D.C. Mun. Regs. tit. 5, r. 5-A3006

Current through Register Vol. 71, No. 49, December 6, 2024

Rule 5-A3006 - EVALUATION PROCEDURES

3006.1

To conduct an evaluation, the LEA shall:

(a) Draw upon information from a variety of sources, including aptitude and achievement tests, parent input, teacher recommendations, physical condition, social or cultural background, and adaptive behavior; and

(b) Document information used as a basis of the decision.

3006.2

As part of an initial evaluation, if appropriate, and as part of any reevaluation, the IEP team and other qualified professionals, as appropriate, shall:

(a) Review existing evaluation data on the child, including:

(1) Evaluations and information provided by the parents of the child;

(2) Current classroom-based assessments and observations; and

(3) Observations by teachers and related service providers;

(b) Review, for children under the age of six (6):

(1) Relevant information provided by any agency, medical professional, service provider, child care provider, early childhood program, or relative who may have relevant information regarding the child; and

(2) IDEA Part C assessments and other related data; and

(c) On the basis of that review, and input from the child's parent, identify what additional data, if any, are needed to determine:

(1) Whether the child has a particular category of disability under this chapter or, in the case of a reevaluation of a child, whether the child continues to have such a disability;

(2) The present levels of performance and educational needs of the child;

(3) Whether the child needs special education and related services, or in the case of a reevaluation of a child, whether the child continues to need special education and related services; and

(4) Whether any additions or modifications to the special education and related services are needed to enable the child to meet the measurable annual goals set out in the IEP of the child and to participate, as appropriate, in the general education curriculum.

3006.3

Parental consent is not required for the IEP team to review existing data as part of a reevaluation.

3006.4

Qualified evaluators, under the direction of the LEA, shall administer assessment procedures as may be needed to produce the data required to make the determinations described in Section 3006.2.

3006.5

If the determination under Section 3006.2 is that no additional data are needed to determine whether the child is a child with a disability or continues to be a child with a disability, the IEP team shall notify the child's parents of that determination and the reasons for it, and of the right of the parents to request an assessment to determine whether, for purposes of services under this chapter, the child is or continues to be a child with a disability. The IEP team is not required to conduct assessments under Section 3006.2 unless the IEP team determines that an assessment is necessary or is requested to do so by the child's parents.

3006.6

The LEA shall ensure that assessment materials and procedures used to evaluate a child's need for special education and related services are:

(a) Selected and administered in a manner that is not racially or culturally discriminatory;

(b) Used for the purposes for which the assessments or measures are valid and reliable;

(c) Administered by trained and knowledgeable personnel in accordance with any instructions provided by the developer of the assessments; and

(d) Provided and administered in the child's native language or other mode of communication and in the form most likely to yield accurate information on what the child knows and can do academically, developmentally, and functionally, unless it is clearly not feasible to do so.

3006.7

The LEA shall ensure that:

(a) A variety of assessment tools and strategies are used to gather relevant functional, developmental, and academic information about the child, including information provided by the parent that may assist in determining:

(1) Whether the child is a child with a disability under this chapter; and

(2) The content of the child's IEP, including information related to enabling the child to be involved and progress in the general education curriculum;

(b) Tests and other evaluation materials include those tailored to assess specific areas of educational need and not merely those that are designed to provide a single general intelligence quotient;

(c) Tests are selected and administered to ensure that, if the child has impaired sensory, manual or speaking skills, the test results accurately reflect the child's aptitude or achievement level or whatever other factors the test purports to measure, rather than reflect impaired sensory, manual or speaking skills (unless those skills are the factors that the test purports to measure);

(d) Each assessment report includes the following:

(1) The date of assessment and the date of the report;

(2) A description of the child's performance in each area assessed, including specific strengths and weaknesses;

(3) Information relevant to determinations under Section 3006.2;

(4) Instructional implications for the child's participation in the general curriculum;

(5) If an assessment is not conducted under standard conditions, a description of the extent to which it varied from standard conditions (e.g., the qualifications of the person administering the test, or the method of test administration); and

(6) The signature and title of the qualified examiner(s) who administered the assessment procedure and who wrote the report;

(e) No single assessment or source of data or information is used as the sole criterion for determining whether a child is a child with a disability and for determining an appropriate educational program for the child;

(f) The child is assessed in all areas related to the suspected disability, including, if appropriate:

(1) Academic performance;

(2) Health;

(3) Vision;

(4) Hearing;

(5) Social and emotional needs;

(6) General intelligence (including cognitive ability and adaptive behavior);

(7) Communication needs; and

(8) Motor abilities;

(g) In evaluating each child with a disability, the evaluation is sufficiently comprehensive to identify all of the child's special education and service needs, whether or not commonly linked to the disability category in which the child has been classified;

(h) The IEP team uses technically sound instruments that may assess the relative contribution of cognitive and behavioral factors, in addition to physical or developmental factors; and

(i) The IEP team uses assessment tools and strategies that provide information that directly assists persons in determining the educational needs of the child.

