Frequently Asked Questions

Parents may request their child be evaluated to determine if their child is a student with a disability.  This request must be made to a certificated staff member of CPS. Referrals may be made verbally or in writing. If there is a question about whether a parent is actually making a referral for evaluation, someone from the school or evaluation team must contact the parent within two school days to clarify.

The district must provide Procedural Safeguards to the parent/guardian within 5 days of receiving the official referral.  Procedural Safeguards outline your rights and responsibilities as the parent of the child with a disability as defined in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and the Missouri State Plan for Special Education.  

If a disability is NOT suspected, the district must provide a Notice of Action to the parents indicating the district refuses to conduct an evaluation as they do not suspect an educational disability.  While special education services will not be offered, your child's learning needs may be supported through regular education interventions.  The team may go beyond the 30 days when there is an excessive absence on the part of the student, snow days, or school breaks such as summer break, winter break, etc.  Additionally, your child may be eligible for 504 plan if there is a qualifying medical disability and your child requires accommodations to access his educational environment.  

If the district suspects a disability, they must conduct a "Review of Existing Data" within 30 calendar days of the referral.

A review of existing data collects relevant information from the child's educational records as well as information from the child's teacher(s) and parents regarding various areas of the child's functioning in order to determine what areas may need to be formally evaluated.  At this point the team has already determined they suspect a disability and a Notice of Action must be presented to the parents for consent to test. The Notice of Action will explain the district proposes to conduct an evaluation and will include an evaluation plan outlining specific areas the district would like to assess.  The district can NOT begin administering assessments until the parent has given written consent (original signature on the notice of action) for evaluation.  The parent can revoke this consent at any time.

Once consent by the parent is received the evaluation process can take up to 60 days.  Students are assessed within the school day.  There are a few situations where the evaluation team is legally allowed to extend the 60-day timeline, but the reasons must be documented in the Evaluation Report. The team may go beyond the 60 days when there is an excessive absence on the part of the student, snow days, or school breaks such as summer break, winter break, etc.

The State of Missouri recognizes 16 eligibility categories for special education. For a description of the eligibility criteria, please select the specific category below. 

• Autism
• Deaf/Blind
• Emotional Disturbance
• Hearing Impairment/Deafness
• Intellectual Disability
• Multiple Disabilities
• Orthopedic Impairment
• Other Health Impairment
• Specific Learning Disabilities
• Language Impairment
• Sound System Disorder (Articulation and/or Phonology)
• Speech - Fluency
• Speech - Voice
• Traumatic Brain Injury
• Vision Impairment/Blindness
• Young Child with Developmental Delay (criteria for initial eligibility assumes ages 3-5 and non-kindergarten eligible)

You will meet with a team of qualified professionals to review the evaluation results within 60 days of the date the district received your written consent for special education testing.  At this meeting, all evaluation results will be reviewed, and the team will consider possible eligibility categories suspected.  To be eligible, the child must meet criteria for one or more the specific categories listed above and require special education services.   If the team cannot agree on your child's eligibility, the district must make the final decision.  The district must provide you with a written statement (the Notice of Action) describing the decision and the reason for it.  The team may go beyond the 60 days when there is an excessive absence on the part of the student, snow days, or school breaks such as summer break, winter break, etc.

Members of the Multidisciplinary Team  

• You, the parent/guardian(s) of your child  
• At least one general education teacher 
• At least one special education teacher  
• A representative of the school district
• At least one individual who can explain the results of testing  
• Other people who have knowledge or expertise about your child, invited by either the parent or the agency  
• Your child, whenever appropriate

Invitation Letter for Eligibility Determination Meeting

The district must send you an invitation letter outlining the following items:

• Purpose of the meeting
• Who will attend as well as their role within the district
• Date, time and location of the meeting
• The meeting notice also tells you that you may invite people to the meeting that you believe have knowledge or expertise about your child.

After conducting the eligibility meeting, the district must provide the parent a copy of the Evaluation Report within a reasonable amount of time, usually 20 days.

An IEP meeting must be scheduled to develop the initial IEP. 

