Special education procedures and meetings Lawyer Manual

Before attending any meetings on behalf of your client, it is good practice to give the school and attorney for the district notice of your representation and intention to participate in all upcoming meetings. However, parents are not required to inform the school in advance if they intend to bring an attorney, so schools should not postpone a meeting without a parent’s consent so that their attorney can attend or hold the meeting on the condition that the parent’s attorney not participate. Letter to Andel, 116 LRP 8548 (February 17, 2016).

Requesting a CSE or FIE

A Case Study Evaluation (“CSE”) request is a request made to the school, asking that a student is evaluated for special education services. Note that the term “CSE” and “FIE” (Full Individual Evaluation) are used interchangeably.

• Who can make a request? The parent (the educational rights holder) or public agency can make a CSE request. In Illinois, an employee of a State or local educational agency, other State agency, or a community service agency may also make the request. See 23 Ill. Admin. Code 226.110(b);
• What should the request contain? A request should be made in writing and signed by the parent. Although not required, the request should also contain reasons why the student may need special education services and all areas of suspected disability;
• What happens after a parent submits a CSE request? The school has 14 school days to either grant the CSE request or to deny the request. 23 Ill. Admin. Code §226.110(c)(3). If the school agrees to conduct the CSE, it must convene a domain meeting to determine the areas (“domains”) in which the student will be tested. Once the educational rights holder signs the consent for testing, the district has 60 school days to complete the following: complete testing on the student, hold a meeting to determine eligibility and develop an IEP if the student is determined to be eligible for special education services. 23 Ill. Admin. Code §226.110(d); and
• What happens if the school denies the CSE request? Then the school must provide the parents with notice that: describes the refused action, explains why the district will not conduct the evaluation, describes any records or reports that they used in making their determination, states the parents right to legal protections and how to obtain them, gives sources for the parent to contact to obtain assistance in understanding notice, gives a description of other options the team considered and why they were rejected, and describes other relevant factors to refusing the evaluation. 34 CFR §300.503(b). Note that schools may not use a student’s participation in RtI (“Response to Intervention) or School-Based Problem Solving (“SBPS”) to deny a CSE request. See 23 Ill. Admin. Code 226.130(b).

Domain meetings and evaluations

A domain or assessment planning meeting occurs after a school has consented to a parent’s request to have her child evaluated for special education services and involves the various professionals at the school who will conduct the evaluation. At this meeting, the parent and the school personnel will discuss what information they already have about the student, and will decide the areas in which the student will be tested including but not limited to:

• cognitive testing
• academic testing
• emotional screening
• speech & language
• occupational therapy
• physical therapy
• audiology