The purpose of this amendment is to revise form 313181 as referenced in (10)(b) of this rule. Specifically section 1003.4282, F.S., was amended during the 2014 legislative session to create new standard diploma options for students with disabilities ...

 

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

State Board of Education

RULE NO.:RULE TITLE:

6A-6.0331General Education Intervention Procedures, Evaluation, Determination of Eligibility, Reevaluation and the Provision of Exceptional Student Education Services

PURPOSE AND EFFECT: The purpose of this amendment is to revise form 313181 as referenced in (10)(b) of this rule. Specifically Section 1003.4282, F.S., was amended during the 2014 legislative session to create new standard diploma options for students with disabilities beginning with the student cohort entering grade 9 in 2014-2015. Special diploma will no longer be an option for these students. Students instructed in access points curriculum and administered the Florida Alternate Assessment will be able to work toward a standard diploma given this legislation. Therefore, the form must be revised to align with this statutory change. In addition, timelines related to the evaluation process for students with disabilities are proposed for revision.

SUMMARY: The proposed rule amendment will change the timeline for requesting consent to evaluate a student when a school based team suspects that a student may be a student with a disability in need of special education or when a parent requests an evaluation; adds a new requirement when a child age 3 to kindergarten entry age receives a developmental screening from a Florida Diagnostic and Learning Resource Center (FDLRS), or the district, and a disability and need for special education and related services is suspected; changes the timeline to conduct evaluation of a student to 60 calendar days from time of parental consent, with holidays and summer vacations exempted from the timeline; and amends consent form 313181, related to instruction in the state standards access points curriculum and administration of the Florida Alternate Assessment specifically related to provisions regarding special diploma and impact of new graduation requirements.

SUMMARY OF STATEMENT OF ESTIMATED REGULATORY COSTS AND LEGISLATIVE RATIFICATION: The Agency has determined that this will not have an adverse impact on small business or likely increase directly or indirectly regulatory costs in excess of $200,000 in the aggregate within one year after the implementation of the rule. A SERC has not been prepared by the Agency.

The Agency has determined that the proposed rule is not expected to require legislative ratification based on the statement of estimated regulatory costs or if no SERC is required, the information expressly relied upon and described herein: 1) no requirement for SERC was triggered under Section 120.541(1), Florida Statutes, and; 2) based on past experiences with rules that affect individual students and their families in an educational setting and have no impact on small businesses, the adverse impact or regulatory cost, if any, do not exceed nor would be expected to exceed any one of the economic analysis criteria set forth in Section 120.541(2)(a), Florida Statutes.

Any person who wishes to provide information regarding a statement of estimated regulatory costs, or provide a proposal for a lower cost regulatory alternative must do so in writing within 21 days of this notice.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY: 1001.02(1), (2)(n), 1003.4282, 1003.57, 1003.571, 1003.5715 FS.

LAW IMPLEMENTED: 1003.01(3)(a), (b), 1003.4282, 1003.57, 1003.571, 1003.5715 FS.

A HEARING WILL BE HELD AT THE DATE, TIME AND PLACE SHOWN BELOW:

DATE AND TIME: November 18, 2014, 8:30 a.m.

PLACE: Seminole State College, Heathrow Campus, 1055 AAA Drive, Heathrow, FL 32746.

THE PERSON TO BE CONTACTED REGARDING THE PROPOSED RULE IS: Mary Jane Tappen, Executive Vice Chancellor, K-12 Public Schools, 325 West Gaines Street, Suite 1502, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0400, [e-mail]

 

THE FULL TEXT OF THE PROPOSED RULE IS:

 

6A-6.0331 General Education Intervention Procedures, Evaluation, Determination of Eligibility, Reevaluation and the Provision of Exceptional Student Education Services.