IEP Meeting Notification: You must be informed in writing at least 10 days before the date of the IEP meeting, unless you waive this right.  The written notice will indicate:

• the purpose of the meeting;
• the proposed meeting date, time, and place it will be held; and
• the names and/or specific jobs of the people who are invited to attend the meeting
• a statement letting you know you have the right to bring anyone to the meeting you feel would have knowledge or special expertise about your child
• a statement indicating how to obtain a copy of your procedural safeguards

The meeting should be held at a date, time, and place agreeable to both you and school staff.  If you ask for or agree to meet on an earlier date, the meeting can be held sooner than the 10-day advance notice requirement. You may ask to have the meeting at a different date, time, and place, or to participate in the meeting through a conference call, video conference, or other ways.  There can be no extension to the annual review date.  While the team must proceed by the annual review date; they can reconvene to review/revise the IEP at a more convenient time upon request.

IEP Team Members: It is important that certain people attend as part of the IEP team. Those that are marked with an asterisk (*) are required members:

• You, the parents* (or educational decision maker)
• At least one of the child’s general education teachers*, if the child is or may be participating in the general education classroom
• At least one of the child’s special education teachers* or special education providers
• Someone who can interpret how test results effect teaching the child*
• A representative of the school district* who
  • can supervise specially designed instruction to meet the needs of child with learning differences
  • knows about the school courses
  • knows about the school’s resources
• Others who have knowledge or special expertise about the child, including related services personnel, when invited by you or the district
• The child at age 16, or earlier, if appropriate

The parent's attendance at the IEP Meeting is important to allow your involvement in the development of the IEP for your child.  Every effort should be made by the district to have you attend the IEP meeting. If you cannot attend, you may be part of the meeting by use of a phone call, video conferencing, or other ways. However, the IEP meeting can be held without you if the school shows they tried but were unable to contact you, or you did not want to attend the meeting. Detailed records will be kept showing the date, time, and person making telephone calls, visits to the home, written notices, and other attempts to reach you.

The school district will provide you with a written Notice of Action that describes the team’s offer of placement and services and reasoning for each. Before the school can begin special education and related services for your child for the first time, you must give written permission for those services. Services begin as soon as possible after the school receives your written permission.  If you do not respond to a request to provide your consent for your child to receive special education and related services for the first time, or if you refuse to give such consent, your school district cannot place your child in special education.  

Once initial consent (in writing) is received, the parent can revoke (cancel) that consent at any time in writing.  It is important to note that once the parent revokes consent, the student is taken out of special education services and loses all rights and protections as outlined in the IDEA.  Additionally, the child would have to go back through the initial evaluation process to consider eligibility if the parent later wished to access special education.  

An IEP (or Individualized Education Plan) is a term used to describe the official documentation of special education services that will be provided to your child as well as the meeting where the services are determined.  It is a legal document identifying the district "offer" of services.  Below are key details to help you better understand the IEP.

The IEP is:

• A meeting where parents, students when appropriate, and school personnel jointly make decisions about an educational program for a student with a disability.
• A document that is a written record of the decisions reached at the meeting for a student who will receive special education and related services.
• A management tool used to implement the IEP.

The IEP has a number of purposes and functions:

• The IEP meeting serves as a communication tool between parents and educators and enables them, as equal participants, to jointly decide what the student's needs are, what services will be provided to meet those needs, and what the anticipated outcomes may be.
• The IEP process provides an opportunity for resolving any differences between the parents and the school concerning the special education needs of a student with a disability – first, through the IEP meeting, and second, if necessary, through the procedural protections that are available to parents.
• The IEP sets forth in writing a commitment to provide services and resources necessary to enable a student with a disability to receive needed special education services.

The IEP is not:

• The IEP is not a daily lesson plan, but it does cover an entire year (365 days).
• The IEP is not an evaluation report.  An evaluation report describes your child's strengths and needs.  The information from an evaluation report is used to help write the IEP.
• The IEP is not a contract. It does describe things you and the school have agreed to do for your child.
• The IEP is not a comprehensive curriculum.  It related to special considerations within your child's overall education.
• The IEP is not timeless.  As your child grows and changes, the IEP will need to reflect these developments.  

