Referral to Special Education
Child Find
The District is obligated to find and identify individuals with exceptional needs who reside in the District and to notify all parents of their rights pursuant to Education Code Section 56300.
Any parent suspecting that a child has exceptional needs may request an assessment for eligibility for special education services through the school principal. Students also may be referred by teacher or agency personnel. If you have a private school or preschool student that you would like to refer for special education services, please contact the Special Education department at 510-818-4208. You will need to prove residency prior to any assessment.
Students are eligible for special education when assessment and evaluation results demonstrate that the degree of the pupil’s impairment requires special education, adversely affects educational performance and cannot be corrected without special education and related services.
Assessment and Evaluation: When a student is referred for special education eligibility, a team from a school site or District will contact the parent and, if appropriate, develop an assessment plan.
After obtaining parental consent, assessments are conducted by qualified District staff. Parents are provided with a written report of results at an Individualized Education Program (IEP) team meeting where the IEP team will discuss and explain the results of the assessments, including: educational eligibility criteria, the adverse effect of the disability on the student’s educational performance, and areas of educational need.
If the student is eligible, the IEP team shall identify goals and objectives for the student and offer an appropriate special education program or service.
Parents of eligible students will have at least one IEP meeting per year to discuss and understand their student’s placement and services. Students can be withdrawn from enrollment in special education with a written request to the Director of Special Services.
PARENT RIGHTS
Parents will receive a copy of their Procedural Safeguards upon referral for assessment and at least once per year.
Parents have a right to disagree with all or a portion of an IEP or an evaluation. When disagreements occur, parents can refer to their Procedural Safeguards and should contact the site staff or the Director of Special Education. Parents wishing to request an independent educational evaluation for their student should refer to the Guidelines for Independent Educational Evaluations, available by request from the Special Education Department.