The state’s goal is to provide full educational opportunity and a free appropriate public education (FAPE) to all students with disabilities ages three (3) through twenty-one (21) and to students who are gifted in grades kindergarten through 12. School districts have the responsibility to ensure that students suspected of having a disability are subject to general education intervention procedures. They must ensure that all students with disabilities or who are gifted and who are in need of exceptional student education (ESE) as defined in paragraph (1)(n) of Rule 6A-6.03411, F.A.C., are identified, located, and evaluated, and FAPE is made available to them if it is determined that the student meets the eligibility criteria specified in Rules 6A-6.03011, 6A-6.03012, 6A-6.030121, 6A-6.03013, 6A-6.03014, 6A-6.030151, 6A-6.030152, 6A-6.030153, 6A-6.03016, 6A-6.03018, 6A-6.03019, 6A-6.03020, 6A-6.03022, 6A-6.03023, 6A-6.03026(1)(b) and 6A-6.03027, F.A.C. ESE includes specially designed instruction as defined in paragraph (1)(jj) of Rule 6A-6.03411, F.A.C.; special education as defined in paragraph (1)(kk) of Rule 6A-6.03411, F.A.C.; and related services as defined in paragraph (1)(dd) of Rule 6A-6.03411, F.A.C. These requirements apply to all students, including those who are homeless or are wards of the state or who attend private schools, regardless of the severity of their disability. Additionally, school districts may elect to serve children with disabilities below the age of three (3) years in collaboration with the Part C Early Steps Program. The procedures and criteria for general education interventions, identification, evaluation, and determination of eligibility of students with disabilities and gifted students by school districts shall be set forth in the school district’s ESE Policies and Procedures document consistent with the following requirements.

(1) through (2) No change.

(3) Initial evaluation. Each school district must conduct a full and individual initial evaluation before the initial provision of ESE. Either a parent of a kindergarten through grade 12 student or child age three (3) to kindergarten entry age, or a school district may initiate a request for initial evaluation to determine if the student is a student with a disability. Either a parent of a kindergarten through grade 12 student or a school district may initiate a request for initial evaluation to determine if a student is gifted.

(a) The school district must seek consent from the parent or guardian to conduct an evaluation whenever the district suspects that a kindergarten through grade 12 student, or a child age three (3) to kindergarten entry age, is a student with a disability and needs special education and related services. Circumstances which would indicate that a student may be a student with a disability who needs special education and related services include, but are not limited to, the following:

1. When a school-based team determines that the kindergarten through grade 12 student’s response to intervention data indicate that intensive interventions implemented in accordance with subsection (1) of this rule are effective but require a level of intensity and resources to sustain growth or performance that is beyond that which is accessible through general education resources; or

2. When a school-based team determines that the kindergarten through grade 12 student’s response to interventions implemented in accordance with subsection (1) of this rule indicates that the student does not make adequate growth given effective core instruction and intensive, individualized, evidence-based interventions; or

3. When a child age three (3) to kindergarten entry age receives a developmental screening through the school district or the Florida Diagnostic and Learning Resource Center and based on the results of the screening it is suspected that the child may be a child with a disability in need of special education and related services; or

4. 3. When a parent requests an evaluation and there is documentation or evidence that the kindergarten through grade 12 student or child age three (3) to kindergarten entry age who is enrolled in a school district operated preschool program may be a student with a disability and needs special education and related services.

(b) Within thirty (30) twenty (20) school days of a school-based team’s determination that a circumstance described in subparagraphs (3)(a)1., or (3)(a) 2., or (3)(a)3., of this rule exists for a student in grades kindergarten through grade 12, or a child age three (3) to kindergarten entry age, the school district must request consent from the parent to conduct an evaluation, unless the parent and the school agree otherwise in writing.

(c) As described in subparagraph (3)(a)4.3. of this rule, if a parent requests that the school conduct an evaluation to determine whether their child is a child with a disability in need of special education and related services, the kindergarten through grade 12 student’s or child’s age three (3) to kindergarten entry age eligibility for special education and related services as a student with a disability, the school district must within thirty (30) twenty (20) school days, unless the parent and the school agree otherwise in writing:

1. through (d)2. No change.

3. The nature or severity of the student’s areas of concern makes the general education intervention procedures inappropriate in addressing the immediate needs of the student.

(e) No change.

(f) For a signed consent for evaluation received by a school district on or before June 30, 2015, tThe school district shall ensure that initial evaluations of students suspected of having a disability are completed within sixty (60) school days (cumulative) as defined in paragraph 6A-6.03411(1)(h), F.A.C., that the student is in attendance after the school district’s receipt of parental consent for the evaluation. For prekindergarten children, initial evaluations must be completed within sixty (60) school days after the school district’s receipt of parental consent for evaluation.

