| Key Topics: | SLD Written Report | Team Override Criteria | SLD Resources |
Definition.
"Specific learning disability" means a condition within the pupil affecting learning, relative to potential and:
A. manifested by interference with the acquisition, organization, storage, retrieval, manipulation, or expression of information so that the pupil does not learn at an adequate rate when provided with the usual developmental opportunities and instruction from a regular school environment;
B. demonstrated by a significant discrepancy between a pupil's general intellectual ability and academic achievement in one or more of the following areas: oral expression, listening comprehension, mathematical calculation or mathematics reasoning, basic reading skills, reading comprehension, and written expression; and
C. demonstrated primarily in academic functioning, but may also affect self-esteem, career development, and life adjustment skills. A specific learning disability may occur with, but cannot be primarily the result of: visual, hearing, or motor impairment; cognitive impairment; emotional disorders; or environmental, cultural, economic influences, or a history of an inconsistent education program.
Criteria.
A pupil has a specific learning disability and is in need of special education and related services when the pupil meets the criteria in items A, B, and C. Information about each item must be sought from the parent and must be included as part of the evaluation data. The evaluation data must confirm that the disabling effects of the pupil's disability occur in a variety of settings.
A. The pupil must demonstrate severe underachievement in response to usual classroom instruction. The performance measures used to verify this finding must be both representative of the pupil's curriculum and useful for developing instructional goals and objectives. The following evaluation procedures are required at a minimum to verify this finding:
(1) evidence of low achievement from, for example, cumulative record reviews, class work samples, anecdotal teacher records, formal and informal tests, curriculum based evaluation results, and results from instructional support programs such as Chapter 1 and Assurance of Mastery; and
(2) at least one team member other than the pupil's regular teacher shall observe the pupil's academic performance in the regular classroom setting. In the case of a child served through an Early Childhood Special Education program or who is out of school, a team member shall observe the child in an environment appropriate for a child of that age.
B. The pupil must demonstrate a severe discrepancy between general intellectual ability and achievement in one or more of the following areas: oral expression, listening comprehension, written expression, basic reading skills, reading comprehension, mathematical calculation, or mathematical reasoning. The demonstration of a severe discrepancy shall not be based solely on the use of standardized tests. The team shall consider these standardized test results as only one component of the eligibility criteria. The instruments used to assess the pupil's general intellectual ability and achievement must be individually administered and interpreted by an appropriately licensed person using standardized procedures. For initial placement, the severe discrepancy must be equal to or greater than 1.75 standard deviations below the mean of the distribution of difference scores for the general population of individuals at the pupil's chronological age level.
C. The team must agree that it has sufficient evaluation data that verify the following conclusions:
(1) the pupil has an information processing condition that is manifested by behaviors such as: inadequate or lack of expected acquisition of information, lack of organizational skills, for example, following written and oral directions; spatial arrangements; correct use of developmental order in relating events; transfer of information onto paper; visual and auditory memory; verbal and nonverbal expression; and motor control for written tasks such as pencil and paper assignments, drawing, and copying; (see MDE list of tools)
(2) the disabling effects of the pupil's information processing condition occur in a variety of settings; and
(3) the pupil's underachievement is not primarily the result of: visual, hearing, or motor impairment; developmental cognitive disabilities; emotional or behavioral disorders; environmental, cultural, or economic influences; or a history of inconsistent educational programming.
Current as of 01/31/05
The team shall prepare a written report of the results of the evaluation. The report must include a statement of:
1. whether the child has a specific learning disability;
2. the relevant behavior as it relates to academic functioning noted during the observation of the child;
3. whether there is a severe discrepancy between achievement and ability that is not correctable without special education and related services; and
4. the determination of the team concerning the effects of the following:
o Vision, motor, or hearing impairment
o cognitive impairment o emotional or behavioral disorder o environmental, cultural, or economic influences
o history of inconsistent education program o lack of instruction in reading or math
o limited English proficiency
Each team member shall certify in writing whether the report reflects his or her conclusion. If it does not reflect his or her conclusion, the team member must submit a separate statement presenting his or her conclusion.
The team may determine that a pupil is eligible for special instruction and related services because the pupil has a disability and needs special instruction even though the pupil does not meet the specific requirement in parts 3525.1325 to 3525.1345and 3525.2335.
The team must include the documentation in the pupil's special education record in accordance with items A, B, C, and D.
A. The pupil's record must contain documents that explain why the standards and procedures used with the majority of pupils, resulted in invalid findings for this pupil.
B. The record must indicate what objective data were used to conclude that the pupil has a disability and is in need of specialized instruction. These data may include, for example, test scores, work products, self-reports, teacher comments, medical data, previous testing, observational data, ecological assessments, and other developmental data.
C. Since the eligibility decision is based on a synthesis of multiple data and not all data are equally valid, the team must indicate which data had the greatest relative importance for the eligibility decision.
D. The team override decision must be signed by the team members agreeing to the override decision. For those team members who disagree with the override decision, a statement of why they disagree and their signature must be included.
Introduction to Auditory Processing Disorders