Districts have a process to follow for a student to be referred for a special education evaluation. This process is mandated by state and federal legislation. Also, this process is guided by the philosophy that special education should be seen as the last resort to provide support for a student. The following steps constitute the referral process.

Before a student can be referred for an evaluation the school must be able to document the efforts it has made to address and solve the presenting problems of the student.  The school must to able to document a minimum of two interventions.  Typically interventions are in place for six weeks in an attempt to solve the problem(s) exhibited by the student.



If the interventions are not successful in solving the problem and the school believes the child may have a lifelong disability, the child is referred to the building child study team.  This team determines what areas need to be evaluated and who will be involved in the evaluation process.  This results in an evaluation determination plan that is reviewed with the parents.  Parents have to give their permission for the district to proceed with an evaluation if the student has never received special education support previously.



Once the school receives parent permission, the evaluation has to be completed within 30 school days.  An evaluation meeting is set up with the parent to review the results of the evaluation and determine if the student has a lifelong disability.