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P6164.3.1
ST. LOUIS BOARD OF EDUCATION POLICY INSTRUCTION If the District does initiate due process proceedings which result in a decision that the District's evaluation is appropriate, the parents/guardians still have the right to an independent evaluation, but not at public expense. If the due process proceedings result in a finding that the District's evaluation is not appropriate, the District will either pay the full cost of the independent evaluation or will ensure that the independent evaluation is provided at no cost to the parent by another agency, provided the independent evaluation is consistent with the District's standards with respect to qualifications of evaluators, evaluation procedures, evaluation instruments, cost and geographic limitations. Any independent educational evaluation procured by the District will be subject to reasonable cost and geographic location limitations as explicated in the accompanying regulation. Only one publicly funded independent evaluation may be requested for each evaluation conducted by the District. References Legal: P.L. 94-142; P.L. 101-473 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 34 CFR 300.503; P.L. 105-17 and Regulations State Plan for Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act as Amended by P.L. 94-142 Annual Compliance Plan for Special Education Regulation Approved: December 07, 1999 R6164.3.1
INSTRUCTION Prior to being identified as disabled and at periodic intervals thereafter, students will be evaluated by the St. Louis Public School District. If the parent/guardian of a student with disabilities disagrees with the evaluation, or a component thereof, conducted by the district, the parent/guardian has the right to request an independent educational evaluation at public expense or to request payment for an educational evaluation. However, the District has the right to initiate due process proceedings. A. PROCEDURES: PARENT/GUARDIAN REQUEST FOR INDEPENDENT EDUCATIONAL EVALUATION The following procedures shall apply to requests for independent educational evaluations: 1. When a parent/guardian requests of any staff person an independent evaluation, the director of student support services and the executive director of special education will be notified. The District evaluation will be reviewed with the parent/guardian to identify the area(s) of disagreement. Within ten (10) days a determination will be made as to whether the District will initiate due process to establish the appropriateness of its evaluation or whether it will proceed with procuring an independent evaluation. 2. If the District decides to proceed with procuring an independent evaluation, an evaluation plan will be developed which specifies the areas to be evaluated and the type of professional who will conduct the assessment in each area. The independent evaluation must meet the same criteria and standards the District utilizes when it conducts an evaluation with respect to minimum qualifications for evaluators, geographic location of evaluators, evaluation procedures, evaluation instruments and cost limitations as specified in this regulation. The division of student support services will provide to the parent a written Notice of Intent to Evaluate and will make arrangements for completion of the independent evaluation. 3. As a condition of the contract for evaluation services, independent evaluators must agree to release their protocols and written interpretation of assessment results to the St. Louis Public School District prior to receipt of payment for services. Results of the independent evaluation will be considered in the diagnosis and placement of the student as required by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and regulations. 4. A parent/guardian may request only one publicly funded independent evaluation for each evaluation conducted by the District. B. PAYMENT REQUESTS BY PARENT/GUARDIAN FOR INDEPENDENT EVALUATION 1. When a parent/guardian submits to any staff person a request for reimbursement for an independent educational evaluation that has already been completed, the division of student support services and the executive director of special education will be notified. The District's evaluation and the independent evaluation will be reviewed by administrators of the division of student support services and the division of special education with the parent/guardian to determine if there are area(s) of disagreement and to determine whether the District will initiate due process to establish the appropriateness of its evaluation or whether the District will pay for the independent evaluation of each contested component. 2. Within ten (10) days of receipt of the parent's request for payment or reimbursement, the director of student support services and/or the executive director of special education will notify the parent in writing of the District’s intent to pay for the independent evaluation or to deny payment and initiate due process. 3. If the District elects to accept an independent evaluation for payment, the following criteria must be met: q Report content must meet standards established by the Department of
Elementary and Secondary Education and the District. C. STANDARDS FOR INDEPENDENT EVALUATIONS (1) MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS FOR EVALUATORS Evaluators with credentials other than those listed below will not be approved. Areas of Evaluation Qualifications of Evaluator(s) Visual Perception Licensed Ophthalmologist,Licensed OptometristCertificated
Teacher of theVisually Impaired (Master's Degree)Licensed PsychologistCertificated
School PsychologicalExaminerCertificated School Psychologist (2) LOCATION LIMITATIONS FOR EVALUATORS Approvable evaluators must be located within the Greater St. Louis Area: St. Louis City; Missouri counties of St. Louis, St. Charles, Jefferson; Illinois counties of St. Clair, Monroe, and Madison. Exceptions may be approved on an individual basis, providing the parent can demonstrate the necessity of using persons outside the area. (3) COST LIMITATIONS FOR EVALUATIONS Separate evaluation components of single functional areas are limited to a schedule of approvable cost ranges. The Division of Student Support Services shall maintain a current schedule of approvable costs for a multidisciplinary evaluation and single discipline evaluation components. This schedule is available to parents and other members of the community upon request. Costs above scheduled maximum amounts are not approvable unless the parent can demonstrate that such costs reflect a reasonable and customary rate for such evaluative services. Independent evaluators must agree to release their assessment results (protocols and written interpretations) to the St. Louis Public School District prior to receipt of payment for services. Results of the independent evaluation will be considered in the diagnosis and placement of a student with disabilities as required by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and regulations. (4) INDEPENDENT EVALUATION SOURCES BY DIAGNOSTIC AREA AND BY AGENCY The division of student support services shall maintain current lists of approved sources for independent evaluations by agency and by area of functioning (e.g. cognitive development, speech/language, etc.). These listings are available to parents and other members of the community on request.
Legal: P.L. 94-142
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