Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 6, March 18, 2024
(a) The child study team, the parent, and the general education teacher of the student who has knowledge of the student's educational performance or, if there is no teacher of the student, a teacher who is knowledgeable about the school district's programs shall:
1. Review existing evaluation data on the student including evaluations and information provided by the parents, current classroom-based assessments and observations, and the observations of teachers and related services providers, and consider the need for any health appraisal or specialized medical evaluation;
2. On the basis of the review at (a)1 above, identify what additional data, if any, are needed to determine:
i. Whether the student has a disability under this chapter;
ii. The present levels of academic and functional achievement and related developmental needs, and educational needs of the student; and
iii. Whether the student needs special education and related services; and
3. Determine which child study team members and/or specialists shall conduct each assessment that is part of the evaluation.
(b) Prior to conducting any assessment as part of an initial evaluation, the district board of education shall request and obtain consent to evaluate according to N.J.A.C. 6A:14-3.3(e).
(c) If the parent refuses to provide consent to conduct the initial evaluation, the district board of education may file for a due process hearing pursuant to N.J.A.C. 6A:14-2.7 to compel consent to evaluate.
(d) 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) After parental consent for initial evaluation of a preschool age or school age student has been received, the evaluation, determination of eligibility for services under this chapter, and, if eligible, development and implementation of the student's IEP shall be completed within 90 calendar days.
1. If the parent repeatedly fails or refuses to produce the child for the evaluation, the time period above shall not apply.
2. If a child enrolls in the school of a district board of education after an initial evaluation was undertaken by another district board of education, but before the initial evaluation was completed, and the new district board of education is making progress to ensure a prompt completion of the evaluation, and the district board of education and parent agree to a specific modified timeframe for completing the evaluation, the agreed-upon timeframe for completing the evaluation shall be applied.
3. If initial evaluation of a preschool-age child is warranted, the district board of education shall take steps to ensure that consent to evaluate is obtained without delay.
(f) An initial evaluation shall consist of a multi-disciplinary assessment in all areas of suspected disability. An initial evaluation shall include at least two assessments and shall be conducted by at least two members of the child study team in the areas in which the child study team members have appropriate training or are qualified through their professional licensure or educational certification and other specialists in the area of disability as required or as determined necessary. Each evaluation of the student shall:
1. Be conducted in the language or form most likely to yield accurate information on what the child knows and can do academically, developmentally, and functionally, unless it is not feasible to do so;
2. Apply standards of validity, reliability, and administration for each assessment by trained personnel in accordance with the protocols and instructions of the producer of the assessment;
3. Include, where appropriate or required, the use of a standardized test(s) that shall be:
i. Individually administered;
ii. Valid and reliable;
iii. Normed on a representative population; and
iv. Scored as either standard score with standard deviation or norm referenced scores with a cutoff score;
4. Include a functional assessment of academic performance and, where appropriate, a functional behavioral assessment, an assessment of the language needs of a child who is an English language learner, assessment of the student's communication needs, and assessment of the need for assistive technology devices and services. Each of the following components shall be completed by at least one evaluator:
i. A minimum of one structured observation by one evaluator in other than a testing session;
(1) In the case of a student who is suspected of having a specific learning disability, one evaluator shall observe the student's academic performance in the general education classroom;
(2) In the case of a preschool-age student, a child study team member in an environment appropriate for a child of that age;
ii. An interview with the student's parent;
iii. An interview with the teacher(s) referring the potentially disabled student;
iv. A review of the student's developmental/educational history, including records and interviews;
v. A review of interventions documented by the classroom teacher(s) and others who work with the student; and
vi. One or more informal measures, which may include, but not be limited to: surveys and inventories; analysis of work; trial teaching; self-report; criterion referenced tests; curriculum-based assessment; and informal rating scales; and
5. Beginning at age 14, or younger if appropriate, include assessment(s) to determine appropriate postsecondary outcomes.
