- Coppell Independent School District
- Special Education
- Evaluation and Eligibility
Intervention Services
Page Navigation
Evaluation and Eligibility
-
Referral for a Full and Individual Evaluation (FIE) for Special Education Services
Once it has been determined that a student continues to experience difficulty in the general education classroom after appropriate interventions are provided, the student may be referred for an FIE to determine eligibility and the need for special education services. A referral for an FIE may be initiated by the parent or school personnel through the Student Intervention Team (SIT) process. In Coppell ISD, evaluations are conducted by qualified personnel which may include: an educational diagnostician, licensed specialists in school psychology (LSSP), and/or speech-language pathologist. Once the school receives written consent to evaluate, the District has 45 school days to conduct the FIE and an additional 30 days from the date of the FIE to convene an Admission, Review, and Dismissal (ARD) Committee meeting to review the results of that evaluation. A child between the ages of three through twenty-one must meet the criteria for one or more of the disability categories listed below to be eligible for special education services:
*These eligibilities have special considerations that may begin at birth.
-
Autism
Autism means a developmental disability significantly affecting verbal and nonverbal communication and social interaction, generally evident before age 3, that adversely affects a child's educational performance. Students with pervasive developmental disorders are included under this category. This determination must be made by a multidisciplinary team that includes a speech and language pathologist, a psychologist, an educational diagnostician and an occupational therapist.
-
Deaf-Blind*
A student who is deaf/blind has a combination of severe hearing and vision losses after best correction, and is determined to meet the criteria for both auditory and visual impairments. The hearing and vision losses are so severe that they adversely affect the child's educational performance.
-
Deaf/Hard of Hearing*
A student with the eligibility of deaf/hard of hearing is one who has been determined to meet the criteria for deafness or for hearing impairment. This must be determined by an otologist and audiologist. A serious hearing loss, even after corrective medical treatment or with the use of amplification adversely affects a child's educational performance.
-
Emotional Disturbance
Students meeting eligibility as emotional disturbance have a condition that is medically and/or psychologically determined to be of such a serious nature that they may not be adequately or safely educated in the general classroom without the provision of special services.
-
Intellectual Disability
Intellectual disability means significantly below average general intellectual functioning, existing concurrently with deficits in adaptive behavior and manifested during the developmental period, that adversely affects a child's educational performance.
-
Learning Disability
A student with a learning disability is one who, based on evaluation information, has such a severe discrepancy between achievement and intellectual ability that he or she must be provided special services in order to progress in the educational environment.
-
Multiple Disabilities
Students with multiple disabilities are students who have a combination of impairments, including a condition which is expected to continue indefinitely; a disability which requires comprehensive instruction and related services for the severely impaired; disabilities which severely impair performance in psycho-motor skills, self care skills, communication, social and emotional development, and cognition.
-
Non-Categorial Early Childhood
A student between the ages of 3-5 who is evaluated as having mental retardation, emotional disturbance, a specific learning disability, or autism, may be described as non-categorical early childhood.
-
Orthopedic Impairment
Students with an orthopedic impairment are students who present with physical impairments that may cause difficulties performing tasks adequately in the general education setting. Students may need special services in order to progress in the educational environment. Eligibility must be determined by a licensed physician.
-
Other Health Impairment
Other Health Impairment means having limited strength, vitality or alertness, including a heightened alertness to environmental stimuli, that results in limited alertness with respect to the educational environment. A student's eligibility for Other Health Impairment must include a determination by a licensed physician.
-
Speech and/or Language Impairment
A speech or language impairment is a communication disorder that adversely affects a child's educational performance to the degree that an educational need for speech therapy services exists.
-
Traumatic Brain Injury
Traumatic Brain Injury means that a student has been determined by a licensed physician to have an injury to the brain caused by an external physical force, resulting in total or partial functional disability or psychosocial impairment, or both, that adversely affects a child's educational performance.
-
Visual Impairment*
A visual impairment, including blindness, means an impairment in vision, that even with correction, adversely affects a child's educational performance to the degree that the child is in need of special services.
-
Parent consent for an evaluation is required. Since parent consent is required for an initial evaluation, the parent may refuse to sign the consent for evaluation. If a parent wishes to request an initial evaluation, the request must be made in writing to a District administrative staff member. The District then has 15 school days to respond by either obtaining consent or providing a written response of refusal.EligibilityEligibility for special education services is determined based on two criteria: (1) a student must have a disability listed above, and (2) as a result of the disability, the student must demonstrate an educational need and therefore requires specially designed instruction. As part of considering eligibility, the evaluation must determine that the student has had appropriate instruction and that the academic or behavioral difficulties cannot be explained by other factors such as frequent absences, limited English proficiency, or other factors that could be the primary cause of the difficulties.
Re-evaluation
A re-evaluation must occur at least once every 3 years, unless the parent and the District agree that a reevaluation is not necessary.
