Assessments by other specialists in the area of disability may also be required as indicated below. The SLS shall be considered a member of the CST in determination of eligibility for preschool and suspected language disorder students only. The SLS must evaluate students referred for a suspected language disorder and may be assigned as case manager for those eligible for speech and language services (ESLS) students. Audiometric and vision screenings shall be conducted for every student referred to the CST for a special education evaluation.

^{1 Corrective action plan (CAP) to address the disproportionate numbers of African American Students classified ED and OHI resulted in the district to mandate the assessments captured in the AD HOC recommendations}

* Note – 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.
 
What should each student’s evaluation include?

• The use of standardized test(s), where appropriate, or required, which shall be:
  • individually administered;
  • valid and reliable;
  • normed on a representative population; and
  • scored as either standard scores with standard deviation or norm referenced scores with a cutoff score; and
• A functional assessment of academic performance consisting of the following components shall be completed by at least one evaluator:
  • a minimum of one structured observation by one evaluator in other than a testing session;
  • 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;
  • in the case of a student of preschool age, a child study team member in an environment appropriate for a child of that age;
  • an interview with the student’s parent;
  • an interview with the teacher(s) referring the potentially disabled student;
  • a review of the student’s developmental/educational history including records and interviews;
  • a review of interventions documented by the classroom teacher(s), and others who work with the student; and
  • one or more informal measure(s) which may include, but not be limited to, survey and inventories, analysis of work, trial teaching, self report, criterion referenced tests, curriculum based assessments, and informal rating scales
• In addition, where behavioral and other particular concerns are noted:
  • a functional behavioral assessment,
  • an assessment of the language needs of a child with limited English proficiency
  • an assessment of the student’s communication needs, and
  • an assessment of the need for assistive technology devices and services
     

If a child study team member, related services provider, and/or parent(s) determines that an additional assessment or assessments are necessary to complete the initial evaluation of the student then the case manager must do the following:

• review existing evaluation data on the student
• identify what additional data, if any, is needed
• determine which child study team members and/or specialist shall conduct the evaluation.
• Complete the Notice of Additional Assessments Requested form 

What other types of evaluations can be conducted? 

• Speech/Language Evaluation(s)
   When the suspected disability is a disorder of articulation, voice or fluency, For example: Articulation (i.e., substitutions, omissions, distortion of sounds), Voice (i.e., pitch, volume, and quality), as well as Fluency (i.e., stuttering, repeating blocking of sounds and/or words and rapid rate). the Speech-Language Specialist shall:
  • 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 district’s programs to review existing data on the student, including evaluation and information provided by the parents, current classroom-based assessments and observations, and the observations of teachers and related services providers.
  • When a student is being evaluated to determine eligibility for speech-language services and other disabilities are suspected, the SLS should:
    • complete the evaluation and write the report, without having an eligibility meeting or developing an IEP.
    • immediately refer the student to the Child Study Team for an identification meeting. The SLS will complete the CST Referral form and submit to the CST at which time a CST member will assume case management responsibilities.
    • provide the Child Study Team with a copy of the speech language report and any other pertinent documentation
    • once the Child Study Team has determined an evaluation is warranted and parental consent has been obtained, the original 90 day time frame from when the original consent was obtained for the speech evaluation is upheld.
       
• Bilingual/Sign Language Evaluations
  • When making the determination for Bilingual Evaluations, the case-manager must consult with the building’s ESL Needs Assessment Coordinator.
  • If the individual members of the school based CST /SLS team are fluent in the home language of the referred student, the respective team member should conduct the evaluation.
  • When a child, accepted for CST evaluation, is not English dominant and the assigned school-based CST members can not evaluate the child in his/her native language, the case manager must:
    • Complete the Referral to Specialist form in its entirety clearly delineating the rationale for services, forward the request to the Bilingual CST via fax or email and, and provide an electronic copy (via email) of the referral to the Regional Special Education Supervisor.
    • Provide the bilingual evaluator(s) with:
      • a copy of the parental consent form
      • evidence indicating dominant language, (signed documentation from school’s needs assessment coordinator who will determine if assessments will be conducted in student’s native language), including Sign Language
      • copy of the ACCESS test results for English Language Learners with scores for categories and total results.
  • The Bilingual CST Team will log the request, review the request for bilingual evaluation, and assign cases based upon the type of assessment student requires and the date the referral was received.
  • Each bilingual evaluator must ensure that the:
    • Tests and other evaluation materials are:
      • Selected and administered so as not to be racially or culturally discriminatory;
      • Provided and administered in the student’s native language or other mode of communication unless it is clearly not feasible to do so; and
      • Selected and administered to ensure that they measure the extent to which the student has a disability and needs special education, rather than measure the student’s English language skills.
    • Bilingual evaluations, protocols, and reports written in English should be returned to the respective case managers within 60 days of parental consent to ensure legal mandated meetings are held within 90 day timeline (late referrals will be completed in order received).  
       
