Eligibility in Minnesota
Each state has different, yet strict qualifications and characteristics to qualify for eligibility for special education services under the ID/DCD category, the following are Minnesota's guidelines and process:
1) The child must first show symptoms and characteristics in accordance with an intellectual disability or developmental cognitive delay. These characteristics must be documented, proving that specialized non-special education services are not working for the student, generally within the Response to Intervention model in which the student receives specialized instruction to fit his or her needs, and response on the child's behalf is monitored.
2) An IEP team receives a formal referral for special education consideration and determines if the student should be tested for services.
3) A team will determine eligibility for a child based on the child meeting criteria for both parts A and B:
A) The child shows below average adaptive behavior in school AND home environments, and sometimes, in the community setting when applicable. The following constitute below average:
c) communication skills
d) academic skills
e) recreation and leisure skills
f) community participation skills
g) work and work-related skills
B) The child exhibits significantly below average general intellectual functioning measured by an individually administered, nationally normed test of intelligence. In Minnesota, "significantly below average general intellectual functioning" is either two or three standard deviations below the mean, plus or minus one standard error of measurement.
4) If the student meets criteria for eligibility, the IEP team develops an Individualized Education Plan in collaboration with parents. The plan is then implemented, assessed, reviewed, and rewritten if needed.
(Revisor of Statues, State of Minnesota, 2007).
1) The child must first show symptoms and characteristics in accordance with an intellectual disability or developmental cognitive delay. These characteristics must be documented, proving that specialized non-special education services are not working for the student, generally within the Response to Intervention model in which the student receives specialized instruction to fit his or her needs, and response on the child's behalf is monitored.
2) An IEP team receives a formal referral for special education consideration and determines if the student should be tested for services.
3) A team will determine eligibility for a child based on the child meeting criteria for both parts A and B:
A) The child shows below average adaptive behavior in school AND home environments, and sometimes, in the community setting when applicable. The following constitute below average:
- A composite score below the 15th percentile on a national, norm-referenced test of adaptive behavior
- Documentation of needs of child, and level of support required in AT LEAST 4 out of 7 adaptive behavior areas(a-g below). Systematic observation as well as parent testimony MUST be included in documentation, but may also include checklists, interviews, work samples, educational and medical history, and criterion referenced assessments.
a) daily living and independent living skills
c) communication skills
d) academic skills
e) recreation and leisure skills
f) community participation skills
g) work and work-related skills
B) The child exhibits significantly below average general intellectual functioning measured by an individually administered, nationally normed test of intelligence. In Minnesota, "significantly below average general intellectual functioning" is either two or three standard deviations below the mean, plus or minus one standard error of measurement.
- If the child shows intellectual ability significantly below average, the child must be tested again to verify results; results must then be summarized in writing.
- Results must give considerations to and account for : cultural relevancy, medical and education history, and one or more of the following: tests of specific abilities, criterion-referenced assessments, alternative assessments of intellectual ability, clinical interviews with parents and family members, and observation and analysis of behavior across different domains.
4) If the student meets criteria for eligibility, the IEP team develops an Individualized Education Plan in collaboration with parents. The plan is then implemented, assessed, reviewed, and rewritten if needed.
(Revisor of Statues, State of Minnesota, 2007).