Questions Often Asked by Parents About Special Education Services

I think my child may need special help in school. What do I do?

Begin by finding out more about special services and programs for students in your school system. Also find out more about the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). This law gives eligible children with disabilities the right to receive special services and assistance in school. These services are known as special education and  related services. They can be important in helping your child at school.

To learn more about special education, keep reading. This Briefing Paper will also help you learn how you and the school can work together to help your child.

What is special education?

Special education is instruction that is specially designed to meet the unique needs of children who have disabilities. This is done at no cost to the parents. Special education can include special instruction in the classroom, at home, in hospitals or institutions, or in other settings.

Over 5 million children ages 6 through 21 receive special education and related services each year in the United  States. Each of these children receives instruction that is specially designed:

• to meet the child’s unique needs (that result from having a disability); and
• to help the child learn the information and skills that other children are learning.

This definition of special education comes from the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

Who is eligible for special education?

Certain children with disabilities are eligible for special education and related services. The IDEA provides a definition of a “child with a disability.” This law lists 13 different disability categories under which a child may be found eligible for special education and related services. These categories are listed in this below.

According to the IDEA, the disability must affect the child’s educational performance. The question of eligibility, then, comes down to a question of whether the child has a disability that fits in one of IDEA’s 13 categories and whether that disability affects how the child does in school. That is, the disability must cause the child to need special education and related services.

IDEA’s Categories of Disability

• Autism
• Deafness
• Deaf-blindness
• Hearing impairment
• Mental retardation
• Multiple disabilities
• Orthopedic impairment
• Other health impairment
• Serious emotional
• disturbance
• Specific learning disability
• Speech or language
  impairment
• Traumatic brain injury
• Visual impairment,
  including blindness

I. Your Child's Evaluation

How do I find out if my child is eligible for special education?

The first step is to find out if your child has a disability. To do this, ask the school to evaluate your child. Call or write the Director of Special Education or the principal of your child’s school. Say that you think your child has a disability and needs special education help. Ask the school to evaluate your child as soon as possible.

The public school may also think your child needs special help, because he or she may have a disability. If so, then the school must evaluate your child at no cost to you.

However, the school does not have to evaluate your child just because you have asked. The school may not think your child has a disability or needs special education. In this case, the school may refuse to evaluate your child. It must let you know this decision in writing, as well as why it has refused.

If the school refuses to evaluate your child, there are two things you can do immediately:

• Ask the school system for information about its special education policies, as well as parent rights to disagree with decisions made by the school system. These materials should describe the steps parents can take to challenge a school system’s decision.

• Get in touch with your state’s Parent Training and Information (PTI) center. The PTI is an excellent resource for parents to learn more about special education, their rights and responsibilities, and the law. The PTI can tell you what steps to take next to find help for your child. Call NICHCY to find out how to get in touch with your PTI, or see our State Resource Sheet for your state. The PTI is listed there.

What happens during an evaluation?

Evaluating your child means more than the school just giving your child a test or two. The school must evaluate your child in all the areas where your child may be affected by the possible disability. This may include looking at your child’s health, vision, hearing, social and emotional well-being, general intelligence, performance in school, and how well your child communicates with others and uses his or her body. The evaluation must be complete enough (full and individual) to identify all of your child’s needs for special education and related services.

Evaluating your child appropriately will give you and the school a lot of information about your child. This information will help you and the school:

• decide if your child has a disability; and
• design instruction for your child.

The evaluation process involves several steps. These are listed below.

Reviewing existing information. A group of people, including you, begins by looking at the information the school already has about your child. You may have information about your child you wish to share as well. The group will look at information such as:

• your child’s scores on tests given in the classroom or to all students in your child’s grade;
• the opinions and observations of your child’s teachers and other school staff who know your child; and
• your feelings, concerns, and ideas about how your child is doing in school.

Deciding if more information is still needed. The information collected above will help the group decide:

• if your son or daughter has a particular type of disability;
• how your child is currently doing in school;
• whether your child needs special education and related services; and
• what your child’s educational needs are.

Group members will look at the information they collected above and see if they have enough information to make these decisions. If the group needs more information to make these decisions, the school must collect it.

Collecting more information about your child. If more information about your child is needed, the school will give your child tests or collect the information in other ways. Your informed written permission is required before the school may collect this information. The evaluation group will then have the information it needs to make the types of decisions listed above.

So the school needs my permission to collect this extra information?

Yes. Before the school can conduct additional assessments of your child to see if he or she has a disability, the school must ask for your informed written permission. It must also describe how it will conduct this evaluation. This includes describing the tests that will be used and the other ways the school will collect information about your child. After you give your informed written permission, the school may evaluate your child.

How does the school collect this information?

The school collects information about your child from many different people and in many different ways. Tests are an important part of an evaluation, but they are only a part. The evaluation should also include:

• the observations and opinions of professionals who have worked with your child;
• your child’s medical history, when it relates to his or her performance in school; and
• your ideas about your child’s school experiences, abilities, needs, and behavior outside of school, and his or her
  feelings about school.

The following people will be part of the group evaluating your child:

• you, as parents;
• at least one regular education teacher, if your child is or may be participating in the regular education environment;
• at least one of your child’s special education teachers or service providers;
• a school administrator who knows about policies for special education, about children with disabilities, about the general curriculum (the curriculum used by nondisabled students), and about available resources;
• someone who can interpret the evaluation results and talk about what instruction may be necessary for your child;
• individuals (invited by you or the school) who have knowledge or special expertise about your child;
• your child, if appropriate;
• representatives from any other agencies that may be responsible for paying for or providing transition services (if your child is 16 years or, if appropriate, younger and will be planning for life after high school); and
• other qualified professionals.

These other qualified professionals may be responsible for collecting specific kinds of information about your child. They may include:

• a school psychologist;
• an occupational therapist;
• a speech and language pathologist (sometimes called a speech therapist);
• a physical therapist and/or adaptive physical education therapist or teacher;
• a medical specialist; and
• others.

Professionals will observe your child. They may give your child written tests or talk personally with your child. They are trying to get a picture of the “whole child.” For example, they want to understand:

• how well your child speaks and understands language;
• how your child thinks and behaves;
• how well your child adapts to changes in his or her environment;
• how well your child has done academically;
• what your child’s potential or aptitude (intelligence) is;
• how well your child functions in a number of areas, such as moving, thinking, learning, seeing, hearing; and
• what job-related and other post-school interests and abilities your child has.

The IDEA gives clear directions about how schools must conduct evaluations. For example, tests and interviews must be given in the language (for example, Spanish) or communication mode (for example, sign language) that is most likely to yield accurate information about what your child know or can do. The tests must also be given in a way that does not discriminate against your child, because he or she has a disability or is from a different racial or cultural background.