Indiana Administrative Code
Title 511 - INDIANA STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION
Article 7 - SPECIAL EDUCATION
Rule 41 - Eligibility Criteria
Section 41-12 - Specific learning disability
Universal Citation: 511 IN Admin Code 41-12
Current through March 20, 2024
Authority: IC 20-19-2-8; IC 20-19-2-16
Affected: IC 20-19-2; IC 20-35
Sec. 12.
(a) "Specific learning disability" means a disorder in one (1) or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written, that adversely affect the student's educational performance, including conditions referred to, or previously referred to, as perceptual handicaps, brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction, dyslexia, and developmental aphasia. As follows, a specific learning disability:
(1) Manifests itself when the student does
not achieve adequately for the student's age or to meet state approved grade
level standards in one (1) or more of the following areas, when provided with
learning experiences and instruction appropriate for the student's age or state
approved grade level standards:
(A) Reading
disability, which is a specific learning disability that is neurological in
origin and has a continuum of severity. It is characterized by difficulties
with accurate or fluent, or both, word recognition and by poor spelling and
decoding abilities. A reading disability may be due to difficulties in the
following:
(i) Basic reading skills.
(ii) Reading fluency skills.
(iii) Reading comprehension.
(B) Written expression disability,
which is a specific learning disability that is neurological in origin and has
a continuum of severity. Written expression is a complex domain that requires
the integration of the following:
(i) Oral
language.
(ii) Written
language.
(iii)
Cognition.
(iv) Motor
skills.
(C) Math
disability, which is a specific learning disability that is neurological in
origin and has a continuum of severity. The ability to perform mathematical
computations and reasoning requires multiple core cognitive processes. A math
disability may be due to difficulties in the following:
(i) Mathematics calculation.
(ii) Mathematics problem solving.
(D) Oral expression disability,
which is a specific learning disability that:
(i) is neurological in origin;
(ii) has a continuum of severity;
and
(iii) is characterized by
deficits in using expressive language processes to mediate learning of:
(AA) reading;
(BB) writing;
(CC) spelling; or
(DD) mathematics; skills.
(E) Listening
comprehension disability, which is a specific learning disability that:
(i) is neurological in origin;
(ii) has a continuum of severity;
and
(iii) is characterized by
difficulties in using receptive language processes to mediate learning of:
(AA) reading;
(BB) writing;
(CC) spelling; or
(DD) mathematics; skills.
(2) Can be
evidenced through either of the following:
(A)
Insufficient progress to meet age or state approved grade level standards in
one (1) or more of the areas identified in subdivision (1) when using a process
based on the student's response to scientific, research based
intervention.
(B) A pattern of
strengths and weaknesses in performance or achievement, or both, relative to:
(i) age;
(ii) state approved grade level standards;
or
(iii) intellectual development;
that is determined by the group to be relevant to the identification of a
specific learning disability. The multidisciplinary team is prohibited from
using a severe discrepancy between intellectual ability and global achievement
to meet this requirement.
(3) Does not include learning problems that
are primarily the result of any of the following:
(A) A visual, hearing, or motor
disability.
(B) An intellectual
disability.
(C) An emotional
disability.
(D) Cultural
factors.
(E) Environmental or
economic disadvantage.
(F) Limited
English proficiency.
(G) Lack of
appropriate instruction in reading or math evidenced by the following:
(i) Data demonstrating that prior to, or part
of, the referral process, the student was provided appropriate instruction in
general education settings, delivered by qualified personnel.
(ii) Data based documentation of repeated
assessments of achievement at reasonable intervals, reflecting formal
assessment of student progress during instruction, which was provided to the
student's parents.
(b) Eligibility for special education as a student with a specific learning disability shall be determined by the student's CCC. This determination shall be based on the multidisciplinary team's educational evaluation report described in 511 IAC 7-40-5(e) and 511 IAC 7-40-5(g), which includes the following:
(1) An assessment of current
academic achievement as defined at
511 IAC
7-32-2.
(2) An observation of the student in the
student's learning environment, including the general classroom setting, to
document the student's academic performance and behavior in the areas of
difficulty. The multidisciplinary team may do either of the following:
(A) Use information from an observation in
routine classroom instruction and monitoring of the student's performance that
was done before the student was referred for an educational
evaluation.
(B) Have at least one
(1) member of the multidisciplinary team, other than the student's general
education teacher, conduct an observation of the student's academic performance
in the general education classroom after:
(i)
the child has been referred for an educational evaluation; and
(ii) parental consent for the educational
evaluation has been obtained. In the case of a student of less than school age
or out of school, a team member must observe the student in an environment
appropriate for a student of that age.
(3) Available medical information that is
educationally relevant.
(4) A
social and developmental history that may include, but is not limited to, the
following:
(A) Communication skills.
(B) Social interaction skills.
(C) Responses to sensory
experiences.
(D) Relevant family
and environmental information.
(E)
Patterns of emotional adjustment.
(F) Unusual or atypical behaviors.
(5) An assessment of progress in
the general education curriculum that includes an analysis of any interventions
used to address the academic concerns leading to the referral for the
educational evaluation.
(6) Any
other assessments and information, collected prior to referral or during the
educational evaluation, necessary to:
(A)
address the exclusionary factors listed in subsection (a)(3);
(B) determine eligibility for special
education and related services; and
(C) inform the student's CCC of the student's
special education and related services needs.
(c) Other assessments and information, collected prior to referral or during the educational evaluation under subsection (b)(6), may pertain to the following:
(1) For difficulties with reading, the
following:
(A) Decoding.
(B) Phonological awareness.
(C) Phonological memory.
(D) Phonological processing.
(E) Orthographic processing.
(F) Reading fluency (rate and
accuracy).
(G) Reading
comprehension.
(2) For
difficulties with written expression, the following:
(A) Handwriting, which encompasses the
following:
(i) Fine motor skills.
(ii) Visual-motor coordination.
(iii) Visual and working memory.
(iv) Phonological and orthographic
processing.
(B)
Spelling, which encompasses the following:
(i)
Phonological and orthographic processing.
(ii) Written spelling ability.
(C) Composition, which encompasses
the following:
(i) Oral language.
(ii) Reading ability.
(iii) Attention.
(iv) Memory.
(3) For difficulties with math, the
following:
(A) Nonverbal problem
solving.
(B) Working
memory.
(C) Long-term
memory.
(D) Processing
speed.
(E) Attention.
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