Florida Administrative Code
6 - DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
6A - State Board of Education
Chapter 6A-6 - SPECIAL PROGRAMS I
Section 6A-6.0331 - General Education Intervention Procedures, Evaluation, Determination of Eligibility, Reevaluation and the Provision of Exceptional Student Education Services
Universal Citation: FL Admin Code R 6A-6.0331
Current through Reg. 50, No. 187; September 24, 2024
The state's goal is to provide full educational opportunity and a free appropriate public education (FAPE) to all students with disabilities ages three (3) through twenty-one (21) and to students who are gifted in grades kindergarten through 12. School districts have the responsibility to ensure that students suspected of having a disability are subject to general education intervention procedures. They must ensure that all students with disabilities or who are gifted and who are in need of exceptional student education (ESE) as defined in paragraph 6A-6.03411(1)(n), F.A.C., are identified, located, and evaluated, and FAPE is made available to them if it is determined that the student meets the eligibility criteria specified in Rules 6A-6.03011, 6A-6.03012, 6A-6.030121, 6A-6.03013, 6A-6.03014, 6A-6.030151, 6A-6.030152, 6A-6.030153, 6A-6.03016, 6A-6.03018, 6A-6.03019, 6A-6.03020, 6A-6.03022, 6A-6.03023, paragraph 6A-6.03026(1)(b) and Rule 6A-6.03027, F.A.C. ESE includes specially designed instruction as defined in paragraph 6A-6.03411(1)(jj), F.A.C.; special education as defined in paragraph 6A-6.03411(1)(kk), F.A.C.; and related services as defined in paragraph 6A-6.03411(1)(dd), F.A.C. These requirements apply to all students, including those who are homeless or are wards of the state or who attend private schools, regardless of the severity of their disability. Additionally, school districts may elect to serve children with disabilities below the age of three (3) years in collaboration with the Part C Early Steps Program. The procedures and criteria for general education interventions, identification, evaluation, and determination of eligibility of students with disabilities and gifted students by school districts shall be set forth in the school district's ESE Policies and Procedures document consistent with the following requirements.
(1) General education intervention procedures for kindergarten through grade twelve (12) students suspected of having a disability who are enrolled in public schools. It is the local school district's responsibility to develop and implement a multi-tiered system of support which integrates a continuum of academic and behavioral interventions for students who need additional support to succeed in the general education environment. In implementing a data-based problem solving process designed to develop, implement and evaluate a coordinated continuum of evidence-based instruction and intervention practices, a school district may carry out problem solving activities that include the provision of educational and behavioral evaluations, services, and supports, including evidence-based literacy instruction and professional development for teachers and other school staff to enable them to deliver scientifically based academic and behavioral interventions and, where appropriate, instruction on the use of adaptive and instructional technology. The general education intervention requirements set forth in paragraphs (a) through (e) of this subsection, are not required of students suspected of being gifted or who are being considered for eligibility in accordance with Rule 6A-6.03020, F.A.C., for special education and related services for students who are homebound or hospitalized. The general education interventions requirements set forth in paragraphs (a), (b) and (e) of this subsection, may not be required for students suspected of having a disability if a team that comprises qualified professionals and the parent determines that these general education interventions are not appropriate for a student who demonstrates a speech disorder or severe cognitive, physical or sensory disorders, or severe social/behavioral deficits that require immediate intensive intervention to prevent harm to the student or others.
(a) Parent involvement in general
education intervention procedures. Opportunities for parents to be involved in
a data-based problem solving process to address the student's areas of concern
must be made available. In addition, there must be discussion with the parent
regarding the data used to identify the problem and monitor student progress,
the student's response to instruction and interventions, modification of the
interventions, and anticipated future action to address the student's learning
and/or behavioral needs. Documentation of parental involvement and
communication must be maintained.
(b) Observations of the student must be
conducted in the educational environment and, as appropriate, other settings to
document the student's learning or behavioral areas of concern. At least one
(1) observation must include an observation of the student's performance in the
general classroom.
(c) Review of
existing data, including anecdotal, social, psychological, medical, and
achievement (including classroom, district and state assessments) shall be
conducted. Attendance data shall be reviewed and used as one indicator of a
student's access to instruction.
