Eligibility for special education Lawyer Manual

Eligibility conference

An eligibility conference occurs after the special education testing is complete. The full Team reviews the testing to determine whether the child meets the federal and/or state criteria as a child with a disability A substantial impairment that functionally limits a person in carrying out major life activities, such as walking, lifting, seeing, or learning. , and, as such, is eligible for special education services. Under IDEA, the “Team” must be composed of (See 34 CFR 300.321; 23 Ill. Admin. Code 226.210):

• Parents of the child,
• General education teacher,
• Special education teacher or provider,
• Individual who can interpret evaluation results,
• A representative of the public agency who can make commitments for provision of resources and be able to ensure that the services in the IEP will be implemented,
• Bilingual specialist or teacher if needed,
• A person knowledgeable about positive behavior strategies, if behavior impedes learning,
• At the discretion of parent or agency, other individuals having the knowledge or special expertise regarding the child, and
• The child where appropriate.

Eligibility for special education

The IDEA has specific categories for which a student can be considered disabled. The categories are:

• Autism,
• Deaf-Blindness,
• Deafness,
• Hearing When the parties in a case present their sides of a case to a judge or other officer Impairment,
• Mental Retardation,
• Multiple Disabilities,
• Orthopedic Impairment,
• Other Health Impairment,
• Serious Emotional Disturbance,
• Specific Learning Disability,
• Speech or Language Impairment,
• Traumatic Brain Injury, and
• Visual impairment, including Blindness.

See 34 CFR §300.8(a)(1). All of these categories are defined in IDEA. The lack of appropriate reading or math instruction and limited English proficiency are not bases for considering a student disabled. 34 CFR §300.306(b). 

Other Health Impairment (OHI), Emotional Disturbance (ED), and Learning Disability (LD) have nuanced definitions particular to IDEA. Children aged 3 through 9 experiencing developmental delays in one or more of the following areas: physical development, cognitive development, communication development, social or emotional development or adaptive development, may also be eligible for special education. 34 C.F.R. §300.8(b).