Florida Administrative Code
6 - DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
6A - State Board of Education
Chapter 6A-6 - SPECIAL PROGRAMS I
Section 6A-6.03018 - Exceptional Education Eligibility for Students with Specific Learning Disabilities
Universal Citation: FL Admin Code R 6A-6.03018
Current through Reg. 50, No. 187; September 24, 2024
(1) Definition. A specific learning disability is defined as a disorder in one or more of the basic learning processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written, that may manifest in significant difficulties affecting the ability to listen, speak, read, write, spell, or do mathematics. Associated conditions may include dyslexia, dyscalculia, dysgraphia, or developmental aphasia. A specific learning disability does not include learning problems that are primarily the result of a visual, hearing, motor, intellectual, or emotional/behavioral disability limited English proficiency or environmental, cultural, or economic factors.
(2) General education intervention procedures and activities. In order to ensure that lack of academic progress is not due to lack of appropriate instruction, a group of qualified personnel must consider:
(a) Data that demonstrate that the student
was provided well-delivered scientific, research-based instruction and
interventions addressing the identified area(s) of concern and delivered by
qualified personnel in general education settings; and,
(b) Data-based documentation, which was
provided to the student's parent(s) or legal guardian(s), of repeated measures
of achievement at reasonable intervals, graphically reflecting the student's
response to intervention during instruction.
(c) General education activities and
interventions conducted prior to referral in accordance with subsection
6A-6.0331(1),
F.A.C., may be used to satisfy the requirements of paragraphs (2)(a) and (2)(b)
of this rule.
(3) Evaluation. The evaluation procedures shall include the following:
(a) The school district must promptly request
parental or legal guardian consent to conduct an evaluation to determine if the
student needs specially designed instruction in the following circumstances:
1. The student does not make adequate
progress when:
a. Prior to a referral, the
student has not made adequate progress after an appropriate period of time when
provided appropriate instruction and intense, individualized interventions;
or
b. Prior to referral, intensive
interventions are demonstrated to be effective but require sustained and
substantial effort that may include the provision of specially designed
instruction and related services; and,
2. Whenever a referral is made to conduct an
evaluation to determine the student's need for specially designed instruction
and the existence of a disability.
(b) In addition to the procedures identified
in subsection 6A-6.0331(5),
F.A.C., the evaluation must also include the procedures identified in the
district's Policies and Procedures for the Provision of Specially Designed
Instruction and Related Services for Exceptional Students as required by Rule
6A-6.03411, F.A.C. The
evaluation must adhere to the timeframe required by paragraph
6A-6.0331(3)(g),
F.A.C., unless extended by mutual written agreement of the student's parent(s)
or legal guardian(s) and a group of qualified
professionals.
(4) Criteria for eligibility. A student meets the eligibility criteria as a student with a specific learning disability if all of the following criteria are met.
(a) Evidence of specific learning disability.
The student's parent(s) or legal guardian(s) and group of qualified personnel
may determine that a student has a specific learning disability if there is
evidence of each of the following:
1. When
provided with learning experiences and instruction appropriate for the
student's chronological age or grade level standards pursuant to Rule
6A-1.09401, F.A.C., the student
does not achieve adequately for the student's chronological age or does not
meet grade-level standards as adopted in Rule
6A-1.09401, F.A.C., in one or
more of the following areas based on the review of multiple sources which may
include group and/or individual criterion or norm-referenced measures,
including individual diagnostic procedures:
a.
Oral expression;
b. Listening
comprehension;
c. Written
expression;
d. Basic reading
skills;
e. Reading fluency
skills;
f. Reading
comprehension;
g. Mathematics
calculation; or
h. Mathematics
problem solving.
2. The
student does not make adequate progress to meet chronological age or
grade-level standards adopted in Rule
6A-1.09401, F.A.C., in one or
more of the areas identified in subparagraph (4)(a)1. of this rule, when using
a process based on the student's response to scientific, research-based
intervention, consistent with the comprehensive evaluation procedures in
subsection 6A-6.0331(5),
F.A.C.
3. The group determines that
its findings under paragraph (a) of this subsection, are not primarily the
result of the following:
a. A visual, hearing,
or motor disability;
b.
