Eligibility determination
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Eligibility determination is the team decision, made after an evaluation, about whether a child has a disability under IDEA and needs special education.
Topic: Evaluation and assessment
In plain terms
Eligibility has two parts. First, the child must meet the criteria for one of IDEA's disability categories. Second, because of that disability, the child must need specially designed instruction. A diagnosis alone is not enough, and neither is low achievement alone. A child cannot be found eligible if the main reason is a lack of appropriate reading or math instruction, or limited English proficiency.
How it shows up in an IEP
The eligibility category opens the door to services, but it does not decide them. Goals and services are based on the student's individual needs, so a student found eligible under one category can still have goals in any area of need.
Example
A student with an ADHD diagnosis is evaluated. The team finds the student meets the other health impairment criteria and needs instruction in organization and task initiation, so the student is eligible.
The rule
Federal reference: 34 CFR §300.306, 34 CFR §300.8(a).
Rules vary by state. Check your state's regulations and your district's procedures.
Related terms
- Evaluation (special education)A special education evaluation is the set of assessments a school uses to decide whether a child has a disability and what services the child needs.
- Specific learning disabilityA specific learning disability is a disorder in a basic learning process that affects listening, thinking, speaking, reading, writing, spelling or math.
- Other health impairmentOther health impairment is an IDEA category for health problems that limit strength, energy or alertness and adversely affect educational performance.
- Specially designed instruction (SDI)Specially designed instruction is teaching adapted in content, method or delivery to meet a student's disability-related needs.
- IEP teamThe IEP team is the group of people, including the parents, who develop, review and revise a student's IEP together.
This page describes special education terms and federal rules in general terms and is not legal advice. Our editorial policy explains how IEP Atlas writes and reviews content. Browse all 244 terms.