Commonly Asked Questions
What is special education?
Special education is instruction that is specially designed to meet the unique needs of students with disabilities. Special education and related services are provided in public schools at no cost to the parents. They can include special instruction in the classroom, at home, in hospitals, in institutions, or in other settings. This definition of special education comes from IDEA, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. This law gives eligible students with disabilities the right to receive special services and assistance in school.
More than 6.8 million youth ages 3 through 21 receive special education and related services annually in the United States. Each of these students receives specially designed instruction:
- to meet their unique needs (that result from having a disability);
- to help the student learn the information and skills that other students are learning in the general education curriculum.
Who is eligible for special education?
Students with disabilities are eligible for special education and related services when they meet IDEA’s definition of a “child with a disability” in combination with state and local policies. IDEA’s definition of a “child with a disability” lists 13 different disability categories under which a student may be found eligible for special education and related services. These categories are listed below.
Autism (AUT)
Deafness (DEAF)
Deaf-Blindness (DB)
Established Medical Disability (EMD)
Hearing Impairment (HI)
Intellectual Disabilities (ID)
Orthopedic Impairment (OI)
Other Health Impairment (OHI)
Serious Emotional Disturbance (ED)
Specific Learning Disability (SLD)
Speech or Language Impairment (SLI)
Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
Visual Impairment, including Blindness (VI)
How is my student's eligibility for special education decided?
Parents are part of the team determining a student’s special education eligibility. This team will review all the information gathered during the evaluation and decide if your student meets the definition of a “child with a disability.” If so, your student will be eligible for special education and related services.
Under IDEA, a student may not be found eligible for services if the determining reason for thinking the student is eligible is that:
- the student has limited English proficiency, or
- the student has not had appropriate instruction in math or reading.
If your student is found eligible, you and the school will work together to design an individualized education program (IEP) for your student.
The school will give you a copy of the evaluation report on your student and the paperwork about your student’s eligibility for special education and related services. This documentation is provided at no cost.
The school will give you a copy of the evaluation report on your student and the paperwork about your student’s eligibility for special education and related services. This documentation is provided at no cost.
What happens if my student is not eligible for special education?
Suppose the eligibility team decides your student is not eligible for special education. In that case, the school system must tell you this in writing and explain why your student has been found “not eligible.” Under IDEA, you must also be given information about what you can do if you disagree with this decision.
Read the information the school system provides you. Ensure it includes information about how to appeal the school system’s decision. If that information is not in the materials the school gives you, ask the school for it. IDEA includes many different mechanisms for resolving disagreements, including mediation. The school must tell you what those mechanisms are and how to use them.
What information is in my student's IEP?
Your student’s IEP will contain the following statements:
- Present levels of academic achievement and functional performance. This statement describes how your student is currently achieving in school. This includes how your student’s disability affects their participation and progress in the general education curriculum.
- Annual goals. The IEP must state yearly goals for your student that you and the school team think they can reasonably accomplish in a year. The goals must relate to meeting the needs that result from your student’s disability. They must also help your student participate in and progress in the general education curriculum.
- Special education and related services are to be provided. The IEP must list the special education and related services for your student. This includes supplementary aids and services (e.g., preferential seating, a communication device, and small group instruction that can increase your student’s access to learning and their participation in school activities. It also includes changes to the program or support for school personnel that will be provided for your student.
- Participation with children without disabilities. The IEP must include an explanation that answers this question: How much of the school day will your student be educated separately from students without disabilities or not participate in extracurricular or other nonacademic activities such as lunch or clubs?
- Dates and location. The IEP must state (a) when special education and related and supplementary aids and services will begin, (b) how often they will be provided, (c) where they will be provided, and (d) how long they will last.
- Participation in state and district-wide assessments. Your state and district probably give student achievement tests to students in specific grades or age groups. To participate in these tests, your student may need individual accommodations or changes in how the tests are administered. The IEP team must decide what accommodations your student needs and list them in the IEP. If your student will not be taking these tests. The IEP must include a statement as to why the tests are inappropriate for your student, how your student will be tested instead, and why the alternate assessment selected is appropriate.
- Transition services. By the time your student is 16 (or younger, if the IEP team finds it appropriate for your student), the IEP must include measurable postsecondary goals related to your student’s training, education, employment, and (when appropriate) independent living skills. The IEP must also include the transition services needed to help your student reach those goals, including what your student should study.
- Measuring progress. The IEP must state how school personnel will measure your student’s progress toward the annual goals. It must also say when it will give you periodic reports on your student’s progress.
Can my student's IEP be changed?
Yes. At least once a year, a meeting must be scheduled with you to review your student’s progress and develop your student’s new annual IEP. But you don’t have to wait for this annual review. You (or any other team member) may ask to have your student’s IEP reviewed or revised at any time.
The meeting to revise the IEP will be similar to the IEP meeting described above. The team will talk about:
- you student's progress toward the goals in the current IEP;
- what new goals should be added, and
- whether any changes need to be made to the special education and related services your student received.
This plan review IEP meeting - or any periodic IEP review you might request - allows you and the school to review your student's educational program and change it as necessary.