• Consultant Request
  Consultant Requests are referrals for evaluation(s) in specialty areas that may require staff other than CST/SLS personnel. The request for such evaluations are based on the student’s suspected disability (see previous chart) or services they may require to receive FAPE in the LRE. The evaluations may include but are not limited to: audiological, medical, neuro-developmental, optometric, ophthalmologic, and psychiatric.
  • The case manager must fill out the Referral to Specialist form indicating:
    • type of evaluation needed
    • rationale for identification/referral including the following:
      • current academic, cognitive, communication, interpersonal, and social functioning
      • pertinent information from the medical and developmental histories
      • copies of the Referral and Evaluation Warranted form including parental consent
      • any and all discipline reports and medical data available at the time of the referral
  • The case manager shall send acopy of the completed Referral to Specialist form to the corresponding special education Supervisor and a copy of the form to the following personnel:
    • Audiological: school nurse, or speech-language specialist, will assist case-manager in identifying student’s needs. The audiologist will schedule an appointment with the parent and notify case manager.
    • Medical Assessment: when student is suspected of having significant medical problems and the parent presents to the CST a medical diagnosis or summary of a prescription delineating the student’s needs, which may include medical equipment, assistive technology, the aid of a certified nurses assistant, licensed practical nurse or registered nurse, the information should be summarized and included on the consultant form, attach medical documentation, and forward to the Health Department where an assessment of the students needs and services would be determined.
    • Neuro-developmental and Psychiatric: case manager will complete Referral to Specialist form and forward via email to the Staff Psychiatrist who will contact the case manager to schedule appointments for Neuro-developmental and Psychiatric evaluations at the student’s home school. Missed appointments will be rescheduled based upon time availability.
    • Optometric/Ophthalmologic: contact school nurse.

Note: Consultant reports should be returned to the respective case manager within 60 days of parental consent to ensure legal mandate meetings are held within 90 day timeline.
 
Occupational and Physical Therapy/ Assistive Technology Request

To request an OT Assessment the following should occur:

• The Case Manager needs to complete the Referral to Specialist form for Initial and reevaluations of Preschoolers and forward it along with copies of ID meeting and parental consent to the OSE OT within 7 calendar days of meeting
• Requests for (Initial /Revaluation) OT assessments for students K through 12 must complete the Referral to Specialist form and fax it along with parental consent to OSE Supervisor
• Requests for OT assessments for students in OOD Placements must complete the Referral to Specialist form and forwarded it to OSE OT
• Outside OT assessments (completed Referral to Specialist form) will be forwarded to the OSE OT for review and appropriate action 
   

To request a PT Assessment the following should occur:

• All requests for PT Assessments (completed Referral to Specialist form) are to be forwarded along with copies of ID meeting and parental consent to the OSE PT within 7 calendar days of meeting for appropriate action.
• Requests for PT services requires a doctor’s prescription once the assessment has been completed.
• Outside PT assessments (completed Referral to Specialist form) will be forwarded to the OSE PT for review and appropriate action.

To request an AT Assessment the following should occur:

• The Case Manager should complete the Referral to Specialist form and forward it via fax along with copies of ID meeting and parental consent to the OSE /AT Coordinator within 7 calendar days of meeting.  
   

Note - If after the Identification Meeting, the decision to request an OT, PT and/or AT assessment is made the Case Manager will contact the parent, complete Notice of Additional Assessment Needed and Referral to Specialist forms and submit to the appropriate OSE OT/PT/AT

 

NOTE: If a student is entering the Cross County Clinical Services Schools from an out of state placement refer to the Walk-in Procedures
 
Evaluations to Determine Post-Secondary Outcomes:

• An assessment is required to determine appropriate post-secondary outcomes as part of transition services planning.
• Individual assessments are required for post-secondary outcomes beginning at age 14, or younger if appropriate.

Note – Information to determine post-secondary outcomes may be gathered as part of an initial evaluation or reevaluation. The evaluation process begins with a review of all available information. This includes information that is gathered by teachers through classroom activities, surveys, and/or checklists that are administered to all regular and/or special education students as part of career awareness activities. (All 8th, 9th and 10th grade students should be given interest inventories by school guidance counselors.) The CST case manager should notify the school guidance counselor of those students for whom they are case managers. The guidance counselor will forward results of these interest inventories to be used when assessing and planning for post secondary outcomes and in developing the transitional component of the IEP. After the review of available information has been conducted, the IEP team must determine whether any additional information is needed to establish appropriate post-secondary outcomes and develop a student’s program. Additional information may be gathered through the use of surveys, checklists, tests or interviews. Consent is always required when individual assessments are conducted as part of an initial evaluation or reevaluation. Information gathered through classroom activities or surveys, checklists administered to an entire class or grade that survey students’ interests or preferences to assist the student in identifying post-secondary outcomes do not require consent.
 
If a parent requests an independent evaluation
If there is a disagreement with the conclusions of the evaluation provided by the district, the parent has the right to request an independent evaluation by completing and signing the Parental Request for an Independent Evaluation form (with the assistance of the case manger). The case manager should immediately submit the Independent Evaluation Request to their respective special education supervisor, provide a copy of the request to the Parent and maintain the original document in the student's folder. The supervisor will then provide the parent/guardian/adult student with information regarding approved, independent evaluations.

• Such independent evaluation(s) shall be provided at no cost to the parent unless the district initiates a due process hearing to show that its evaluation is appropriate and a final determination to that effect is made following the hearing.
• Any independent evaluation purchased at public expense shall be conducted according to N.J.A.C. 6A: 14-3.4 and be obtained from another public school district, educational services commission, jointure commission, clinic or agency approved under N.J.A.C. 6A: 14-5, or private practitioner, who is certified and/or licensed, where a license is required.
• An independent medical evaluation may be obtained (N.J.A.C. 6A: 14-5.1(e)).
• Upon receipt of a parental request, the district shall provide information about where an independent evaluation may be obtained.
• Any independent evaluation submitted to the district shall be considered in making decisions regarding special education and related services.