2006 Louisiana Laws - RS 17:1945 — Evaluation; individual education programs

§1945.  Evaluation; individual education programs

A.  An evaluation by a multidisciplinary team, whose members are certified as qualified examiners by the Department of Education with the approval of its governing authorities, must be conducted before any action is taken with respect to the initial placement or denial of placement of a child in special education and related services, or the determination that the child is no longer a child with an exceptionality subject to diagnostic and evaluation procedures established and administered by the Department of Education and approved by its governing authority.  Prior to this evaluation, the parents of the child must be notified and informed of the purpose of the evaluation and of its benefit to the child.  Parents must give written consent for the initial evaluation and placement in special education and related services.

B.(1)  For the purpose of evaluation of children with exceptionalities, multidisciplinary teams shall be located at the local educational agency, or in other private or public agencies or settings designated by the Department of Education with the approval of its governing authority.  Members of said teams shall be certified as qualified examiners by the Department of Education, with the approval of its governing authority.  The multidisciplinary approach means that an evaluation team shall consist of two or more disciplines and that other specialists may be added to the team as necessary according to procedures established by the Department of Education with the approval of its governing authority.

(2)  A reevaluation of all children in special education programs shall be required every three years or more frequently if conditions warrant it, or if the child's parent, teacher, or supervisor of special education requests such reevaluation.  Reevaluations shall be conducted subject to the diagnostic and evaluation procedures established and administered by the Department of Education and approved by its governing authority.

(3)  Procedures shall be established by the Department of Education, with the approval of its governing authority, to ensure that testing and evaluation materials utilized for the evaluation and placement of children with exceptionalities will be selected and administered so as not to be racially or culturally discriminatory; will be provided and administered in the child's native language or other mode of communication unless it is clearly not feasible to do so; and will be appropriate for age and stage development of the child.

C.(1)  Local educational agencies, state or nonpublic agencies, or schools receiving public funds participating in the delivery of special education services to children with exceptionalities shall maintain a written record of an IEP for each child according to the format furnished by the Department of Education, with the approval of its governing authority.  These IEPs shall be periodically reviewed and updated at least annually.  Information contained in the IEP or evaluation shall not be available to the public and shall be available to the professionals in need of such information in connection with the educational program and evaluation of the child subject to existing federal and state laws governing such information.

(2)  "Individualized education program" or "IEP" means a written statement for each child with an exceptionality that is developed, reviewed, and revised in accordance with this Chapter and includes the following:

(a)  A statement of the child's present levels of educational performance, including how the child's exceptionality affects the child's involvement and progress in the general curriculum; or for preschool children, as appropriate, how the exceptionality affects the child's participation in appropriate activities.

(b)  A statement of measurable annual goals, including benchmarks or short-term objectives, related to meeting the child's needs that result from the child's exceptionality to enable the child to be involved in and progress in the general curriculum; and to meeting each of the child's other educational needs that result from the child's exceptionality.

(c)  A statement of the special education and related services and supplementary aids and services to be provided to the child, or on behalf of the child, and a statement of the program modifications or supports for school personnel that will be provided for the child to advance appropriately toward attaining the annual goals; to be involved and progress in the general curriculum in accordance with this Paragraph and to participate in extracurricular and other nonacademic activities; and to be educated and participate with other children with exceptionalities and nonexceptional children in the activities provided in this Paragraph.

(d)  An explanation of the extent, if any, to which the child will not participate with nondisabled children in the regular class and in the activities provided in Subparagraph (c) of this Paragraph.

(e)  A statement of any individual modifications in the administration of state- or district-wide assessments of student achievement that are needed in order for the child to participate in such assessment; if the IEP Team determines that the child will not participate in a particular state- or district-wide assessment of student achievement (or part of such an assessment), a statement of why that assessment is not appropriate for the child; and a statement of how the child will be assessed.

(f)  The projected date for the beginning of the services and modifications provided in Subparagraph (c) of this Paragraph, and the anticipated frequency, location, and duration of those services and modifications.

(g)  Beginning at age fourteen, and updated annually, a statement of the transition service needs of the child under the applicable components of the child's IEP that focuses on the child's courses of study (such as participation in advanced-placement courses or a vocational education program); beginning at age sixteen, or younger, if determined appropriate by the IEP Team, a statement of needed transition services for the child, including, when appropriate, a statement of the interagency responsibilities or any needed linkages; and beginning at least one year before the child reaches the age of majority under state law, a statement that the child has been informed of his or her rights under this Title, if any, that will transfer to the child on reaching the age of majority.

(h)  A statement of how the child's progress toward the annual goals provided in Subparagraph (b) of this Paragraph will be measured; how the child's parents will be regularly informed, by such means as periodic report cards, at least as often as parents are informed of their nondisabled children's progress, of their child's progress toward the annual goals provided in Subparagraph (b) of this Paragraph; and the extent to which that progress is sufficient to enable the child to achieve the goals by the end of the year.

(3)(a)  "Individualized education program team" or "IEP Team" means a group of individuals composed of: the parents of a child with an exceptionality; at least one regular education teacher of such child, if the child is, or may be, participating in the regular education environment; at least one special education teacher or, where appropriate, at least one special education provider of the child; a representative of the local educational agency who is qualified to provide or supervise the provision of specially designed instruction to meet the unique needs of children with exceptionalities, is knowledgeable about the general curriculum, and is knowledgeable about the availability of resources of the local educational agency; an individual who can interpret the instructional implications of evaluation results, who may be a member of the team described above other than the parent; at the discretion of the parent or the agency, other individuals who have knowledge or special expertise regarding the child, including related services personnel as appropriate; and whenever appropriate, the child with an exceptionality.

(b)  The regular education teacher of the child, as a member of the IEP Team, shall, to the extent appropriate, participate in the development of the IEP of the child, including the determination of appropriate positive behavioral interventions and strategies and the determination of supplementary aids and services, program modifications, and support for school personnel consistent with Subparagraph (2)(c) of this Subsection.

(4)  At the beginning of each school year, each local educational agency, or other state agency, as the case may be, shall have in effect, for each child with an exceptionality in its jurisdiction, an individualized education program, as defined in Paragraph (2) of this Subsection.

Acts 1977, No. 754, §1.  Amended by Acts 1980, No. 258, §1, eff. June 30, 1980; Acts 1992, No. 458, §1, eff. June 20, 1992; Acts 1998, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 109, §1, eff. May 5, 1998.