Eligibility

 

I told my child’s teacher or school that I think my child may have a disability. What happens now?

When you let your child's teacher or school know that you think your child could have a disability, it is considered a "referral" for an "initial evaluation." This evaluation aims to determine if your child should receive special education services or related support. After the school receives the request for the evaluation, they will follow specific steps mentioned in the Referral section of this document.

 

Can someone else refer my child for a special education evaluation?

Yes. A variety of sources may provide a referral. Schools must locate, identify, and evaluate children needing special education and related services. This is also known as the “Child Find” obligation.

Referrals can be made by:

• Parents,

• DCPS staff, including school staff or central office staff with knowledge of the child.

• A student self-referral; and

• For children under the age of 6, pediatricians or other doctors, hospitals, or health providers; child development facilities including daycare or childcare centers and early childhood programs; District agencies and programs, including IDEA Part C programs; and community-based organizations.

 

Can the school evaluate my child for special education without my permission?

No. No matter who is the source of the referral – even if it is you as the parent – the school must obtain parental consent to evaluate a child for special education.

 

What should I look for in an eligibility report?

An eligibility report is a detailed written document on the student's testing results. When reviewing the eligibility determination report, read the document's conclusion. The document's summary helps you understand what will be discussed at the meeting. The report will also include assessment data and the resources available to support your child.

 

How is eligibility for special education services determined?

The IEP team, which you are part of as the parent/guardian, decides if your child can receive special education services. The team looks at things like current work, how students respond to help, reports from teachers and you, and tests that show how they're doing. The IEP Team also looks at student school history.

 

After gathering and reviewing all this info in a meeting, they use the Eligibility Determination Worksheet to decide if your child can get special education services.​

 

What assessments were used and why? How do I interpret the scores?

Assessments are either formal or informal. Each assessment looks at the area of concern mentioned in the referral and checks how well your student is doing. The provider or teacher explains the results of assessments.

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Formal assessments come with a rubric that decides your child's score. In the reports, the person who did the assessment (called the "assessor") will share this info and clearly say how your child did in each assessment. Depending on the assessment, this might include scores or explanations of how your child performed. The assessors will tell the team the range of these scores and how they compare to students without disabilities. The IEP team members explain how these scores and skills appear in the classroom. Suppose you need clarification on how these scores connect to your child's classroom performance. In that case, you can ask the assessor, the general education teacher, and the special education teacher for more info.

 

Were observations done? What were the results?

Classroom observations may be conducted as a part of the eligibility process. During the observations, the observer looks to see:

• What strategies, accommodations, and supports are already in the classroom

• The student’s response

• Any difficulties the student may be having

• Any strengths the student may be showing

The results of the evaluation can be included in the Analyzing Existing Data section or individual evaluation reports.

 

When should I receive the eligibility determination documents?

You should receive any evaluations of your child at least five school days before the eligibility meeting. This will allow you to participate in the discussion about your child’s potential eligibility for special education services.

 

What happens if my child is not eligible for special education services?

At an eligibility determination meeting, the team decides whether your child qualifies for special education services. In this meeting, the people on the IEP team can suggest different ways to help with the issue your child is having. If your child does not qualify for special education services, the school can still offer other ways to support them. This might include extra teaching, help from the community, tutoring, a special plan (called a 504 plan), or other things to make sure your child gets what they need.​

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IEPs

 

What does family engagement look like between IEP meetings?

 

Parents can talk to their child's teachers using email, phone, or meetings to know how their child is doing in school. They will also get reports on their child's progress and report cards. If there are any worries about the special education plan, grades, or goals, parents should talk to someone from the school's special education team. Parents can even set up a meeting to talk about the plan and the help their child is getting.

 

How can I support my child with their IEP goals outside of their classroom?

You can help your child with their IEP goals at home in various ways. You can talk to your child's teachers or service providers to get ideas for activities, strategies, or support that can help your child's learning beyond school. Here are some other ways you can assist your child:

• Have conversations with your child about their disability and how to speak up for their needs.

• Work on skills for speaking up and managing their own learning.

• Discuss your child's future goals openly and honestly.

• Let your child spend time with peers their age.

• Encourage your child to look for a part-time or summer job that matches their skills and interests.

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How do my child's teachers and related service providers work together?

Teachers and professionals meet often to talk about ways to help your child in class and to share how your child is doing, the changes made for them, and the adjustments to their learning between IEP meetings. This team includes special education teachers, general education teachers, and those who offer additional support. They work together to make sure your child gets the right kind of teaching that fits their needs, all while keeping them in the best possible learning environment. 

 

What should I do if I have concerns about my child's progress?

