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Special Education: Requesting an eligibility evaluation

Updated 18 October 2024
Published 28 July 2017
…A parent or public agency may initiate a request for an initial evaluation to determine if a child [has] a disability.…
  1. An initial evaluation must be conducted to determine if a child is eligible for special education services when a [school] suspects or has reason to suspect that:
    1. The child has a disability that has an adverse impact on the child’s educational performance; and
    2. The child may need special education services as a result of the disability.
  2. The [school] must designate a team to determine whether an initial evaluation will be conducted.
    1. The team must include the parent and at least two professionals….
    2. The team may make this decision without a meeting. If a meeting is held, parents must be invited to participate….
Rule 581-015-2105 Evaluation and Reevaluation Requirements
Oregon Administrative Rules
Chapter 581 (Department of Education)
Division 15 (Special Education)

[Schools must respond] promptly to requests initiated by a parent or public agency for an initial evaluation to determine [special education eligibility].

Policies and Procedures for Special Education: Section 3: Evaluation and Eligibility
Oregon Department of Education

Obtaining a Special Education evaluation for Individualized Educational Program (IEP) eligibility can be a lengthy process. In Oregon, schools have 60 school days to complete an evaluation after receiving signed parental consent. If a parent requests an evaluation, they must wait for the school to decide whether to offer one, which may not happen immediately. Once the school agrees to conduct an evaluation, a meeting is scheduled to plan the evaluation and obtain parental consent. Following signed parental consent, the school has 60 school days to complete the evaluation, which can easily extend beyond three calendar months due to weekends and holidays that do not count as school days.

An initial evaluation must be completed within 60 school days from written parent consent to the date of the meeting to consider eligibility.… An evaluation may be completed in more than 60 school days under the following circumstances…:

  1. The parents of a child repeatedly fail or refuse to produce the child for an evaluation, or for other circumstances outside the school district's control.
  2. The student is a transfer student in the process of evaluation and the district and the parents agree in writing to a different length of time to complete the evaluation…;
  3. The district and the parents agree in writing to extend the timeline for an evaluation to determine eligibility for specific learning disabilities ….
Rule 581-015-2110 General Evaluation and Reevaluation Procedures
Oregon Administrative Rules
Chapter 581 (Department of Education)
Division 15 (Special Education)

I encourage you to familiarize yourself with your rights, as reviewed by the Oregon Department of Education in their Procedural Safeguards Notice. I recommend making your request for an evaluation in writing, including clear requests, your signature, and the date, to prevent any misunderstandings that might delay the process (see Parent Request Template below).

Parent Request Template

[Full Name of Parent]
[Address of Parent]

[Date]

[Name of School]
[Address of School]

To whom it may concern,

I am a parent of [Full Name of Your Child]. My child has been struggling at school. [Provide detailed information about your concerns, using supporting evidence such as test scores, teacher communications, work samples, etc.]

I have been working with [Name of Your Child’s Teacher or Teachers] to help my child, and [I have not seen any improvement or the problems have been getting worse]. [Describe any interventions that were tried, including after-school tutoring, differentiated or small-group instruction, response to intervention (RtI), informal accommodations in the classroom, a Section 504 Plan, and evaluation for a diagnosis (e.g., through your pediatrician).]

Therefore, I am writing to formally request that my child be evaluated for special education services under the Child Find obligations of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

I look forward to working with you within the next 10 school days to develop an assessment plan to begin the evaluation process. Pursuant to the Procedural Safeguards Notice, please ensure that I receive copies of assessment results at least two days before any meeting because I cannot effectively inspect and review the records unless I receive those copies. Thank you very much for your help.

Sincerely,

Signature of Parent

[Printed Name of Parent]

Refer to the infographic flowchart below from Understood.org, titled IEP Roadmap: How Kids Get Special Education, to follow the typical paths from an evaluation to an IEP.

© Understood.org | unendorsed cropped infographic used by invitation to download and share

The table below outlines the descriptions of disability categories for Special Education eligibility, as adapted from the Oregon Administrative Rules.