Intellectual disability;
c.
Emotional/behavioral disability;
d.
Cultural factors;
e. Irregular
pattern of attendance and/or high mobility rate;
f. Classroom behavior;
g. Environmental or economic factors;
or
h. Limited English
proficiency.
(b) Members of the group determining
eligibility. The determination of whether a student suspected of having a
specific learning disability is a student who demonstrates a need for specially
designed instruction and related services and meets the eligibility criteria
must be made by the student's parent(s) or legal guardian(s) and a group of
qualified professionals, which must include all of the following:
1. The student's general education teacher;
if the student does not have a general education teacher, a general education
teacher qualified to teach a student of his or her chronological age;
2. At least one person qualified to conduct
and interpret individual diagnostic examinations of students, including a
school psychologist, speech-language pathologist, or reading specialist; and,
3. The district administrator of
exceptional student education or designee.
(c) Observation requirement. In determining
whether a student needs specially designed instruction and has a specific
learning disability, and in order to document the relationship between the
student's classroom behavior and academic performance, the group must:
1. Use information from an observation in
routine classroom instruction and monitoring of the student's performance that
was completed before referral for an evaluation; or
2. Have at least one member of the group
conduct an observation of the student's performance in the student's typical
learning environment, or in an environment appropriate for a student of that
chronological age, after referral for an evaluation and parental or legal
guardian consent has been obtained.
(5) Documentation of determination of eligibility. For a student suspected of having a specific learning disability, the documentation of the determination of eligibility must include a written summary of the group's analysis of the data that incorporates the following information:
(a) The basis for making the
determination, including an assurance that the determination has been made in
accordance with subsection
6A-6.0331(6),
F.A.C.;
(b) Noted behavior during
the observation of the student and the relationship of that behavior to the
student's academic functioning;
(c)
The educationally relevant medical findings, if any;
(d) Whether the student has a specific
learning disability as evidenced by response to intervention data confirming
the following:
1. Performance discrepancy. The
student's academic performance is significantly discrepant for the
chronological age or grade level in which the student is enrolled, based on
multiple sources of data when compared to multiple groups, which include the
peer subgroup, classroom, school, district, and state level comparison groups;
and,
2. Rate of progress. When
provided with well-delivered scientific, research-based general education
instruction and interventions of reasonable intensity and duration with
evidence of implementation fidelity, the student's rate of progress is
insufficient or requires sustained and substantial effort to close the
achievement gap with typical peers or academic expectations for the
chronological age or grade level in which the student is currently enrolled;
and,
3. Educational need. The
student continues to need interventions that significantly differ in intensity
and duration from what can be provided solely through general education
resources to make or maintain sufficient progress.
(e) The determination of the group concerning
the effects on the student's achievement level of a visual, hearing, motor,
intellectual, or emotional/behavioral disability; cultural factors;
environmental or economic factors; an irregular pattern of attendance or high
mobility rate; classroom behavior; or limited English proficiency; and,
(f) Documentation based on data
derived from a process that assesses the student's response to well-delivered
scientific, research-based instruction and interventions including:
1. Documentation of the specific
instructional interventions used, the support provided to the individual(s)
implementing interventions, adherence to the critical elements of the
intervention design and delivery methods, the duration and frequency of
intervention implementation (e.g. number of weeks, minutes per week, sessions
per week), and the student-centered data collected; and,
2. Documentation that the student's parent(s)
or legal guardian(s) were notified about the state's policies regarding the
amount and nature of student performance data that would be collected and the
general education services that would be provided; interventions for increasing
the student's rate of progress; and the parental or legal guardian's right to
request an evaluation.
(g) The signature of each group member
certifying that the documentation of determination of eligibility reflects the
member's conclusion. If it does not reflect the member's conclusion, the group
member must submit a separate statement presenting the member's
conclusions.
Rulemaking Authority 1001.02(1), 1001.42(4)(l), 1003.01(3)(a), (b), 1003.57 FS. Law Implemented 1003.01(3)(a), (b), 1003.57, 1011.62(1)(c) FS.
New 7-1-77, Amended 7-2-79, 7-14-82, Formerly 6A-6.3018, Amended 1-11-94, 3-23-09, 1-7-16.
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