(g) When the suspected disability is a disorder of articulation, voice, or fluency pursuant to N.J.A.C. 6A:14-3.6(b), the speech-language specialist shall:
1. Meet with the parent and the student's general education teacher who is knowledgeable about the student's educational performance or, if there is no general education teacher, a general education teacher who is knowledgeable about the school district's programs to review existing data on the student, including evaluations and information provided by the parents, current classroom-based assessments and observations, and the observations of teachers and related services providers;
2. Obtain consent to conduct the evaluation pursuant to N.J.A.C. 6A:14-2.3(a)1;
3. Conduct an assessment pursuant to (f)1 through 4 above. The assessment shall include written information from the classroom teacher of the educational impact created by the speech problem. The assessment shall fulfill the requirement for multi-disciplinary evaluation as required in (f) above; and
4. Prepare a written report of the results according to (h) below.
(h) A written report of the results of each assessment shall be prepared. At the discretion of the district board of education, the written report may be prepared collaboratively by the evaluators or each evaluator may prepare an individually written report of the results of his or her assessments. Each written report shall be dated and signed by the individual(s) who conducted the assessment and shall include:
1. An appraisal of the student's current functioning and an analysis of instructional implication(s) appropriate to the professional discipline of the evaluator;
2. A statement regarding relevant behavior of the student, either reported or observed, and the relationship of that behavior to the student's academic functioning;
3. If an assessment is not conducted under standard conditions, the extent to which it varied from standard conditions;
4. When a student is suspected of having a specific learning disability, the documentation of the determination of eligibility shall include a statement of:
i. Whether the student has a specific learning disability;
ii. The basis for making the determination;
iii. The relevant behavior noted during the observation;
iv. The relationship of the behavior to the student's academic performance;
v. Educationally relevant medical findings, if any;
vi. If a severe discrepancy methodology is utilized, whether there is a severe discrepancy between achievement and ability that is not correctable without special education and related services;
vii. The determination concerning the effects of environmental, cultural, or economic disadvantage;
viii. Whether the student achieves commensurate with his or her age;
ix. If a response to scientifically based interventions methodology is utilized, the instructional strategies utilized and the student-centered data collected with respect to the student; and
x. Whether there are strengths and/or weaknesses in performance or achievement relative to intellectual development in one of the following areas that require special education and related services;
(1) Oral expression;
(2) Listening comprehension;
(3) Written expression;
(4) Basic reading skill;
(5) Reading fluency skills;
(6) Reading comprehension;
(7) Mathematics calculation; and
(8) Mathematics problem solving;
5. Additionally, each child study team member shall certify, in writing, whether his or her report is in accordance with the conclusion of the student's eligibility. If his or her report does not reflect the conclusion of eligibility, the child study team member must submit a separate statement presenting his or her conclusions; and
6. When a response to scientifically based interventions methodology is utilized to make the determination of whether the student has a specific learning disability, the district board of education shall:
i. Ensure that such methodology includes scientifically based instruction by highly qualified instructors, and that multiple assessments of student progress are included in the evaluation of the student;
ii. Not be required to include more than the assessment conducted pursuant to the district board of education's response to scientifically based intervention methodology in the evaluation of a student; and
iii. If the parent consents in writing, extend, as necessary, the time to complete an evaluation pursuant to (c) above.
(i) When conducting an initial evaluation or reevaluation, the reports and assessments of child study team members or related services providers from other public school districts, Department of Education approved clinics or agencies, educational services commissions or jointure commissions, or professionals in private practice may be submitted by the parents to the child study team for consideration. Each report and assessment shall be reviewed and considered by the child study team member or related services provider with relevant knowledge or expertise. A report, or component thereof, may be utilized as a required assessment, if the assessment has been conducted within one year of the evaluation and the child study team determines the report and assessment meet the requirements of (h) above.
(j) Upon receipt of a written referral to the child study team, the school nurse shall review and summarize available health and medical information regarding the student and shall transmit the summary to the child study team for the meeting according to (a) above to consider the need for a health appraisal or specialized medical evaluation.
