Compilation of Rules and Regulations of the State of Georgia
Department 160 - RULES OF GEORGIA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Chapter 160-4
Subject 160-4-7 - SPECIAL EDUCATION
Rule 160-4-7-.04 - Evaluations and Reevaluations
Universal Citation: GA Rules and Regs r 160-4-7-.04
Current through Rules and Regulations filed through March 20, 2024
(1) INITIAL EVALUATIONS.
(a) Each LEA must conduct a full and
individual initial evaluation before the initial provision of special education
and related services to a child with a disability. [34 C.F.R. §
300.301(a)]
1. Each LEA shall ensure that evaluation
procedures are established and implemented that meet the requirements of this
Rule.
(b) Once a child
is referred for an evaluation by a parent or Student Support Team (SST) to
determine if the child is a child with a disability, the initial evaluation:
1. Must be completed within 60 calendar days
of receiving parental consent for evaluation. [34 C.F.R. §
300.301(c)(1)(i)]
(i) Holiday periods and other circumstances
when children are not in attendance for five consecutive school days shall not
be counted toward the 60 calendar day timeline, including the weekend days
before and after such holiday periods, if contiguous to the holidays
except:
(ii) Any summer vacation
period in which the majority of an LEA's teachers are not under contract shall
not be included in the 60 day timeline for evaluation. However an LEA is not
prohibited from conducting evaluations over a summer vacation period.
(I) Consent received 30 days or more prior to
the end of the school year must be completed within the 60 calendar day
evaluation timeframe.
(II) Students
who turn three during the summer period or other holiday periods must have an
eligibility decision and IEP (if appropriate) in place by the third
birthday.
2.
Must consist of procedures which determine if the child is a child with a
disability and to determine the educational needs of the child. [34 C.F.R. §
300.301(c)(2)(i) - (ii)]
(c) The timeframe
described above does not apply to a LEA if:
1.
The parent of a child repeatedly fails or refuses to produce the child for the
evaluation; or
2. A child enrolls
in a school of another LEA after the relevant timeline in this Rule has begun
and prior to a determination by the child's previous LEA as to whether the
child is a child with a disability; [34 C.F.R. §
300.301(d)(1) -
(2)]
3. The exception in (c)2. above applies only
if the subsequent LEA is making sufficient progress to ensure a prompt
completion of the evaluation and the parent and subsequent LEA have agreed to a
specific time when the evaluation will be completed. [34 C.F.R. §
300.301(e)]
4. If extenuating circumstances, e.g.,
illness, unusual evaluation needs, or revocation of parent's consent for
evaluation affect this time line, the LEA shall document the
exceptions.
(2) PARENTAL CONSENT FOR EVALUATION.
(a) The LEA proposing to
conduct an initial evaluation to determine if the child qualifies as a child
with a disability shall, after providing notice, obtain an informed consent
from the parents of such child before the evaluation is conducted. The LEA must
make reasonable efforts to obtain the informed consent from the parents. To
meet the reasonable efforts requirement, the LEA must document its attempts to
obtain parental consent using procedures that may include detailed records of
telephone calls made or attempted and the results of those calls, copies of
correspondence sent to the parents and any responses received, and detailed
records of visits made to the parent's home or place of employment and the
results of those visits. [34
C.F.R. §
300.300(a)(1)(i); §
300.300(a)(1)(iii);
§
300.300(d)(5); §
300.322(d)(1) -
(3)]
(b) If the parents of a child refuses consent
for the evaluation or the parents fail to respond to a request to provide
consent, the LEA may, but is not required to, pursue the initial evaluation of
the child by utilizing the mediation and impartial due process hearing
procedures provided for in the procedural safeguards. However, if a parent of a
child who is home schooled or placed in a private school by the parents at
their own expense does not provide consent for the initial evaluation or the
reevaluation, or such parent fails to respond to a request to provide consent,
the LEA may not use the consent override procedures, and the LEA is not
required to consider the child as eligible for services. [34 C.F.R. §
300.300(a)(3)(i); §
300.300(d)(4)(i) -
(ii)]
(c) For initial evaluations only, if the
child is a ward of the State and is not residing with the child's parent, the
LEA is not required to obtain informed consent from the parent for initial
evaluation to determine whether the child is a child with a disability if -
1. Despite reasonable efforts to do so, the
LEA cannot discover the whereabouts of the parent of the child;
2. The rights of the parents of the child
have been terminated in accordance with State law; or
3. The rights of the parents to make
educational decisions have been subrogated by a judge in accordance with State
law and consent for an initial evaluation has been given by an individual
appointed by the judge to represent the child. [34 C.F.R. §
300.300(a)(2)(i) -
(iii)]
(d) Other consent requirements.
1. Parental consent is not required before -
(i) Reviewing existing data as part of an
evaluation or a reevaluation; or
(ii) Administering a test or other evaluation
that is administered to all children unless, before administration of that test
or evaluation, consent is required of parents of all children. [34 C.F.R. §
300.300(d)(1)(i) - (ii)]
(iii) The screening of a child by
a teacher or specialist to determine appropriate instructional strategies for
curriculum implementation. This shall not be considered to be an evaluation for
eligibility for special education and related services. [34 C.F.R. §
300.302]
(3) REEVALUATION.
