School Evaluations determine whether a child qualifies for Special Education.
Evaluations provide valuable insight into a child’s learning style, strengths, and challenges.
Understanding the components of an evaluation, and how to interpret evaluation results, is critical to educational planning, as it ensures parents can make informed decisions and effectively advocate for their child’s educational needs.
What Is a School Evaluation?
A school Evaluation is the first step in the eligibility process. It is not a “one size fits all” process, but rather its components are based on the individualized strengths and needs of the student.
An initial School Evaluation can be requested by a school district or by a parent/guardian. Once a student is found eligible, unless both the school district and parents agree otherwise, a School Evaluation must be completed at least once every (3) years.
What is Included in a School Evaluation?
School Evaluations can consist of multiple components, and are designed to gather necessary data to support both eligibility determinations and educational planning for a student.
When determining what additional data needs to be collected as part of a School Evaluation, the following categories or “Domains” are considered:
- Academic Achievement
- Functional Performance
- Cognitive Functioning
- Communication Status
- Health
- Hearing/Vision
- Motor Abilities
- Social/Emotional Status
Each evaluation component is designed to provide data that contributes to a broader understanding of how a student learns and what services and supports are necessary to meet a student’s unique educational needs.
How Do I Ensure a School Evaluation is Appropriate?
Ensuring that the assessments completed as part of a School Evaluation are tailored to a student’s individualized areas of need, is of critical importance.
If a School Evaluation does not appropriately assess all areas of suspected need, then it cannot gather appropriate information to support educational planning. If you have concerns or need guidance, consult an expert.
A Special Education Attorney can help you navigate this process.
What Happens After the Evaluation?
Once the evaluation is completed, an Eligibility Meeting is held to review the results of the School Evaluation and address eligibility for Special Education.
For this reason, understanding the results of your child’s evaluation and what those results mean for educational planning moving forward is of utmost importance. If you need support in understanding evaluation information, seek guidance from an expert, like a Special Education Attorney.
How Can Parents Prepare?
Parents can:
- Provide detailed information about their child’s development and learning experiences.
- Keep copies of past report cards, teacher notes, and any outside assessments.
- Ask for explanations of testing procedures and how results will impact educational planning.
- Consider seeking a second opinion if the findings do not align with their observations.
- Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Expert advice can make all the difference.
About Ancel Reiter LLC
Whether through Special Education Legal Representation or Child & Family Advocacy Services, our central goal is to empower parents and their children with the knowledge to find success at school, at home, and in the community. Our legal practice focuses on special education law and related issues in the greater Chicago area: Cook County, Lake County, DuPage County and throughout Illinois.
For more information, contact us today.