Evaluation Procedures

Initial Evaluations

The purpose of the evaluation is to determine whether a child has a disability and the nature and extent of the special education and related services the child needs. The "initiation date" of the referral is defined as the date the parent signs the Consent for Evaluation. The general education teacher (or other referral source) has 10 calendar days from the "initiation date" to deliver the completed referral packet to the person (diagnostician or speech therapist) responsible for the evaluation The evaluation person(s) completes the full and individual evaluation and a written report. The date of the initial evaluation report is within 60 calendar days from the date of the initiation of the referral. 19 TAC Section 89.1011;TEC Section 29.004

An initial ARD to review the results of the initial evaluation, and to determine eligibility for special education, will be held within 30 calendar days from the date of the report.   If parents do not attend the initial ARD meeting, a second meeting will be scheduled, to ensure compliance with federal law.  If parent does not attend the second scheduled meeting, the ARD meeting will be conducted in their absence and campus evaluation personnel will contact parent to discuss the meeting results, obtain consent for placement, and offer an additional meeting if the parent desires.

Reevaluations of those students receiving direct services from the Regional Program for the Deaf (REPD) will be the responsibility of REPD personnel.

Evaluations Conducted by Contracted Personnel

Some disabling conditions or other special circumstances require that evaluations be conducted by qualified professionals who are not employees of the Amarillo ISD. A secretary in the special education department at the AISD Education Support Center maintains a list of physicians and other professionals with whom the district contracts to provide such evaluations.  In order to obtain an outside evaluation for a student, the campus diagnostician submits an authorization for payment form to this secretary specifying the type of evaluation requested and the purpose of the evaluation. The diagnostician should also submit a data sheet which reports any evaluation information that may have been gathered and may be useful to the contracted personnel in making the eligibility determination. The secretary schedules an appointment with the appropriate personnel and notifies the student's parent(s), the campus administrator (or designee) and the campus diagnostician as to the time and place of the appointment.