(a) Each LEA must ensure that a reevaluation
of each child with a disability is conducted at least once every 3 years,
unless the parent and the LEA agree that a reevaluation is unnecessary:
1. If the LEA determines that the educational
or related services needs, including improved academic achievement and
functional performance, of the child warrants a reevaluation; or
2. If the child's parent or teacher requests
a reevaluation. [34 C.F.R. §
300.303(a)(1) - (2); §
300.303(b)(2)]
(b) Limitation. A
reevaluation may not occur more than once a year, unless the parent and the LEA
agree otherwise; and must occur at least once every 3 years, unless the parent
and the LEA agree that a re-evaluation is unnecessary. [34 C.F.R. §
300.303(b)]
(c) Each LEA shall obtain informed parental
consent prior to conducting any reevaluation of a child with a disability,
except that such informed parental consent need not be obtained if the LEA can
demonstrate that it has taken reasonable measures to obtain such consent and
the child's parents failed to respond. [34 C.F.R. §
300.300(c)(1) -
(2)]
(4) EVALUATION PROCEDURES.
(a) Notice. The LEA shall provide notice to
the parents of a child suspected with a disability, in accordance with all
notice requirements as described in Rule
160-4-7-.09 Procedural
Safeguards/Parent Rights. [34 C.F.R. §
300.304(a)]
(b) Conduct of evaluation. In conducting an
evaluation, the LEA must -
1. Use a variety of
evaluation tools and strategies to gather relevant academic, functional and
developmental information about the child, including information provided by
the parents that may assist in determining:
(i) Whether the child is a child with a
disability; and
(ii) The content of
the child's individualized education program including information related to
enabling the child to be involved in and progress in the general curriculum (or
for a preschool child to participate in appropriate activities);
2. Not use any single procedure as
the sole criterion for determining whether a child is a child with a disability
and for determining an appropriate educational program for the child;
3. Use technically sound instruments that may
assess the relative contribution of cognitive and behavioral factors, in
addition to physical or developmental factors. [34 C.F.R. §
300.304(b)(1) -
(3)]
(c) Other evaluation procedures. Each LEA
shall ensure that:
1. Assessments and other
evaluation materials used to assess a child under this section:
(i) Are selected and administered so as not
to be discriminatory on a racial or cultural basis;
(ii) Are provided and administered in the
child's native language or other mode of communication and in the form most
likely to yield accurate information on what the child knows and can do
academically, developmentally, and functionally, unless it is clearly not
feasible to so provide or administer;
(iii) Are used for the purposes for which the
evaluations or measures are valid and reliable;
(iv) Are administered by trained and
knowledgeable personnel; and
(v)
Are administered in accordance with any instructions provided by the producer
of the assessments. [34
C.F.R. §
300.304(c)(1)(i) -
(v)]
2. The child is assessed in all areas related
to the suspected disability, including, if appropriate, health, vision,
hearing, social and emotional status, general intelligence, academic
performance, communicative status, and motor abilities. [34 C.F.R. §
300.304(c)(4)]
3. Evaluation tools and strategies are used
which provide relevant information that directly assists persons in determining
the educational needs of the child. [34 C.F.R. §
300.304(c)(7)]
4. Assessments and other evaluation materials
include those tailored to assess specific areas of educational need and not
merely those which are designed to provide a single general intelligence
quotient. [34 C.F.R. §
300.304(c)(2)]
5. Assessment selection and administration is
such that, when administered to a child with impaired sensory, manual or
speaking skills, the results accurately reflect the child's aptitude or
achievement level, or whatever other factors the assessment purports to
measure, rather than reflecting the child's impaired sensory, manual or
speaking skills, except where those skills are the factors which the assessment
purports to measure. [34
C.F.R. §
300.304(c)(3)]
6. If an evaluation is not
conducted under standard conditions, a description of the extent to which it
varied from standard conditions, i.e., the qualifications of the person
administering the test or the method of test administration must be included in
the evaluation report.
7. In
evaluating each child with a disability under this rule, the evaluation shall
be sufficiently comprehensive to identify all of the child's special education
and related services needs, whether or not commonly linked to the disability
category in which the child has been classified. [34 C.F.R. §
300.304(c)(6)]
8. Evaluations of children with disabilities
who transfer from one LEA to another LEA in the same school year are
coordinated with those children's prior and subsequent schools, as necessary
and expeditiously as possible, to ensure prompt completion of full evaluations.
[34 C.F.R. §
300.304(c)(5)]
9. The evaluation of children referred
because of learning and/or behavior problems is the responsibility of a
multidisciplinary evaluation team. For children who require a psychological and
clinical evaluation, it must be conducted by a qualified psychological
examiner:
(i) Qualified Psychological
Examiner Requirements.
(ii) Initial
evaluation results used for consideration of eligibility for special education,
if not provided by a school psychologist with a valid S-5 (or higher)
certificate in school psychology, shall be from one of the following:
(I) A psychologist licensed by the Georgia
Board of Examiners of Psychologists and having training and experience in
school psychology or child clinical psychology.
