will be made regarding whether the appointment of a surrogate parent will be renewed or not. Appointments may also be extended as needed, if the student requires the services of a surrogate during the summer months.

If the student is an unaccompanied homeless youth, the appropriate staff member with an emergency shelter, transition shelter, independent living program, or street outreach program may be appointed as a temporary surrogate even though the staff member is an employee of an agency that is involved in the education or care of the student. The temporary surrogate must meet the other qualifications for a surrogate parent, and may serve only until a surrogate parent meeting all of the qualifications for a surrogate parent can be assigned.

While every effort will be made to secure individuals willing to serve as surrogates from within the FCPS jurisdiction, individuals from outside the jurisdiction may be secured if necessary to ensure that someone qualified is available to represent the needs of the student in meetings pertaining to special education eligibility and services. In addition, others may be eligible once a need is identified, such as a student’s relative, depending on the student’s needs, and the availability of qualified persons familiar with the student and who would otherwise qualify.