Schedule A

Evaluation Criteria for Independent Educational Evaluations Initiated by District or Parents at Public Expense

The following procedures and criteria apply to all independent educational evaluations to be conducted at district expense. Failure to comply with the criteria and/or procedures listed may result in the district’s refusal to fund an independent evaluation.

1. Location: All evaluations shall be conducted within the State of Vermont or within a 150-mile radius of the Barre Supervisory Union Office, Barre, VT (the “designated area”). Under special circumstances for example, where either scheduling or the uniqueness of the issue to be evaluated render assessment within the designated area impracticable), evaluations may be sought outside the designate area, with the prior written approval of the Superintendent. The person seeking an evaluation outside of the designated area shall show (a) that unique circumstances require evaluation outside the designated area; (b) that the costs of the evaluation are not excessive. Other criteria listed below shall still apply, and reimbursement for approved associated expenses (meals, room, travel) shall be limited to the current $10 per day supervisory union rates for meals and $.31 per mile for travel. Travel other than by car, and lodging (if approved by the Superintendent), shall be limited to the allowable expenses for one adult and the child and shall be arranged by the district.

2. Qualifications of Evaluators:

A. Evaluators must have the following minimum qualifications:

1. Have knowledge in the particular area for which information is sought and meet applicable state licensing and/or endorsement requirements;

2. Be trained in administering the evaluation procedure(s) and in scoring and interpreting the results, as required by and in conformance with the instructions provided by the producer of the evaluation procedure.

B. In addition, where eligibility in any of the following categories of disability is concerned, the evaluator must be licensed in the applicable field specifically indicated by the appropriate provision of the VDE Rule 2362.1(1) [ or successor provisions]:

1. Visual impairment: optometrist or ophthalmologist;
2. Hearing impairment: audiologist, otologist or otolaryngologist;
3. Speech impairment: speech-language pathologist;
4. Orthopedic impairment: physician;
5. Chronic or acute health impairment: physician;
6. Serious emotional disturbance: psychologist or psychiatrist;
7. Voice impairment: otolaryngologist;
8. Autism: physician;
9. Traumatic brain injury: physician.

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Schedule A CODE: IHBB-R1
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3. Itemization or Description of Services: If an evaluation consists of the administration of more than one test, the bill for the fee should be itemized, including a description of each service performed, the identity of each evaluator, and the hours spent by each individual evaluator performing any portion of the evaluation.

4. Permissible Evaluation Tools and Techniques:

a. Independent evaluation costs are limited to reasonable and necessary expenditures for necessary and appropriate evaluation procedures. “Evaluation procedures” are defined as observation of the student and other necessary and appropriate diagnostic measures. They do not include time for evaluator research, parent consultation, or other tasks not directly involving administration of a diagnostic procedure.

b. No area shall be evaluated nor shall any evaluation procedure be carried out unless appropriate justification can be given for it. No area should be the subject of an independent educational evaluation unless the evaluation and planning team has had an opportunity to consider whether there is reason to evaluate the student in such area. VDE Rule 2362.2.4(1)

c. Tests and other evaluation materials must meet the special evaluation requirements set forth in VDE Rule 2362.2.5; and federal rules 34 C.F.R. 104.35(b) and 34 C.F.R. 300.532.

d. The independent evaluator shall be familiar with Vermont’s criteria for eligibility under VDE Rule 2362 (1) (a)-(c) and (2) and categories of disability as outlined in VDE Rule 2362.1(1) and (2), including the fact that the eligibility determination is to be made by the evaluation and planning team, not by an individual evaluator. The task of the independent evaluator is to develop diagnostic relevant information about the child for consideration by the evaluation and planning team, in determining eligibility, not for the independent evaluator to determine legibility. The evaluator’s report may include diagnostic findings to support or refute the existence of a disability in one or more disability categories; that the student is or is not functioning significantly below expected age or grade norms in one or more basic skills; and that the student is or is not in need to specially designed instruction to meet the unique needs of the child with disabilities, as required by VDE Rule 2362 (1)(c).

e. Tests should be selected and administered so as best to ensure that if a test is administered to a child with impaired sensory, manual, or speaking skills, the test results accurately reflect the child’s aptitude or achievement level or whatever other factors the test purports to measure, rather than reflecting the child’s impaired sensory, manual or speaking skills (unless those skills are the factors that the test purports to measure).

f. Assessment tools and strategies should provide relevant information that directly assists person in determining the educational needs of the child.

5. Inclusion of Unusual Circumstances; Departure from Standard Assessment Conditions: The independent evaluator shall note in his/her report any unusual circumstances of the testing or evaluation session which may have affected the results. If the assessment is not conducted under standard conditions, this should include (but is not limited to) a description of the extent to which it varied from standard conditions (for example, the qualifications of the person administering the test, or the method of test administration).

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Schedule A CODE: IHBB-R1
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6. Provision of Access to Raw Data: Evaluators must make available, upon request, protocols and other underlying raw data on which their evaluations are based in order for the evaluation and planning team and/or IEP team to consider the weight of evaluation results.

7. Observation: Where observation of the student in the classroom is deemed necessary to duly conduct an evaluation, the Director of Special Education shall contact the independent evaluator to make the arrangements necessary to observe the child. The Director of Special Education, in consultation with the evaluator, the teacher of the class to be observed, and any other appropriate district personnel, shall determine the length, location and timing of the observation, to minimize disruption to the class and student. Where a parent’s independent evaluator requests an opportunity to observe, such evaluator shall be given an opportunity to observe at least comparable to any opportunities to observe accorded to the district’s evaluator.

A:pw:Disk T

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