Eligibility

The determination of eligibility for special education services must be made by the Admission, Review and Dismissal (ARD) Committee.  Using the information from the Full and Individual Evaluation (FIE) the ARD Committee determines whether the child has a disability; and as a result of the disability needs special education services (The Legal Framework for the Child-Centered Special Education Process: Determination of Eligibility: http://fw.esc18.net/frameworkdisplayportlet/ESC18-FW-Summary.aspx?FID=111).

In general the Full and Individual Evaluation (FIE) is the collection of information used to determine whether a child is a child with a disability, and to determine the educational needs of the child. The team that collects or reviews evaluation data, referred to as the group of qualified professionals, must use a variety of assessment tools and strategies to gather relevant functional, developmental, and academic information, including information provided by the parent. An evaluation may include giving individual tests, observing the student, looking at educational records, and talking with the student and his/her teachers and parents (The Legal Framework - Terms and Definitions for Glossary: Evalution - http://fw.esc18.net/frameworkdisplayportlet/ESC18-FW-Glossaries.aspx).

For autism the child must be assessed in all areas of the suspected disability.  The characteristics often associated with autism are:

A child may be considered to be a child with autism if the child has a developmental disability significantly affecting verbal communication; nonverbal communication; and social interaction.

The characteristics of autism are generally evident before age three; but could be manifested after age three.  The autism adversely affects the child’s educational performance and by reason of the autism, the child needs special education services (The Legal Framework - Autism: http://fw.esc18.net/frameworkdisplayportlet/ESC18-FW-Summary.aspx?FID=135).

Please see A Guide to the Admission, Review and Dismissal Process on the Legal Framework site at ESC Region 18 for more information.

For a discussion of diagnosis versus disability label, please see the information at Texas Project FIRST http://texasprojectfirst.org/DiagnosisVSDisability.html.

The Legal Framework
https://framework.esc18.net/
ESC Region 18 provides Statewide Leadership for the Legal Framework for the Child-Centered Process in Texas.

Texas Project First
http://www.texasprojectfirst.org/
Created by parents for parents this website, a project of the Texas Education Agency, is committed to providing accurate and consistent information to parents and families of students with disabilities.

State Evaluation Network
http://www.esc12.net/evaluation/html/default.html
The Statewide Leadership for Evaluation includes an evaluation (educational diagnostician or LSSP) from each Education Service Center. The task of this statewide leadership is to provide technical support/assistance to Local Education Agencies (LEAs) regarding special education issues related to evaluations and evaluation personnel through a statewide coordinated effort based upon a statewide needs assessment. The Statewide Leadership also works closely with TEA in providing the most current and up to date information available to our districts.