The IEP is made up of individual parts which act as a road map, establishing where your child is, where you want her to go, and how she will get there.  Based on the student's most recent evaluation and input from team members, the IEP's main components include:  

Current level of functioning for the child: 

A description of the child's current performance and skills in all areas of concern.  It should explain how the child's disability affects his progress within the general education curriculum.

Annual goals for the child: 

SMART goals relative to the skill deficit areas identified through the evaluation of the child.  SMART goals are:  Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant & Timebound.  Goals should specify what the child is expected to achieve within the upcoming IEP cycle.  For students who participate in functional skills programs and who take alternative assessments, the IEP must also contain measurable short-term objectives.  These will be used to measure the progress toward reaching their annual IEP goals.

Progress tracking: 

Identify how progress toward each goal (and objective, if applicable) will be measured as well as how often that information will be reported to parents.

Special Education Services:

Identify the type, amount, frequency and location of all services the child will receive to help her meet her educational IEP goals.

Duration of Services:

A projected beginning and end date of any services proposed.

Involvement in the Regular Education Setting: 

Description that identifies the child's involvement in the general education setting as well as provides rationale for any removal from that setting.

Accommodations/Modifications: 

Description of any accommodations and modifications the student will require in the classroom as well as to participate in state and district wide assessments.

Post-Secondary Transition Statement, if applicable: 

No later than a child's 16th birthday, the IEP must include measurable goals for the child's anticipated post-secondary plan as well as services the district will offer to support the child's transition.

Following the development of the IEP goals and identification of services, the special education team will discuss placement options.  The placement decision is based on the services your child needs and takes several factors into consideration.  The IEP team is required by law to place your child in his/her least restrictive environment.  

Least Restrictive Environment:

The law requires each child with a disability be educated, to the maximum extent appropriate, with children without disabilities.   The IEP team must first consider if your child can remain in the regular education classroom and achieve the IEP goals and objectives with the help of supplementary aids and services.  If the team agrees this cannot be achieved satisfactorily, the team must then decide the route that will allow your child opportunities to be integrated with peers without disabilities to the maximum extent possible and as close to his or her home school as possible. 

Considerations for removing a child from a regular education classroom:

• The nature or severity of a child's disability is such that his or her education in the regular education class, with the use of supplementary aids and services, cannot be achieved satisfactorily.
• A child is so disruptive in the regular education classroom that the education of the other students is significantly impaired.

Removal from regular education must be based on the following factors:

• The nature and severity of the disability (cannot be the only factor).
• The diverse learning styles that would require your child to be educated in a setting other than the regular education classroom.
• The need for specially designed materials, supplies or equipment that would prohibit access to the curriculum and goals of the regular education class.
• Significant modifications to the regular education curriculum that would have an adverse effect on the educational program and learning environment for other students in the class.
• The extent to which your child is distractible.
• The inability of your child to engage appropriately with other students.

Special education placements - K-12:

• Inside regular class at least 80 percent of the time
• Inside regular class 40 percent to 79 percent of the time
• Inside regular class less than 40 percent of the time
• Public separate school – day facility
• Private separate school – day facility
• Public residential facility
• Private residential facility
• Homebound/hospital

Early Childhood special education (ECSE) placements:

• Early childhood setting
• Early childhood/special education (ECSE) setting
• Home
• Part-time early childhood/part-time ECSE
• Residential setting
• Separate school
• Itinerant service outside the home

Specialized Programs:

While the majority of students with disabilities are educated in their home buildings, several highly specialized classrooms have been established throughout the district to meet the unique educational needs of students with more significant needs.  Specialized classrooms offer the opportunity for the district to provide more specialized training to educators working with students in those classrooms.   Additionally, students placed in these classrooms benefit from similar instructional practices and classroom structures.  The degree of instruction required in the district classroom varies significantly from student to student.  While the district may determine a student would benefit from the district classroom, the student's special education placement (category of removal from the regular education classroom) may not differ from the degree the student would be removed in his or her own building.  If the district classroom is not housed at the student's home school, special transportation is provided at no cost to the parent.