IDEA Specifications

P.L. 108-446 - The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA 2004) also specifies that:

• A state must adopt criteria for determining whether a student has a specific learning disability. The criteria adopted by the state—

• Must not require the use of a severe discrepancy between intellectual ability and achievement for determining whether a child has a specific learning disability;
• Must permit the use of a process based on the child’s response to scientific, research-based intervention; and
• May permit the use of other alternative research-based procedures for determining whether a child has a specific learning disability.

• In consistency with state criteria, a public agency must use the state criteria adopted in determining whether a child has a specific learning disability.

• The determination of whether a student suspected of having a specific learning disability is a student with a disability must be made by the child’s parents and a team of qualified professionals (IEP team), which must include—

• The student’s regular teacher, or if the child does not have a regular teacher, a regular classroom teacher qualified to teach a child of his or her age; or for a child of less than school age, an individual qualified by the SEA to teach a child of his or her age; and
• At least one person qualified to conduct individual diagnostic examinations of children, such as a school psychologist, speech-language pathologist, or remedial reading teacher.

The IEP team may determine that a child has a specific learning disability if:

• The child does not achieve adequately for the child’s age, or if the child does not meet state-approved 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 state-approved grade-level standards: oral expression; listening comprehension; written expression; basic reading skills; reading fluency skills; reading comprehension; mathematics calculation; and mathematics problem solving;

• The student does not make sufficient progress to meet age- or state-approved grade-level standards in one or more of the areas identified in the paragraph above when using a process based on the child’s response to scientific, research-based intervention; or

• The child exhibits a pattern of strengths and weaknesses in performance, achievement, or both, relative to age, state-approved grade level standards, or intellectual development, that is determined by the IEP team, using appropriate assessments, to be relevant to the identification of a specific learning disability; and

• The IEP team determines that its findings (as noted in the section above) are not primarily the result of a visual, hearing, or motor disability; mental retardation; emotional disturbance; cultural factors; environmental or economic disadvantage; or limited English proficiency.

To ensure that underachievement in a student suspected of having a specific learning disability is not due to lack of appropriate instruction, the IEP team must consider, as part of the evaluation described above:

• Data that demonstrate that prior to, or as a part of, the referral process, the student was provided appropriate instruction in regular education settings, delivered by qualified personnel; and

• Data-based documentation of repeated assessments of achievement at reasonable intervals, reflecting formal assessment of student progress during instruction, which was provided to the child’s parents.

The public agency and the IEP team must also ensure that the student is observed in his/her learning environment (including the regular classroom setting) to document the student’s academic performance and behavior in the areas of difficulty. In determining whether a student has a specific learning disability, the IEP team must:

• Use information from an observation in routine classroom instruction and monitoring of the student’s performance that was done before the child was referred for an evaluation; or

• Have at least one member of the IEP team conduct an observation of the student’s academic performance in the regular classroom after the child has been referred for an evaluation and parental consent is obtained; and

• In the case of a student of less than school age or out of school, a group member must observe the child in an environment appropriate for a child of that age.

For a student suspected of having a specific learning disability, the documentation of the determination of eligibility must contain a statement specifying —

• Whether the student has a specific learning disability;

• The basis for making the determination, including an assurance that the determination has been made in accordance with the state criteria;

• The relevant behavior, if any, noted during the observation of the student and the relationship of that behavior to the student’s academic functioning;

• The educationally relevant medical findings, if any;

• Whether:
• The student does not achieve adequately for the child’s age or meet state-approved grade-level standards consistent with the state criteria;

• The student does not make sufficient progress to meet age- or state-approved grade-level standards consistent with state criteria; or

• The student exhibits a pattern of strengths and weaknesses in performance, achievement, or both, relative to age, state-approved grade level standards, or intellectual development consistent with the state criteria;

• The determination of the IEP team concerning the effects of a visual, hearing, or motor disability; mental retardation; emotional disturbance; cultural factors; environmental or economic disadvantage; or limited English proficiency on the student’s achievement level; and

• If the student has participated in a process known as Response to Intervention (RTI), a procedure that assesses the child’s response to scientific, research-based intervention.

The term Response to Intervention refers to a tiered process of instruction that allows schools to identify struggling students early and provide appropriate instructional interventions. Additional details pertaining to this process are described elsewhere in this section.

Once assessment is completed, each member of the IEP team must certify in writing whether the report reflects the member’s conclusion. If it does not reflect the member’s conclusion, the group member must submit a separate statement presenting the member’s conclusions (IDEA, 2004).