(d) Vision and hearing screenings shall be
conducted for the purpose of ruling out sensory deficits that may interfere
with the student's academic and behavioral progress, and additional screenings
or assessments to assist in determining interventions may be conducted, as
appropriate. The screening of a student by a teacher or specialist to determine
appropriate instructional strategies for curriculum implementation shall not be
considered to be an evaluation for eligibility for special education and
related services.
(e)
Evidence-based interventions addressing the identified areas of concern must be
implemented in the general education environment. The interventions selected
for implementation should be developed by a team through a data-based problem
solving process that uses student performance data to identify and analyze the
area(s) of concern, select and implement interventions, and monitor the
effectiveness of the interventions. Interventions shall be implemented as
designed for a period of time sufficient to determine effectiveness, and with a
level of intensity that matches the student's needs. Pre-intervention and
ongoing progress monitoring measures of academic and/or behavioral areas of
concern must be collected and communicated to the parents in an understandable
format, which may include, but is not limited to, graphic
representation.
(f) Nothing in this
section should be construed to either limit or create a right to FAPE under
Rules 6A-6.03011 -.0361, F.A.C., or to
delay appropriate evaluation of a student suspected of having a
disability.
(g) A school district
may not use more than fifteen (15) percent of the amount it receives under Part
B of the IDEA for any fiscal year to develop and implement a coordinated
continuum of evidence-based general education interventions for students in
kindergarten through grade twelve (12) who are not currently identified as
needing special education and related services but who need additional support
to succeed in the general education environment. Funds made available to carry
out this paragraph may be used to carry out general education intervention
procedures aligned with activities funded by and carried out under the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), if those funds are used to
supplement, and not supplant, funds made available under the ESEA for the
activities and services assisted under this paragraph. For IDEA Part B funds
used in this way, the school district must annually report to the Florida
Department of Education on the number of students served under this paragraph
who received general education interventions and the number of students who
received such services and subsequently receive special education and related
services under Part B of the IDEA during the preceding two (2) year
period.
(2) Procedures prior to initial evaluation for prekindergarten children. For children who are below mandatory school attendance age and who are not yet enrolled in kindergarten, the activities specified in subsection (1) of this rule are not required. The following requirements apply to this population:
(a) Existing social, psychological, and
medical data shall be reviewed, with referral for a health screening when the
need is indicated; and,
(b) Vision
and hearing screenings shall be conducted for the purpose of ruling out sensory
deficits. Additional screenings to assist in determining interventions may be
conducted as appropriate.
(3) Initial evaluation. Each school district must conduct a full and individual initial evaluation before the initial provision of ESE. Either a parent of a kindergarten through grade 12 student or child age three (3) to kindergarten entry age, or a school district may initiate a request for initial evaluation to determine if the student is a student with a disability. Either a parent of a kindergarten through grade 12 student or a school district may initiate a request for initial evaluation to determine if a student is gifted.
(a) The
school district must seek consent from the parent or guardian to conduct an
evaluation whenever the district suspects that a kindergarten through grade 12
student, or a child age three (3) to kindergarten entry age, is a student with
a disability and needs special education and related services. Circumstances
which would indicate that a student may be a student with a disability who
needs special education and related services include, but are not limited to,
the following:
1. When a school-based team
determines that the kindergarten through grade 12 student's response to
intervention data indicate that intensive interventions implemented in
accordance with subsection (1) of this rule, are effective but require a level
of intensity and resources to sustain growth or performance that is beyond that
which is accessible through general education resources; or
2. When a school-based team determines that
the kindergarten through grade 12 student's response to interventions
implemented in accordance with subsection (1) of this rule indicates that the
student does not make adequate growth given effective core instruction and
intensive, individualized, evidence-based interventions; or
3. When a child age three (3) to kindergarten
entry age receives a developmental screening through the school district or the
Florida Diagnostic and Learning Resource Center and based on the results of the
screening it is suspected that the child may be a child with a disability in
need of special education and related services; or
4. When a parent requests an evaluation and
there is documentation or evidence that the kindergarten through grade 12
student or child age three (3) to kindergarten entry age who is enrolled in a
school district operated preschool program may be a student with a disability
and needs special education and related services.