Oregon Disability Category Descriptions
speech and language disorders
a school-age child up to 9 years old with delays that are at or below the 7th percentile (i.e., 1.5 standard deviations or more below the mean) in two or more of the following developmental areas:
  • cognitive development
  • physical development
  • communication development
  • social or emotional development
  • adaptive development
Children at least 3 years old who are not yet school-age may also qualify with a delay that is at or below the 2nd percentile (i.e., 2 standard deviations or more below the mean) in one of the developmental areas above.
a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written, which may manifest itself in an imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or do mathematical calculations (e.g., perceptual disabilities, brain injury, dyslexia, minimal brain dysfunction, and developmental aphasia), meeting all the following criteria:
  1. the child does not achieve adequately for the child's age or to meet Oregon grade-level standards in one or more of the following areas when provided with learning experiences and instruction appropriate for the child's age or Oregon grade-level standards:
    • basic reading skills
    • reading fluency skills
    • reading comprehension
    • mathematics calculation
    • mathematics problem-solving
    • written Expression
    • oral expression
    • listening comprehension
  2. for a student the school district evaluates using a model of strengths and weaknesses, the student exhibits a pattern of strengths and weaknesses in classroom performance, academic achievement, or both, relative to age, Oregon grade-level standards, or intellectual development, that is determined by the group to be relevant to the identification of a specific learning disability (for a student the school district evaluates using a response to intervention model, the student does not make sufficient progress to meet age or Oregon grade-level standards based on the student's response to scientific, research-based intervention)
  3. the pattern of strengths and weaknesses (or the rate of progress) is not primarily the result of any of the following:
    • visual, or motor impairment; deaf or hard of hearing; intellectual disability or emotional behavior disability
    • cultural factors
    • environmental or economic disadvantage
    • limited English proficiency
significantly subaverage general intellectual functioning, meeting all the following criteria:
  1. intelligence test score at or below the 2nd percentile (i.e., 2 standard deviations or more below the mean)
  2. deficits in adaptive behavior coexistent with the child's impairment in intellectual functioning
  3. developmental level or educational achievement that is significantly below age or grade norms
  4. developmental or educational problems that are not primarily the result of sensory disabilities or other physical factors
limited strength, vitality, or alertness (including a heightened alertness to environmental stimuli) that results in limited alertness with respect to the educational environment, is due to a chronic or acute health problem, and is permanent (or expected to last for more than 60 calendar days). Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) might qualify for Special Education under this category or for accommodations under Section 504.
developmental disability meeting all the following criteria:
  1. persistent deficits in social communication and social interaction across multiple contexts, as evidenced by all the following, currently or by history (examples are illustrative, not exhaustive):
    • deficits in social-emotional reciprocity, ranging, for example, from abnormal social approach and failure of normal back-and-forth conversation; to reduced sharing of interests, emotions, or affect; to failure to initiate or respond to social interactions
    • deficits in nonverbal communicative behaviors used for social interaction, ranging, for example, from poorly integrated verbal and nonverbal communication; to abnormalities in eye contact and body language or deficits in understanding and use of gestures; to a total lack of facial expressions and nonverbal communication
    • deficits in developing, maintaining, and understanding relationships, ranging, for example, from difficulties adjusting behavior to suit various social contexts; to difficulties in sharing imaginative play or in making friends; to absence of interest in peers
  2. restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities, as evidenced by at least two of the following, currently or by history (examples are illustrative, not exhaustive):
    • stereotyped or repetitive motor movements, use of objects, or speech (e.g., simple motor stereotypes, lining up toys or flipping objects, echolalia, idiosyncratic phrases)
    • insistence on sameness, inflexible adherence to routines, or ritualized patterns of verbal or nonverbal behavior (e.g., extreme distress at small changes, difficulties with transitions, rigid thinking patterns, greeting rituals, need to take the same route or eat the same food every day)
    • highly restricted, fixated interests that are abnormal in intensity or focus (e.g., strong attachment to or preoccupation with unusual objects, excessively circumscribed or perseverative interests)
    • hyper- or hypo-reactivity to sensory input or unusual interest in sensory aspects of the environment (e.g., apparent indifference to pain/temperature, adverse response to specific sounds or textures, excessive smelling or touching of objects, visual fascination with lights or movement)
  3. characteristics were generally evident before age three but may not have become fully evident until social demands exceeded limited capacities or may have been masked by learned strategies.
  4. characteristics are not better described by another established or suspected eligibility for special education services. A child may not be eligible for special education services based on an autism spectrum disorder if the child's primary disability is an Emotional Behavior Disability; however, a child with autism spectrum disorder as a primary disability may also have an emotional behavior disability as a secondary disability.
exhibiting at least one of the following characteristics over a long period of time and to a marked degree that adversely affects a child's educational performance:
  • inability to learn that cannot be explained by intellectual, sensory, or health factors
  • inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships with peers and teachers
  • inappropriate types of behavior or feelings under normal circumstances
  • general pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression
  • tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears associated with personal or school problems
an acquired injury to the brain caused by an external physical force that is permanent (or expected to last for more than 60 calendar days) and results in impairment in one of the follow areas:
  • communication
  • behavior
  • cognition, memory, attention, abstract thinking, judgment, problem-solving, reasoning, and/or information processing
  • sensory, perceptual, motor and/or physical abilities
motor impairment (e.g., caused by cerebral palsy, spina bifida, muscular dystrophy or traumatic injury) that results in deficits in the quality, speed, or accuracy of movement, is permanent (or expected to last for more than 60 calendar days), and meets one of the following criteria:
  • scores at or below the 2nd percentile (i.e., 2 or more standard deviations below the mean) in at least one of the following:
    • fine motor skills
    • gross motor skills
    • self-help skills
  • functional deficits in at least two of the following:
    • fine motor skills
    • gross motor skills
    • self-help skills
impairment in hearing, whether permanent or fluctuating, that is so severe that the child is impaired in processing linguistic information through hearing, with or without amplification, and meets one of the following criteria:
  • hearing thresholds in at least one ear of 25 dBHL or greater at two or more consecutive frequencies at 500 Hz, 1000 Hz, 2000 Hz, 4000 Hz, 6000 Hz and 8000 Hz
  • hearing loss due to auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder (ANSD) or aural microtia/atresia
vision that, even with correction, adversely affects a child's educational performance (e.g., low vision, total blindness, limited visual acuity after correction, restricted visual field, and progressive eye conditions)