3006.8

If the group of persons described in Section 3006.2 determines that medical services or a medical evaluation provided by a licensed physician are necessary as part of the evaluation to determine if the child is or continues to be a child with a disability or to determine the educational needs of the child, the LEA shall arrange for such services, which shall be free of charge to the parents and not contingent upon health insurance coverage.

3006.9

The LEA shall ensure that materials and procedures used to assess a child with limited English proficiency are selected and administered to ensure that they measure the extent to which the child has a disability and needs special education, rather than measuring the child's English language skills.

3006.10

If the child is suspected of having a specific learning disability, evaluation procedures shall also include the following:

(a) The LEA shall ensure that the child is observed in the child's learning environment, including the regular classroom setting, to document the child's academic performance and behavior in the areas of difficulty;

(b) The group described in Section 3006.2, in determining whether a child has a specific learning disability, shall:

(1) Use information from an observation in routine classroom instruction in monitoring of the child's performance that was done before the child was referred for an evaluation; or

(2) Have at least one (1) member of the group conduct an observation of the child's academic performance in the regular classroom after the child has been referred for an evaluation and parental consent is obtained; and

(c) In the case of a child less than school age or out of school, a group member shall observe the child in an environment appropriate for a child of that age.

3006.11

Upon completion of the evaluation, the group described in Section 3006.2 of this chapter shall:

(a) Develop a comprehensive written evaluation (or reevaluation) report that includes:

(1) Information provided by the parent(s);

(2) Results of assessment procedures considered and used as a basis for making an eligibility determination;

(3) Results of analysis of existing data if conducted, which shall include local, State and classroom based assessments, as well as classroom observations;

(4) A statement that attests to whether the assessment procedures were valid for the purposes intended and for the child, reliable, and administered by a trained professional while following its developer's instructions;

(5) A statement as to whether the child is a child with a disability;

(6) A statement as to whether the child needs special education and related services;

(7) A statement as to whether the child has been evaluated in all areas of suspected disabilities; and

(8) The signatures of team members participating in the determinations.; and

(b) Provide a copy of the evaluation report, and any underlying assessments, at no cost to the parent, no later than five (5) business days before the eligibility meeting, unless the parent agrees to a meeting date within five (5) business days.

3006.12

If the child was suspected of having a specific learning disability, the evaluation report shall also contain:

(a) A statement of whether the child has a specific learning disability;

(b) The basis for making the determination, including an assurance that the determination was made in accordance with 34 C.F.R. § 300.306(c)(1);

(c) A statement of the relevant behaviors, if any, noted during the observation of the child and the relationship of the behaviors to the child's academic functioning;

(d) A statement containing any educationally relevant medical findings, if any;

(e) A statement of whether the child does not achieve adequately for the child's age or to meet State-approved grade-level standards; and

(1) Whether the child does not make sufficient progress to meet age or State-approved grade level standards; or

(2) Whether the child exhibits a pattern of strengths and weaknesses in performance, achievement, or both, relative to age, State-approved grade-level standards, or intellectual development consistent with 34 C.F.R. § 300.309(a)(2)(ii).

(f) The determination of the IEP team concerning the effects of the following on the child's achievement level:

(1) Visual disability;

(2) Hearing disability;

(3) Motor disability;

(4) Intellectual disability;

(5) Emotional disability;

(6) Cultural factors;

(7) Environmental or economic disadvantage; or

(8) Limited English proficiency;

(g) A statement of whether the child has participated in a process that assesses the child's response to scientific, research-based intervention, and if so, includes:

(1) The instructional strategies used and the studentcentered data collected; and

(2) The documentation that the LEA notified the child's parents regarding:

(i) The amount and nature of student performance data that would be collected and the general education services that would be provided;

(ii) Strategies for increasing the child's rate of learning; and

(iii) The parents' right to request an evaluation at any point during the intervention process; and

(h) A written certification of each IEP team member as to whether the written report reflects the member's conclusions. If the written report does not reflect a member's conclusion, the team member shall submit a separate statement presenting the team member's conclusion. This separate statement shall be included as part of the evaluation report.

3006.13

The screening of the child by a teacher, or school-based specialist to determine appropriate instructional strategies for curriculum implementation shall not be considered to be an evaluation for eligibility for special education and related services.

3006.14

Screenings that are administered to all children shall not be considered to be evaluations for eligibility for special education and related services, and therefore do not require prior parental consent unless consent is required from the parents of all children.

D.C. Mun. Regs. tit. 5, r. 5-A3006

Final Rulemaking published at 69 DCR 5902 7/1/2022