(b) Within thirty (30) days of a
determination that a circumstance described in subparagraphs (3)(a)1., (3)(a)
2. or (3)(a)3., of this rule, exists for a student in grades kindergarten
through grade 12 or a child age three (3) to kindergarten entry age, the school
district must request consent from the parent to conduct an evaluation, unless
the parent and the school agree otherwise in writing.
(c) As described in subparagraph (3)(a)4. of
this rule, if a parent requests that the school conduct an evaluation to
determine whether their child is a child with a disability in need of special
education and related services, the school district must within thirty (30)
days, unless the parent and the school agree otherwise in writing:
1. Obtain consent for the evaluation;
or
2. Provide the parent with
written notice in accordance with Rule
6A-6.03311, F.A.C., explaining
its refusal to conduct the evaluation.
(d) Prior to a school district request for
initial evaluation of a student in grades K through 12 suspected of having a
disability, school personnel must make one (1) of the following determinations
and include appropriate documentation in the student's educational record to
the effect that:
1. The general education
intervention procedures have been implemented as required under this rule and
the data indicate that the student may be a student with a disability who needs
special education and related services;
2. The evaluation was initiated at parent
request and the activities described in subsection (1) of this rule, will be
completed concurrently with the evaluation but prior to the determination of
the student's eligibility for special education and related services;
or
3. The nature or severity of the
student's areas of concern make the general education intervention procedures
inappropriate in addressing the immediate needs of the
student.
(e) The school
district shall be responsible for conducting all initial evaluations necessary
to determine if the student is eligible for ESE and to determine the
educational needs of the student. Such evaluations must be conducted by
examiners, including physicians, school psychologists, psychologists,
speech-language pathologists, teachers, audiologists, and social workers who
are qualified in the professional's field as evidenced by a valid license or
certificate to practice such a profession in Florida. In circumstances where
the student's medical care is provided by a physician licensed in another
state, at the discretion of the school district administrator for exceptional
student education, a report of a physician licensed in another state may be
accepted for the purpose of evaluation and consideration of eligibility as a
student with a disability. Educational evaluators not otherwise covered by a
license or certificate to practice a profession in Florida shall either hold a
valid Florida teacher's certificate or be employed under the provisions of Rule
6A-1.0502, F.A.C.
1. Tests of intellectual functioning shall be
administered and interpreted by a professional person qualified in accordance
with Rule 6A-4.0311, F.A.C., or licensed
under chapter 490, F.S.
2.
Standardized assessment of adaptive behavior shall include parental input
regarding their student's adaptive behavior.
(f) For a signed consent for evaluation
received by a school district on or before June 30, 2015, the school district
shall ensure that initial evaluations of students suspected of having a
disability are completed within sixty (60) school days (cumulative) as defined
in paragraph 6A-6.03411(1)(h),
F.A.C., that the student is in attendance after the school district's receipt
of parental consent for the evaluation. For prekindergarten children, initial
evaluations must be completed within sixty (60) school days after the school
district's receipt of parental consent for evaluation.
(g) Beginning July 1, 2015, the school
district shall ensure that initial evaluations of students and preschool age
children age three (3) through kindergarten entry age suspected of having a
disability are completed within sixty (60) calendar days after the school
district's receipt of parent consent for evaluation. For the purposes of this
rule, the following calendar days shall not be counted toward the sixty (60)
calendar day requirement:
1. All school
holidays and Thanksgiving, winter and spring breaks as adopted by the district
school board as required by Section
1001.42(4),
F.S.;
2. The summer vacation period
beginning the day after the last day of school for students and ending on the
first day of school for students in accordance with the calendar adopted by the
district school board as required by Section
1001.42(4),
F.S. However, the school district is not prohibited from conducting evaluations
during the summer vacation period; and,
3. In the circumstance when a student is
absent for more than eight (8) school days in the sixty (60) calendar day
period, the student's absences shall not be counted toward the sixty (60)
calendar day requirement.
(h) The sixty (60)-day timeframe for
evaluation does not apply to a school district if:
1. The parent and school district, by mutual
written agreement, extend the sixty (60)-calendar day requirement by no more
than thirty (30)-calendar days. The written agreement must be secured before
the forty-fifth (45th) calendar day, but after the formal testing has begun and
it was determined that other evaluators are needed to complete the required
full and individual evaluation.
