Virginia Regulatory Town Hall
Agency
Department of Education
 
Board
State Board of Education
 
Guidance Document Change: The VDOE Supplemental Guidance for Evaluation and Eligibility in Special Education was developed to assist Individualized Education Program (IEP) and Eligibility teams, including parents, as they engage in evaluation, eligibility determinations, and decisions regarding the need for related services. This guidance is an addendum to the Virginia Department of Education’s Guidance on Evaluation and Eligibility for Special Education and Related Services. This document was developed in response to Recommendations 1 and 2 from the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) 2020 report on K-12 Special Education in Virginia. The Supplemental Guidance provides information about data sources that may be used to inform eligibility for special education services or a need for a related service, as well as information to assist in the local interpretation for terminology in Virginia special education regulations that are not clearly defined (e.g., determining “adverse educational impact” and determining “need for specially designed instruction”). The Sample Eligibility Forms and Disability Worksheets reflects a revision to the existing Guidance on Evaluation and Eligibility for Special Education Appendix (Sample Evaluation and Eligibility Forms). This revision was made in response to Recommendation 2 from the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) 2020 report on K-12 Special Education in Virginia. The sample forms and worksheets are provided to assist Local Educational Agencies (LEA) in documenting eligibility determinations in accordance with the criteria contained in the Regulations Governing Special Education Programs for Children with Disabilities in Virginia.
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9/3/21  3:08 pm
Commenter: Jennifer Wheelock

Oppose
 

Hello, I write in opposition to this guidance. I am concerned that this guidance could be used by school teams to fail to identify and offer services to students with learning disabilities.  No studies are cited to support the specific claims, which could represent as much as 2 and 1/3 standard deviations.  

I note that this guidance will apply not only to standardized tests, but also to the norm-referenced assessments commonly used in schools precisely to identify students at early age for learning disabilities.  If bias exists in the instruments, then let's fix the instruments.  However, far greater harm will be done to students with specific learning disabilities by failing to identify them based on undocumented claims of bias in the instrument.

Please support the important progress being made in critical early identification and intervention of ALL students with learning disabilities and do not adopt this guidance. 

CommentID: 99903