Once a student has been identified as a student with a potential disability, the District or Charter School will do an evaluation of the student to assess whether the child is a student with a disability.

Depending on the reason for the evaluation, an evaluation may be specific to a suspected disability, or comprehensive to evaluate all the student's potential needs. Specialists may be contracted to perform specialized evaluations or to supplement school staff.

At the conclusion of the evaluation, the District or Charter School will issue an Evaluation Report with its conclusions and recommendations.

See here for a discussion of the types of assessments commonly used in evaluations.

Once a child has been identified as a Student with a Disability, the Parents (and, for older students, the student) will be invited to an IEP (or 504) Meeting. Once a time is agreed upon, a meeting is convened to discuss the accommodations or SDIs that will be offered to the student.  The IEP Team or 504 Team typically includes:

• Parent(s)

• Student Services

• General education teacher(s)

• Special education case manager

• Service providers (i.e. OT, speech/language pathologist, etc.)

• representative from the School District

Parents have the right to bring an attorney or other professional to help advocate for appropriate accommodations for their child's disability. If appropriate, parents should engage an attorney or educational consultant as soon as possible after the parents are sent the Invitation to an IEP Meeting to ensure the advocacy team is given enough time to prepare for the meeting.

Once it is finalized, the IEP/504 Plan is sent to the student's parents for approval. 

The District will send the Parents, typically via email, a Notice of Recommended Educational Placement ("NOREP") that describes:

1. The proposed action being taken, including, for example, placement, refusal of a requested placement, change of identification, or related services;

2. A more detailed description of the proposed action; 

3. An explanation of the District's reasoning for the proposed action;

4. A description of the other options proposed and considered as relates to the student's programming and why they were rejected;

5. An description of the evaluations, assessments, records and/or reports used to support the recommended action;  

6. A description of any other factors supporting the recommendation; and

7. The level of support being proposed for the student.

The NOREP must be returned within ten (10) days of receipt. Parents who are unsure of whether to the proposed programming will be appropriate should consider consulting with their education attorney or consultant as soon as possible. 

Students with IEPs are entitled to regular data documenting progress made on the student's annual goals. Case managers are typically responsible for collecting and managing that data, in cooperation with Student Services, but classroom teachers can be asked for input on the student's progress. IEP progress data should be presented during requested interim or revision meetings, and at the student's annual IEP renewal meeting.

Students with 504s do not have measurable annual goals, but parents have the right to request data on assessments, teacher feedback and other indicators of whether their student has been able to access their education.