2.
The parent of the student repeatedly fails or refuses to produce the student
for the evaluation; or
3. A student
enrolls in a school served by the school district after the timeframe has
begun, and prior to a determination by the student's previous school district
as to whether the student is a student with a disability. This exception
applies only if the subsequent school district is making sufficient progress to
ensure a prompt completion of the evaluation, and the parent and subsequent
school district agree to a specific time when the evaluation will be completed.
Assessments of students with disabilities who transfer from one school district
to another school district in the same school year must be coordinated with
those students' prior and subsequent schools, as necessary and as expeditiously
as possible, to ensure prompt completion of full
evaluations.
(i) The
school district shall ensure that students suspected of being gifted are
evaluated within a reasonable period of time as specified in the district's ESE
Policies and Procedures Document as defined in subsection
6A-6.03411(2),
F.A.C., but no more than ninety (90) school days that the student is in
attendance after the school district's receipt of parental consent for the
evaluation.
(4) Parental consent for initial evaluation.
(a) The
school district must provide the parent written notice that describes any
evaluation procedures the school district proposes to conduct. In addition, the
school district proposing to conduct an initial evaluation to determine if a
student is a student with a disability and needs special education and related
services or is gifted and needs ESE must obtain informed consent from the
parent of the student before conducting the evaluation.
(b) Parental consent for initial evaluation
must not be construed as consent for initial provision of ESE.
(c) The school district must make reasonable
efforts to obtain the informed consent from the parent for an initial
evaluation to determine whether the student is a student with a disability or
is gifted.
(d) In the event that
the parent fails to respond to the district's request to obtain informed
written consent, the district must maintain documentation of attempts made to
obtain consent.
(e) For initial
evaluations only, if the child is a ward of the State and is not residing with
the student's parent, the school district is not required to obtain informed
consent from the parent for an initial evaluation to determine whether the
student is a student with a disability if:
1.
Despite reasonable efforts to do so, the school district cannot discover the
whereabouts of the parent of the student;
2. The rights of the parents of the student
have been terminated in accordance with Chapter 39, Part X, F.S.; or
3. The rights of the parent to makes
educational decisions have been subrogated by a judge in accordance with State
law and consent for initial evaluation has been given by an individual
appointed by the judge to represent the student.
(f) If the parent of a student suspected of
having a disability who is enrolled in public school or seeking to be enrolled
in public school does not provide consent for initial evaluation or the parent
fails to respond to a request to provide consent, the school district may, but
is not required to, pursue initial evaluation of the student by using the
mediation or due process procedures contained in Rule
6A-6.03311, F.A.C. The school
district does not violate its child find obligations if it declines to pursue
the evaluation.
(g) A school
district may not use a parent's refusal to consent to initial evaluation to
deny the parent or the student any other service, benefit, or activity of the
school district, except as provided by this rule.
(5) Evaluation procedures.
(a) In conducting an evaluation, the school
district:
1. Must use a variety of assessment
tools and strategies to gather relevant functional, developmental, and academic
information about the student within a data-based problem solving process,
including information about the student's response to evidence-based
interventions as applicable, and information provided by the parent. This
evaluation data may assist in determining whether the student is eligible for
ESE and the content of the student's individual educational plan (IEP) or
educational plan (EP), including information related to enabling the student
with a disability to be involved in and progress in the general curriculum (or
for a preschool child, to participate in appropriate activities), or for a
gifted student's needs beyond the general curriculum;
2. Must not use any single measure or
assessment as the sole criterion for determining whether a student is eligible
for ESE and for determining an appropriate educational program for the student;
and,
3. Must use technically sound
instruments that may assess the relative contribution of cognitive and
behavioral factors, in addition to physical or developmental
factors.
(b) Each school
district must ensure that assessments and other evaluation materials and
procedures used to assess a student are:
1.
Selected and administered so as not to be discriminatory on a racial or
cultural basis;
2. Provided and
administered in the student's native language or other mode of communication
and in the form most likely to yield accurate information on what the student
knows and can do academically, developmentally, and functionally, unless it is
clearly not feasible to do so;
3.