(g) Beginning July 1, 2015, the school district shall ensure that initial evaluations of students and preschool age children age three (3) through kindergarten entry age suspected of having a disability are completed within sixty (60) calendar days after the school district’s receipt of parent consent for evaluation.  For the purposes of this rule, the following calendar days shall not be counted toward the sixty (60) calendar day requirement:

1. All school holidays and Thanksgiving, winter and spring breaks as adopted by the district school board as required by Rule 6A-10.019, F.A.C.;

2. The summer vacation period beginning the day after the last day of school for students and ending on the first day of school for students in accordance with the calendar adopted by the district school board as required by Rule 6A-10.019, F.A.C. However, the school district is not prohibited from conducting evaluations during the summer vacation period; and,

3. In the circumstance when a student is absent for more than eight (8) school days in the sixty (60) calendar day period, the student’s absences shall not be counted toward the sixty (60) calendar day requirement.

(h)(g) The sixty (60)-day timeframe for evaluation does not apply to a school district if:

1. The parent of the student repeatedly fails or refuses to produce the student for the evaluation; or

2. A student enrolls in a school served by the school district after the timeframe has begun, and prior to a determination by the student’s previous school district as to whether the student is a student with a disability. This exception applies only if the subsequent school district is making sufficient progress to ensure a prompt completion of the evaluation, and the parent and subsequent school district agree to a specific time when the evaluation will be completed. Assessments of students with disabilities who transfer from one school district to another school district in the same school year must be coordinated with those students’ prior and subsequent schools, as necessary and as expeditiously as possible, to ensure prompt completion of full evaluations.

(i)(h) The school district shall ensure that students suspected of being gifted are evaluated within a reasonable period of time as specified in the district’s ESE Policies and Procedures Document as defined in subsection 6A-6.03411(2), F.A.C., but no more than ninety (90) school days that the student is in attendance after the school district’s receipt of parental consent for the evaluation.

(4) through (10)(a) No change.

(b) The district shall obtain written parental consent for the actions described above on the Parental Consent Form – Instruction in the State Standards Access Points Curriculum and Florida Alternate Assessment Administration, Form 313181, (http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-____03383) (effective December 2014) English, Arabic, Chinese, French, Haitian Creole, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Tagalog, and Vietnamese, and Parental Consent Form – Student Placement in an Exceptional Education Center, Form 313182, (http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-03384) (effective March 2014) English, Arabic, Chinese, French, Haitian Creole, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Tagalog, and Vietnamese, adopted by the Department of Education and incorporated by reference to become effective March 2014 and available at http://www.fldoe.org/ese/ or may be obtained from the Department of Education, Bureau of Exceptional Education and Student Services, 325 West Gaines Street, Room 614, Tallahassee, FL 32399. Both forms were translated into Arabic, Chinese, French, Haitian Creole, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Tagalog, and Vietnamese.

(c) through (d) No change.

Rulemaking Authority 1001.02(1), (2)(n), 1003.4282, 1003.57, 1003.571, 1003.5715 FS. Law Implemented 1003.01(3)(a), (b), 1003.4282, 1003.57, 1003.571, 1003.5715FS. History New 6-17-74, Promulgated 12-5-74, Amended 7-1-77, 3-28-78, 7-12-78, 8-31-78, 11-29-78, 10-7-81, 7-13-83, 6-2-85, Formerly 6A 6.331, Amended 7-13-93, 1-2-95, 9-20-04, 12-22-08, 12-15-09, 3-25-14,________.

 

NAME OF PERSON ORIGINATING PROPOSED RULE: Mary Jane Tappen, Executive Vice Chancellor, K-12 Public Schools

NAME OF AGENCY HEAD WHO APPROVED THE PROPOSED RULE: Pam Stewart, Commissioner, Department of Education

DATE PROPOSED RULE APPROVED BY AGENCY HEAD: October 13, 2014

DATE NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULE DEVELOPMENT PUBLISHED IN FAR: September 4, 2014