This table is adapted from the Oregon Administrative Rules, Chapter 581, Division 15, and is not intended to serve as a primary source of information.

[Schools] must comply with a parent’s request to inspect and review records without unnecessary delay and…before any meeting regarding an IEP….

Rule 581-015-2300 Access to Student Education Records
Oregon Administrative Rules
Chapter 581 (Department of Education)
Division 15 (Special Education)

It is…important to ensure that parents have the information they need to participate meaningfully in IEP Team meetings, which may include reviewing their child’s records.…It would be appropriate for parents to review documents related to the determination of eligibility prior to the eligibility determination….

Building the Legacy: IDEA 2004
U.S. Department of Education

Your right to inspect and review education records includes:

  1. Your right to a response from the school…to your reasonable requests for explanations and interpretations of the records;
  2. Your right to request that the school…provide copies of the records if you cannot effectively inspect and review the records unless you receive those copies; and
  3. Your right to have your representative inspect and review the records.
Procedural Safeguards Notice: Parent Rights for Special Education: K‑21
Oregon Department of Education

Parents are important members of the teams that determine Special Education eligibility and develop IEPs; it’s crucial that you can participate meaningfully in meetings about your child. Special Education eligibility evaluations can include several lengthy assessment reports (e.g., 6 to 13 pages each) from multiple Special Education providers (e.g., a School Psychologist, a Special Education Teacher, a Speech and Language Pathologist, an Occupational Therapist, etc.). Therefore, I encourage you to request copies of records to review before meetings (see the last paragraph of the Parent Request Template above).

You…may request a due process hearing on any matter relating to a proposal or a refusal to initiate or change the identification, evaluation or educational placement of your child….

Procedural Safeguards Notice: Parent Rights for Special Education: K‑21
Oregon Department of Education
Powells Amazon

If you encounter problems, you may be able to file a request for a due process hearing, as described in the Procedural Safeguards Notice. The Oregon Department of Education provides a Due Process Hearing Request form. To better advocate for your child, you might need to learn more about Special Education. FACT Oregon, a local non-profit, aims to assist Oregonians who need Special Education. WrightsLaw.com and several books published by Nolo provide information about Special Education. However, all of this information is certainly not a substitute for personalized advice from a knowledgeable lawyer. If you want or need the help of a trained professional, consult an attorney licensed to practice in your state.

Special Education & 504 2