Used for the purposes for which the assessments or measures are valid and
reliable; and,
4. Administered by
trained and knowledgeable personnel in accordance with any instructions
provided by the producer of the assessments.
(c) Assessments and other evaluation
materials and procedures shall include those tailored to assess specific areas
of educational need and not merely those that are designed to provide a single
general intelligence quotient.
(d)
Assessments shall be selected and administered so as to best ensure that if an
assessment is administered to a student with impaired sensory, manual, or
speaking skills, the assessment results accurately reflect the student's
aptitude or achievement level or whatever other factors the test purports to
measure, rather than reflecting the student's sensory, manual, or speaking
skills, unless those are the factors the test purports to measure.
(e) The school district shall use assessment
tools and strategies that provide relevant information that directly assists
persons in determining the educational needs of the student.
(f) A student shall be assessed in all areas
related to a suspected disability, including, if appropriate, health, vision,
hearing, social and emotional status, general intelligence, academic
performance, communicative status, and motor abilities.
(g) An evaluation shall be sufficiently
comprehensive to identify all of a student's ESE needs, whether or not commonly
linked to the suspected disability.
(6) Determination of eligibility for exceptional students.
(a) A group of qualified
professionals determines whether the student is an exceptional student in
accordance with this rule and the educational needs of the student. The parents
of a student being considered for eligibility as a student with a disability
shall be invited and encouraged to participate as equal members of the group.
The school district must provide a copy of the evaluation report and the
documentation of the determination of eligibility at no cost to the
parent.
(b) In interpreting
evaluation data for the purpose of determining if a student is an exceptional
student and the educational needs of the student, each school district shall:
1. Draw upon data and information collected
as part of a data-based problem solving process from a variety of sources, such
as aptitude and achievement tests, the student's response to instruction and
interventions implemented, parent input, student input as appropriate, teacher
recommendations, and information about the student's physical condition, social
or cultural background, and adaptive behavior;
2. Ensure that information obtained from all
of these sources is documented and analyzed by the team as part of the problem
solving process; and,
3. Determine
eligibility in accordance with the criteria and procedures specified in these
rules.
(c) If a
determination is made that a student has a disability and needs special
education and related services, an IEP shall be developed for the student in
accordance with Rule 6A-6.03028, F.A.C. For children
ages three (3) through five (5) years, an individual family support plan (IFSP)
may be developed in lieu of an IEP in accordance with Rule
6A-6.03029, F.A.C.
(d) A student may not be determined eligible
as a student with a disability if the determinant factor is:
1. Lack of appropriate instruction in
reading, including the essential components of reading instruction, including
explicit and systematic instruction in (a) phonemic awareness; (b) phonics; (c)
vocabulary development; (d) reading fluency, including oral reading skills; and
(e) reading comprehension strategies;
2. Lack of appropriate instruction in math;
or
3. Limited English proficiency;
and,
4. The student does not
otherwise meet the eligibility criteria specified in Rules
6A-6.03011 -.0361,
F.A.C.
(e) A student may
not be denied eligibility as a student who is gifted if the determinant factor
is limited English proficiency.
(f)
For students identified as gifted, an EP in accordance with Rule
6A-6.030191, F.A.C., shall be
developed.
(7) Reevaluation Requirements.
(a) A school
district must ensure that a reevaluation of each student with a disability is
conducted in accordance with Rules
6A-6.03011 -.0361, F.A.C., if
the school district determines that the educational or related services needs,
including improved academic achievement and functional performance, of the
student warrant a reevaluation or if the student's parent or teacher requests a
reevaluation.
(b) A reevaluation
may occur not more than once a year, unless the parent and the school district
agree otherwise and must occur at least once every three (3) years, unless the
parent and the school district agree that a reevaluation is
unnecessary.
(c) Each school
district must obtain informed parental consent prior to conducting any
reevaluation of a student with a disability.
(d) If the parent refuses to consent to the
reevaluation, the school district may, but is not required to, pursue the
reevaluation by using the consent override provisions of mediation or due
process. The school district does not violate its child find, evaluation or
reevaluation obligations if it declines to pursue the evaluation or
reevaluation.
