Special Education Evaluation

Students are only able to access special education and 504 services after being evaluated for eligibility and approved for an individualized program that addresses disabilities. The process for evaluation is different for special education and 504 services, so there is more detailed information available for each program. However, many may not know if their child should have an IEP or 504 program, so the two hold some commonalities with their initial evaluation process. There is a step-by-step guide to evaluation below.

Getting Evaluated for a Disability

PPS is required to find children who may qualify for services, and do so by providing school SpEd/504 teams information on disabilities, effects, and referral procedures. With this information, a child may be referred for evaluation for suspected or possible disabilities by their teacher, counselor, or administrators and staff. However, parents most frequently are the ones who initiate the evaluation process, as parents are often more familiar with their children's development.

Parents are guided to speak to a student's teacher, but if the results are unsatisfactory, some parents expedite this process by speaking to the school's administration or 504/SpEd program directly. Reaching out to the 504 or Special Education coordinator for the school is the most direct line of contact for parents to accommodation services.

The school team will also likely attempt to initially address concerns through the School Intervention Team (SIT), but if their concerns cannot be addressed by these interventions, there can be a referral to the 504 and SpEd programs. The goal of the SIT team is to evaluate factors that may impact a student's ability to succeed at school. Parents may be able to expedite this process by specifically requesting a SpEd or 504 evaluation rather than just raising a concern about development, behavior, or learning in their child.

If the school team believes that a student may qualify for one of the categories declared under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, they are likely to be referred to the Special Education office. If not, the student may be referred to the 504 coordinator/team.

Parent advocacy plays a large role in the support that students receive. If a parent is not satisfied with the decision made by SIT, there may be opportunities to appeal this decision with further conversations and documentation for the school and district.

Directed to IEP Consideration

To be eligible for services under IDEA with an IEP, a student must be documented with a diagnosis of one of the disabilities described under IDEA. If a child is suspected to have one or more of these disabilities, they will likely be referred to the Special Education department for further evaluation.

Evaluation for SpEd programs involves a sequence of events focused on information collection and information interpretation regarding the student's disabilities. According to the PPS Special Education guid, when the concern of a disability is first raised, the student must be formally tested for a diagnosis. This testing may be done through the district, and district testing options should be offered to parents that request them. However, private evaluations can expedite the process. There are specific criteria that the student must possess or exhibit to qualify for each disability under IDEA, which can be determined through the formal testing, teacher reports, observation data, inspection of work, achievement and ability scores, speech and language test scores, the apparent interview, and behavior/personality.

Directed to 504 Consideration

To be eligible for services under a 504 accommodation plan, the primary criteria to determine whether or not the child qualifies is categories and disabilities described in Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Under this law, a child can be considered "disabled" if the student has a physical or mental impairment or disability that substantially limits one or more major life activities. Students who actively have these conditions are eligible for 504 plans, though all students who have at some point fallen under this category, including those who have a history of an impairment or are regarded as having an impairment are protected from discrimination. The 504 plan page has more details on what and how conditions qualify for 504 plans.

A child who is referred for 504 services will have the referral/concern assessed by the school 504 team in conjunction with evaluations, reports, and information about the child's performance in schools. Submitting any information obtained from an outside source, like a child psychologist, in this phase, can help push the decision in a student's favor for 504 eligibility.

If a student is determined as potentially applicable for 504 services, a 504 team assembled from the child's school (usually the principal or assistant principal, school counselor, school teacher, and parent). However, members of the 504 team need to meet the following criteria to be eligible:

• Someone who is knowledgable about the student
• Someone who is knowledgable about the evaluation data
• AND someone who is knowledgable about the accommodations and placement options.

If a child is seeking support for a new diagnosis or has never been evaluated before, there may be requests from the school team for additional or professional evaluations. The evaluation and information gathering process depends on the condition the child is evaluated for (medical conditions, for instance, require a different form and may need support from a physician or healthcare provider).

A parent must consent at this point to the final evaluation via a 504 Prior Notice/Parent Consent to Evaluate form. This form will be given to the parent at the 504 meeting or be sent home with the child if the parent is not present at the 504 meeting.

Child Find

Main article: Child Find

Student Intervention Team

Main article: Student Intervention Team

The Student Intervention Team is a program part of PPS which meets to discuss needs of specific students and implements a tiered approach to student supports. The team is comprised of relevant staff at the school that have perspectives on how to support the concern raised for each student. The SIT team meets to address a variety of concerns, but in terms of special education and 504 evaluations, if a parent or teacher requests one of these evaluations, that meeting will happen simultaneously with a meeting with the Student Intervention Team.

How can I get my child evaluated?

If you are concerned about a potential disability or other factor affecting your child's success in school, the following steps can be taken to get the child evaluated.

1. Raise the concern to a faculty member, usually the child's teacher. The concern will need to be delivered in written form (via email or paper) but it may be advantageous to get the process started by speaking with someone who can provide a clear path of how the process works at each specific school.
2. A parent may also reach out to the district or school Special Education or 504 coordinator, though this is a more ideal option for those who are more clear on which option would be right for their child. Some contacts are provided by PPS to reach out to for questions about special education/504 programs.
3. School team that has received concern/report may refer to the SPED or 504 team. Depending on the team, there are different processes as seen above.

As of July 2025, PPS currently lists Paulina Larenas as the community and family special education coordinator, who can be contacted at plarenas@pps.net or at (503)916-3723.