First, it is important to understand that Special Education services are meant to help your child succeed as a student and as an individual. Hopefully it is no surprise when your child is referred for Special Education Services. This referral can come from you, the teacher or anyone else who works with your child. Once your child is suspected of having a disability or believed to require extra services, a referral is placed.

What is a referral Paperwork is submitted to a team called the CSE or Committee on Special Education. Generally the team consists of teachers, the school psychologist and other people who work with your child. What you may or may not know, the most valuable member of the CSE is the parent. After all, you know your child best!

Once the referral is received, the student is evaluated. Different members of the CSE meet with your child and evaluate through observations, and various assessments. It is important to note, that this can NOT happen without your consent. Usually, the initial evaluation includes a physical examination, psychological assessments, socialemotional history, observation of your child in their classroom and any other appropriate assessment. This could also include speech andor language, behavior evaluation etc.

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