Office of Special Education
Frequently Asked Questions - Eligibilty

Frequently Asked Questions
Excerpted from National Information Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities (NICHCY)

Your Child's Eligibility
What does the school do with these evaluation results?
The information gathered from the evaluation will be used to make important decisions about your child's education. All of the information about your child will be used to:
· Decide if your child is eligible for special education and related services; and
· Help you and the school decide what your child needs educationally.

How is a decision made about my child's eligibility for special education?
As was said earlier, the decision about your child's eligibility for services is based on whether your son or daughter has a disability that fits into one of the IDEA's 13 disability categories (see page 2) and whether that disability affects how your child does in school. This decision will be made when the evaluation has been completed, and the results are in.
In the past, parents were not involved under IDEA in making the decision about their child's eligibility for special education and related services. Now, under the newest changes to IDEA (passed in 1997), parents are included in the group that decides a child's eligibility for special education services. This group will look at all of the information gathered during the evaluation and decide if your child meets the definition of a "child with a disability." (This definition will come from the IDEA and from the policies your state or district uses.) If so, your child will be eligible for special education and related services.
Under the IDEA, a child may not be found eligible for services if the determining reason for thinking the child is eligible is that:
· The child has limited English proficiency; or
· The child has a lack of instruction in math or reading.
If your child is found eligible, you and the school will work together to design an educational program for your child. This process is described in detail in Part III.
As parents, you have the right to receive a copy of the evaluation report on your child and the paperwork about your child's eligibility for special education and related services.
What happens if my child is not eligible for services?
If the group decides that your child is not eligible for special education services, the school system must tell you this in writing and explain why your child has been found "not eligible." Under the IDEA, you must also be given information about what you can do if you disagree with this decision.
Read the information the school system gives you. Make sure it includes information about how to challenge the school system's decision. If that information is not in the materials the school gives you, ask the school for it.

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