(e) The informed
parental consent for reevaluation need not be obtained if the school district
can demonstrate that it made reasonable efforts to obtain such consent and the
student's parent has failed to respond.
(8) Additional requirements for evaluations and reevaluations. As part of an initial evaluation, if appropriate, and as part of any reevaluation, the IEP Team and other qualified professionals, as appropriate, must take the following actions:
(a) Review existing evaluation data on the
student, including:
1. Evaluations and
information provided by the student's parents;
2. Current classroom-based, local, or State
assessments and classroom-based observations; and,
3. Observations by teachers and related
services providers.
(b)
Identify, on the basis of that review and input from the student's parents,
what additional data, if any, are needed to determine the following:
1. Whether the student is a student with a
disability or, in case of a reevaluation of the student, whether the student
continues to have a disability;
2.
The educational needs of the student;
3. The present levels of academic achievement
and related developmental needs of the student;
4. Whether the student needs special
education and related services or, in the case of a reevaluation of the
student, whether the student continues to need special education and related
services; and,
5. Whether any
additions or modifications to the special education and related services are
needed to enable the student to meet the measurable annual goals set out in the
student's IEP and to participate, as appropriate, in the general
curriculum.
(c) The group
conducting this review may do so without a meeting.
(d) The school district shall administer
tests and other evaluation measures as may be needed to produce the data that
is to be reviewed under this section.
(e) If the determination under this section
is that no additional data are needed to determine whether the student
continues to be a student with a disability and to determine the student's
educational needs, the school district shall notify the student's parents of:
1. That determination and the reasons for the
determination; and,
2. The right of
the parents to request an assessment to determine whether the student continues
to be a student with a disability and to determine the student's educational
needs. The school district is not required to conduct the assessment unless
requested to do so by the student's parents.
(f) Reevaluation is not required for a
student before the termination of eligibility due to graduation with a standard
diploma or exiting from school upon reaching the student's twenty-second (22nd)
birthday. For a student whose eligibility terminates under these circumstances,
a school district must provide the student with a summary of the student's
academic achievement and functional performance, which shall include
recommendations on how to assist the student in meeting the student's
postsecondary goals.
(g) Parental
consent is not required before reviewing existing data as part of an evaluation
or reevaluation or administering a test or other evaluation that is
administered to all students unless, before administration of that test or
evaluation, consent is required of parents of all students.
(h) If a parent of a student who is home
schooled or placed in private school by the parents at their own expense does
not provide consent for the initial evaluation or the reevaluation, or the
parent fails to respond to a request to provide consent, the school district
may not use the consent override provisions of mediation or due process and the
school district is not required to consider the student eligible for services
under Rules 6A-6.03011 -.0361,
F.A.C.
(i) To meet the reasonable
efforts requirements to obtain parental consent, the school district must
document its attempts to obtain parental consent using procedures such as those
used to obtain parental participation in meetings as described in subparagraph
6A-6.03028(3)(b)
7., F.A.C.
(9) Parental Consent for the Initial Provision of Services.
(a) A school district responsible for making
FAPE available to an exceptional student must obtain informed consent from the
parent of the student before the initial provision of ESE to the
student.
(b) The school district
must make reasonable efforts to obtain informed consent from the parent for the
initial provision of ESE to the student.
(c) If the parent of a student fails to
respond or refuses to consent to the initial provision of ESE, the school
district may not use mediation or due process hearing procedures in order to
obtain agreement or a ruling that the services may be provided to the
student.
(d) If the parent of the
student refuses consent to the initial provision of ESE, or the parent fails to
respond to a request to provide consent for the initial provision of ESE, the
school district will not be considered to be in violation of the requirement to
make FAPE available to the student for the failure to provide the student with
the ESE for which the school district requests consent. In addition, the school
district is not required to convene an IEP or EP team meeting or develop an IEP
or EP for the student for the ESE for which the school district requests such
consent.
(e) If, at any time
subsequent to the initial provision of ESE, the parent of a student revokes
consent in writing for the continued provision of ESE, the school district may
not continue to provide ESE to the student, but must provide prior written
notice before ceasing the provision of ESE. The school district may not use
mediation or due process hearing procedures in order to obtain agreement or a
ruling that the services may be provided to the student.
