IDEA Complaint Decision 24-042

On April 9, 2024 (form dated April 3, 2024), the Department of Public Instruction (department) received a complaint under state and federal special education law from #### (complainant) against the #### (district). This is the department’s decision regarding that complaint. The issues are whether the district, beginning the 2023-24 school year, properly fulfilled its responsibility to locate, identify, and evaluate a student with a suspected disability, and properly responded to a parent’s request for a special education evaluation.

 

School districts are required under state and federal special education law to locate, identify, and evaluate all resident students with disabilities who have not graduated from high school. This responsibility is often referred to as “child find.” The purpose of an evaluation is to determine whether the student qualifies as a child with a disability in need of special education and the nature and extent of the student's educational needs. All referrals for special education evaluations must be in writing and include the name of the child and the reasons why the person believes that the child is a child with a disability. Wis. Stat. § 115.777(2)(a). Within 15 business days of receiving a referral, the district must appoint an individualized education program (IEP) team, including the student's parents; the IEP team must conduct a review of existing data to determine what additional data, including information from assessment or other evaluation activities, are needed to complete the evaluation; and the district must send the student's parents either a notice that no additional assessments are needed or request for consent to evaluate the student and conduct additional assessments. Wis. Stat. § 115.777 (3)(e). The district must complete all assessments and hold an IEP team meeting to determine the student's eligibility within 60 days of the district's receipt of the parent's consent to conduct assessments, or from the date the parents were notified that no additional assessments are needed. 34 CFR §§ 300.304 - 300.306; Wis. Stat. § 115.78(3)(a).

 

The complainant communicated to school staff with concerns about the student’s performance towards the end of the 2022-23 school year but did not request a special education evaluation at that time.

 

On September 5, 2023, a school staff member reached out to the parent via email to revisit the parent’s concerns. That staff member and the parents spoke on the phone on September 15, 2023. During this call they went over the parent’s concerns and discussed the possibility of an initial special education evaluation. At first the parents requested that the district begin an evaluation, but later during the conversation indicated they did not wish to proceed with the evaluation at that time. The district put a plan in place to monitor the student’s progress and would meet with the student’s parents again later in the semester.

 

District staff and the student’s parent met on December 6, 2023, to discuss parent concerns and review the student’s performance. At that time school staff did not feel that a special education evaluation was necessary as the student was making appropriate progress in the general education curriculum. Additionally, while the parents raised concerns about some behaviors the student was exhibiting regarding task avoidance, staff believed the behavior was not atypical and did not warrant initiation of an evaluation. Regardless, school staff still offered the parent another opportunity to initiate a special education evaluation and the parent declined at that time.

District staff held another meeting with the student’s parent on March 20, 2024. Staff again asked if the parents would like to move forward with an initial evaluation. This time the parents said yes, and a referral was completed that day. District staff requested the parents’ consent for additional testing on April 4, 2024. The student’s IEP team met to determine the student’s eligibility on May 23, 2024. The team found the student was not eligible for special education.

District staff were responsive to the parent’s concerns about the student’s performance and held meetings with the parent multiple times. Despite the belief of district staff that no evaluation was necessary they explained the option and process to the parent and proactively offered opportunities to start a special education evaluation several times during the 2023-24 school year. Once the parent decided they would like to proceed with a referral, the district promptly began the process and timely completed the evaluation. The district properly fulfilled its child find responsibility and properly responded to a parent request for a special education evaluation.

This concludes our review of this complaint. This decision is final for the IDEA State Complaint process. These issues may be addressed through other dispute resolutions, including mediation and due process hearings. For more information, visit the department’s website at http://dpi.wi.gov/sped/dispute-resolution or contact the special education team at (608) 266-1781.