Special Education Compliance
Eligibility Frequently Asked Questions
Recent Questions
- When determining eligibility for Emotional Disturbance, is using a 1.5 standard deviation (SD) discrepancy between ability and achievement acceptable as the sole criterion for demonstrating an adverse impact on educational performance? Posted 12/27/2004
- Is using a 1.5 standard deviation (SD) discrepancy between ability and achievement acceptable as the sole criterion for demonstrating an adverse impact on educational performance for an eligibility determination of Other Health Impaired? Posted 12/27/2004
- Is a DSM-IV diagnosis required as part of the eligibility criteria for Emotional Disturbance? Posted 12/27/2004
- Does the eligibility determination for Emotional Disturbance require the consideration and exclusion of socioeconomic factors before a student can be determined eligible? Posted 12/27/2004
- When determining eligibility under the category of Traumatic Brain Injury, should the team conclude that the functional impairments are not the result of previously existing conditions such as; visual, hearing, or motor impairments; emotional-behavioral disorders; mental retardation; speech/language deficits; learning disability; environmental and/or economic disadvantage; and/or cultural differences? Posted 12/27/2004
Questions & Answers
1. When determining eligibility for Emotional Disturbance, is using a 1.5 standard deviation (SD) discrepancy between ability and achievement acceptable as the sole criterion for demonstrating an adverse impact on educational performance? Posted 12/27/2004
No, adverse educational impact cannot be limited to discrete test scores in only the academic/cognitive areas. Academic achievement should not be the only factor considered when describing educational concerns. There should be a convergence of evidence from a variety of areas (academic performance, social functioning, vocational related behavior, personal skills) that supports how the disability is affecting the student’s performance in the total educational environment.
Consider this example, a fourteen-year-old student is increasingly violent toward other students and verbally abusive toward teachers and other school personnel. Over a period of several months the behavior escalates, interfering significantly with the safety and educational opportunities of other students and adults. Despite the behavioral problems the student maintains passing grades and in a full and individual evaluation is found to be achieving slightly below the level predicted from an ability measure. If the criteria limited the eligibility to a 1.5 SD discrepancy, this student would not be eligible.
2. Is using a 1.5 standard deviation (SD) discrepancy between ability and achievement acceptable as the sole criterion for demonstrating an adverse impact on educational performance for an eligibility determination of Other Health Impaired? Posted 12/27/2004
No, this would be more restrictive than regulation allows. For the category of Other Health Impaired, state regulations do not require that adverse impact on educational performance be limited to a discrepancy between cognitive ability and academic achievement. There are other factors that should be considered that may present evidence of the health condition’s adverse affect on educational performance, such as:
- Variability of performance across tested areas;
- Discrepancy between measured cognitive ability and performance (evidence by both standardized and informal documentation);
- Emotional indicators of effort on the student’s part in academic and/or cooperative social situations;
- Pattern of inconsistent behaviors within and across settings;
- Inability to sustain attention to task over a period of time compared to peers.
3. Is a DSM-IV diagnosis required as part of the eligibility criteria for Emotional Disturbance? Posted 12/27/2004
No, a DSM-IV diagnosis is not required to establish an emotional condition as the term is defined in state and federal regulation. Without reiterating those criteria here, it is important to note that emotional disturbance is a condition that exists over a long period of time, to a marked degree, that adversely affects a child’s educational performance. There are five sets of behavioral symptoms, any one or more of which the child might exhibit (over a long period of time and to a marked degree), to indicate that they have an emotional condition under IDEA. It is the presence of one or more of those behavioral symptoms over a long period of time and to a marked degree that an agency would use as one indicator of the presence of an emotional disturbance.
4. Does the eligibility determination for Emotional Disturbance require the consideration and exclusion of socioeconomic factors before a student can be determined eligible? Posted 12/27/2004
No, state and federal regulations require that the a student may not be determined eligible under IDEA if the determinant factor is lack of instruction in reading or math or Limited English Proficiency. There is no requirement that the team exclude students from eligibility in the area of Emotional Disturbance based upon “socioeconomic factors”. This exclusion is more restrictive than that of state and federal regulations.
5. When determining eligibility under the category of Traumatic Brain Injury, should the team conclude that the functional impairments are not the result of previously existing conditions such as; visual, hearing, or motor impairments; emotional-behavioral disorders; mental retardation; speech/language deficits; learning disability; environmental and/or economic disadvantage; and/or cultural differences? Posted 12/27/2004
No, these exclusions go beyond state and federal regulations. There is no requirement in regulation for these exclusions when determining eligibility for Traumatic Brain Injury. State and federal regulations only require that a student may not be determined eligible under IDEA if the determinant factor for that eligibility determination is lack of instruction in reading or math or Limited English Proficiency.