(f) If a parent of a student revokes consent
in writing for the continued provision of ESE, the school district:
1. Will not be considered to be in violation
of the requirement to make FAPE available to the student for its failure to
provide the student with further ESE; and,
2. Is not required to convene an IEP or EP
team meeting or develop an IEP or EP for the student for further provision of
ESE.
(g) If a parent of a
student with a disability revokes consent in writing for their child's receipt
of ESE after the initial provision of ESE to the student, the school district
is not required to amend the student's education records to remove any
references to the student's receipt of ESE because of the revocation of
consent.
(10) Parental Consent for Specific Actions.
(a) A school
district may not proceed with the following actions included in a student's IEP
without written informed consent of the parent unless the school district
documents reasonable efforts to obtain the parent's consent and the student's
parent has failed to respond, or the school district obtains approval through a
due process hearing in accordance with subsection
6A-6.03311(9),
F.A.C. To meet the reasonable efforts requirements to obtain parental consent
the school district must document its attempts to obtain parental consent using
procedures such as those used to obtain parental participation in meetings as
described in subparagraph
6A-6.03028(3)(b)
7., F.A.C.
Those actions requiring parental consent include:
1. Provision of instruction in the state
alternate academic achievement standards (Access Points), and administration of
the statewide, standardized alternate assessment in accordance with Section
1008.22, F.S.; and,
2. Except for a change in placement as
described in Section 1003.57(1)(h),
F.S., placement of the student in an exceptional student education center as
defined in paragraph 6A-1.099828(2)(b),
F.A.C.
(b) The district
shall obtain written parental consent for the actions described above on the
Parental Consent Form - Instruction in Access Points - Alternate Academic
Achievement Standards (AP-AAAS) and Administration of the Statewide,
Standardized Alternate Assessment, Form 313181, (http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-14585)
(effective August 2022) English, Arabic, Chinese, French, Haitian Creole,
Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Tagalog, and Vietnamese, and Parental Consent
Form - Student Placement in an Exceptional Education Center, Form 313182,
(http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-03384)
(effective March 2014) English, Arabic, Chinese, French, Haitian Creole,
Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Tagalog, and Vietnamese, adopted by the
Department of Education and incorporated by reference and available at
http://www.fldoe.org/ese/ or may
be obtained from the Department of Education, Bureau of Exceptional Education
and Student Services, 325 West Gaines Street, Room 614, Tallahassee, FL 32399.
Both forms were translated into Arabic, Chinese, French, Haitian Creole,
Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Tagalog, and Vietnamese.
(c) At any time an IEP team meeting is to be
convened for the purpose of reviewing or changing a student's IEP as it relates
to any of the actions described above, the school district must provide written
notice of the meeting to the parent at least ten (10) days before the meeting.
The notice must indicate the purpose, time, and location of the meeting and
who, by title or position, will attend the meeting. The meeting may be convened
prior to the tenth (10th) day, if the parent consents upon receipt of the
written notice described above.
(d)
Within ten (10) school days of a parent indicating in writing on a consent form
described in paragraph (b) of this subsection, that they do not consent to an
action described in paragraph (a) of this subsection, the district must either
develop and implement a new placement or instruction and assessment procedures
in accordance with a new IEP or must request a due process hearing in
accordance with subsection
6A-6.03311(9),
F.A.C. During the pendency of a due process hearing or appellate proceeding
regarding a due process complaint, the student must remain in the student's
current educational assignment while awaiting the decision of the due process
hearing or court proceeding, unless the parent and the district school board
agree otherwise.
Rulemaking Authority 1001.02(1), (2)(n), 1003.4282, 1003.57, 1003.571, 1003.5715 FS. Law Implemented 1003.01(3)(a), (b), 1003.4282, 1003.57, 1003.571, 1003.5715 FS.
New 6-17-74, Amended 12-5-74, 7-1-77, 3-28-78, 7-12-78, 8-31-78, 11-29-78, 10-7-81, 7-13-83, 6-2-85, Formerly 6A 6.331, Amended 7-13-93, 1-2-95, 9-20-04, 12-22-08, 12-15-09, 3-25-14, 12-23-14, 8-16-22.
Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Florida may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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