Section 388.410 - Eligibility of pupil with mental retardation1. A pupil with a mild intellectual disability is eligible for special education and related services if the eligibility team, comprised of the persons described in subsections 5 and 6, concludes that: (a) The pupil has a mild intellectual disability and, by reason thereof, needs special education and related services; (b) The measured cognitive abilities of the pupil, as determined by an acceptable individual standardized test, are at least two standard deviations below the mean score for that test; (c) The adaptive skills of the pupil, in comparison with those of members of the pupil's chronological peer group, indicate that the pupil is experiencing difficulty; and (d) The academic achievement of the pupil is generally consistent with the cognitive abilities and adaptive skills of the pupil. 2. A pupil with a moderate intellectual disability is eligible for special education and related services if the eligibility team concludes that: (a) The pupil has a moderate intellectual disability and, by reason thereof, needs special education and related services; (b) The measured cognitive abilities of the pupil, as determined by an acceptable individual standardized test, are at least three standard deviations below the mean score for that test; (c) The adaptive skills of the pupil, in comparison with those of members of the pupil's chronological peer group, indicate that the pupil has markedly lower capabilities; and (d) The academic achievement and speech and language development of the pupil is generally consistent with the cognitive abilities and adaptive skills of the pupil. 3. A pupil with a severe intellectual disability is eligible for special education and related services if the eligibility team concludes that: (a) The pupil has a severe intellectual disability and, by reason thereof, needs special education and related services; (b) The measured cognitive abilities of the pupil, as determined by an acceptable individual standardized test, are at least four standard deviations below the mean score for that test; (c) The adaptive skills of the pupil, in comparison with those of members of the pupil's chronological peer group, indicate that the pupil has extensively lower capabilities; and (d) The developmental functioning of the pupil is generally consistent with the cognitive abilities and adaptive skills of the pupil. 4. A pupil with a profound intellectual disability is eligible for special education and related services if the eligibility team concludes that: (a) The pupil has a profound intellectual disability and, by reason thereof, needs special education and related services; (b) The measured cognitive abilities of the pupil, as determined by an acceptable individual standardized test, are at least five standard deviations below the mean score for that test; (c) The adaptive skills of the pupil, in comparison with those of members of the pupil's chronological peer group, indicate that the pupil has extremely limited capabilities; and (d) The developmental functioning of the pupil is generally consistent with the cognitive abilities and adaptive skills of the pupil. 5. The eligibility team must consist of: (a) A school psychologist; (b) A special education teacher or specialist in the field of intellectual disabilities; (c) A speech and language specialist; (d) A parent of the pupil; and (e) If not otherwise a member of the team, one or more persons qualified, because of personal knowledge of the pupil, to interpret: (1) Assessments of the health and adaptive skills of the pupil; and (2) Information relating to the family of the pupil. The person or persons described in this paragraph may be one or more of the persons described in paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) and may, without limitation, be a school administrator, school nurse, school counselor, school psychologist or any other certificated or licensed professional.
6. If the requirements of subsection 5 are met, one or more of the following persons may serve on the eligibility team: (a) The principal of the school attended by the pupil; (b) A regular classroom teacher of the pupil or, if none, a person qualified to teach the pupil; (c) An occupational therapist; (d) A physical therapist; and (e) Any other specialist whose presence on the team is deemed appropriate. 7. The conclusions of the eligibility team concerning the eligibility of the pupil for the special education and related services referred to in this section must be based upon an evaluation of the pupil. The evaluation must include an assessment of: (a) The cognitive abilities of the pupil; (b) The adaptive skills of the pupil, including prevocational and vocational assessments if appropriate; (c) The health of the pupil, including a developmental history; (d) The academic achievement of the pupil; and (e) The performance of the pupil relating to speech and language.Nev. Admin. Code § 388.410
Added to NAC by Bd. of Education, eff. 7-14-88; A 11-23-93; R039-98, 5-29-98; R085-99, 2-16-2000; R064-08, 9-18-2008; A by R017-18A, eff. 1/30/2019NRS 385.080, 388.419 and 388.433