 Hearing that your child needs to do better or might be going backward on their IEP goals can be worrying. If this happens, reaching out to your child's special education teacher to talk about what can be done is a good idea. You can ask for a meeting so that the IEP team can gather and review your child's services, help, changes in how things are done, and adjustments. This is to make sure your child is getting the help they need to do well.

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What are the indicators that services need to be updated or changed?

Indicators can include:​

• Formal and informal assessment results indicating growth,

• Mastering skills,

• Generalizing skills into the classroom,

• Plateau of skills with the consistent intervention being provided over an extended period, and

• Limited or no progress observed.

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How is my child's progress measured?

Student progress is measured in multiple ways by teachers and related service providers. Student work samples, quizzes, tests, and formal and informal assessments are examples of how student progress is measured. For students aged 14 and above, secondary transition progress is measured by the student's level of independence.

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During every IEP meeting, there should be a discussion about the progress your child has made since the last IEP meeting. Your child’s annual goals will be updated based on their progress and proficiency in the previous year’s goals, as well as the current needs of your child. These goals provide the focus for the next year and ensure your child is being challenged academically.

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During the school year, you should also:

• Request data related to your child’s progress from your child’s teachers and related service providers. If you think something might be wrong or your child is having trouble in some way, you can ask the teacher to use classroom tests and assignments to measure how your child is progressing.

• Arrange a meeting with the guidance counselor or social worker to discuss your child's behavior plan. This helps make sure the plan is effective in supporting their behavior. If it's not working well, changes can be made to improve it whenever there's a problem or worry.

• Encourage your child to use a planner to make sure they finish and submit their assignments on time. The planner can also be a way for parents and teachers to communicate. This helps you find out if any assignments are missing and allows you to address any worries about specific tasks or parts of the curriculum.

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How is progress measured in high school students’ career-based learning experiences?

Transition programming focuses on figuring out how career-related learning experiences affect students' attitudes, skills, and confidence in professional settings. To do this, students are asked questions before and after the program to see how their feelings and abilities have changed. The aim is to see the differences and improvements that happen.

 

How does the IEP progress report relate to my child's report card?

IEP progress reports are documents written every three months, similar to report cards, to let you know how your child is doing in relation to their IEP goals. These goals are tied to specific standards, just like report cards, but they use a different way to track how well your child is doing over time.

 

For each IEP goal, the progress report will say whether:

 

• Your child has mastered the goal,

• Your child is progressing toward meeting the goal,

• Your child has made no progress toward the goal,

• Your child is regressing, 

• Or the goal has not yet been introduced.

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What if a child requires transportation?

Transportation is a service that could be needed. If the IEP team decides a student needs transportation for an appropriate public education (FAPE), the school's LEA Representative will request this service. They will put the request in a transportation system managed by the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE).

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Location of Services       

 

A location of services is the school building where a student with a disability can get the help they need according to their IEP. It's not the same as the IEP placement, which is the type of self-contained classroom or setting that is best for the student. The location of services should be close to the student's home and able to provide a FAPE. Sometimes, the location of services might change, but that doesn't mean the IEP placement has changed too.

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Sometimes, a student's IEP shows that they need a different kind of learning environment. A self-contained classroom is a place where students with disabilities get more support and supervision throughout the day. The IEP team, including the parent, can decide to change the student's placement to a self-contained classroom if it's the best option for them. This might also mean that the student will go to a new school that has this classroom.

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What if a family wants a different Location of Services?

DCPS helps students with disabilities learn near their home. The school they go to depends on where they live and what high school they will go to. If parents want a different school in their area, they should talk to the LEA representative at their school. If the family moves to a new place and wants their child to go to a nearby school with special classrooms, they need to sign up at the new neighborhood school first.

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What if a student receives a lottery match at a school through the My School DC Lottery?

The MySchool DC Lottery is a way to get a spot in a general education classroom for students who can learn with some help from their IEP. You can pick the school you want for your student with a disability if they can learn in this setting. But if your student needs a self-contained classroom to reach their IEP goals, you can't use the lottery to pick a school. Your student will go to a school that has the right classroom for them, and you will get a letter from DCPS that tells you where. This is because the MySchool DC lottery cannot override DCPS’ legal obligation to provide a FAPE to every student with a disability.

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When will families be notified about a Location of Services for the upcoming school year?

Location of Service (LOS) letters will be issued on a rolling basis between December through April of the previous school year. The table below provides a timeline on when families should expect to receive their students LOS letter based on grade-band transitions. 

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Can families tour the proposed school?

Yes! We encourage all families to tour their new school and take part in a transition meeting between their current school and the new school.

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Who should families speak to if they have questions about a child’s new school?

The location of service letter has the new school's contact information and a staff member point of contact to answer your questions. Families should feel free to reach out to the new school with any questions or to schedule a tour.

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