(II) A full-time graduate student in an
approved, properly supervised school psychology or child clinical psychology
training program internship/practicum, who has completed a minimum of one year
of approved appropriate graduate training.
(III) A Georgia Merit System employee who has
a classification rating of psychologist, senior psychologist, or psychology
program specialist.
(5) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.
(a) Review of existing evaluation data. As
part of an initial evaluation (if appropriate) and as part of any
re-evaluation, the parent and other qualified professionals, as appropriate,
must review existing evaluation data on the child, including:
1. Evaluations and information provided by
the parents of the child;
2.
Current classroom-based, local, or State assessments and classroom-based
observations; and
3. Observations
by teachers and related services providers. [34 C.F.R. §
300.305(a)(1)(i) -
(iii)]
(b) On the basis of that review and input
from the child's parents, identify what additional data, if any, are needed to
determine:
1. Whether the child is a child
with a disability and the educational needs of the child, or in case of a
reevaluation of a child, whether the child continues to have such a disability
and the educational needs of the child; [34 C.F.R. §
300.305(a)(2)(i)(A) -
(B)]
2. The present levels of academic achievement
and related developmental needs of the child; [34 C.F.R. §
300.305(a)(2)(ii)]
3. Whether the child needs special
education and related services, or in the case of a reevaluation of a child,
whether the child continues to need special education and related services; and
[34 C.F.R. §
300.305(a)(2)(iii)(A) - (B)]
4. Whether any additions or
modifications to the special education and related services are needed to
enable the child to meet the measurable annual goals set out in the IEP of the
child and to participate, as appropriate, in the general curriculum.
[34 C.F.R. §
300.305(a)(2)(iv)]
(c) The parent and
other qualified professionals may conduct its review without a meeting.
[34 C.F.R. §
300.305(b)]
(d) The LEA must administer such assessments
and other evaluation measures as may be needed to produce the data identified.
[34 C.F.R. §
300.305(c)]
(e) Requirements if additional data are not
needed -
1. If the IEP Team and other
qualified professionals, as appropriate, determine that no additional data are
needed to determine whether the child continues to be a child with a disability
and to determine the child's educational needs, the LEA:
(i) Must notify the child's parents of that
determination and the reasons for it and notify the parents of the right to
request an evaluation to determine whether the child continues to be a child
with a disability and to determine the child's educational needs;
[34 C.F.R. §
300.305(d)(1)(i) - (ii)]
(ii) Is not required to conduct
such an evaluation to determine whether the child continues to be a child with
a disability unless requested by the child's parents. [34 C.F.R. §
300.305(d)(2)]
(f) Evaluations before
change in eligibility. The LEA must evaluate a child with a disability before
determining that the child is no longer a child with a disability.
[34 C.F.R. §
300.305(e)(1)]
1. The evaluation is not required before
termination of a child's disability due to graduation from high school with a
regular education diploma, or due to exceeding the age eligibility for FAPE.
[34 C.F.R. §
300.305(e)(2)]
2. However, the LEA must provide the child
with a summary of the child's academic achievement and functional performance,
which shall include recommendations on how to assist the child in meeting the
child's post-secondary goals. [34 C.F.R. §
300.305(e)(3)]
(6) DETERMINATION OF ELIGIBILITY.
(a) Upon completion of
the administration of tests and other evaluation measures -
1. A group of qualified professionals and the
parents of the child (Eligibility Team) determines whether the child is a child
with a disability and the educational needs of the child; and
2. The LEA provides a copy of the evaluation
report and the documentation of determination of eligibility at no cost to the
parents. [34 C.F.R. §
300.306(a)(1) - (2)]
(b) In making a
determination of eligibility, a child must not be determined to be a child with
a disability: if the determinant factor for that eligibility is lack of
appropriate instruction in reading, including the essential components of
reading instruction (as defined in section 1208(3) of ESEA); lack of
appropriate instruction in math; or limited English proficiency; and if the
child does not otherwise meet the program area eligibility criteria for a child
with a disability. [34
C.F.R. §
300.306(b)(1) -
(2)]
(c) Procedures for determining eligibility
and educational need.
1. In interpreting
evaluation data for the purpose of determining if a child is a child with a
disability and the educational needs of the child, each LEA must -
(i) Draw upon information from a variety of
sources, including aptitude and achievement tests, parent input, and teacher
recommendations, as well as information about the child's physical condition,
social or cultural background and adaptive behavior;
(ii) Ensure that information obtained from
all of these sources is documented and carefully considered. [34 C.F.R. §
300.306(c)(1)(i) - (ii)]
2. If a determination
is made that
(i) A child has a
disability,
(ii) And the disability
affects educational performance (academic, functional and/or developmental)
and
(iii) The child needs special
education and related services, an eligibility document and IEP must be
developed for the child. [34
C.F.R. §
300.306(c)(2)]
O.C.G.A. Secs. 20-2-133, 20-2-150, 20-2-152, 20-2-168, 20-2-240, 20-2-302, 20-2-1160.
Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Georgia 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.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google
Privacy Policy and
Terms of Service apply.