IDEA and Special Education Eligibility
What is Special Education?
"The goal of Special Education is to improve the academic, social and post school success of students with disabilities ages 3 to 22. Students eligible for special education require specially designed instruction and related services as needed to meet their unique needs."
RIDE website
Special Education is reserved for students, who, as determined by an Evaluation Team, have a disability that impacts their particiption in the curriculum to such a degree that they require specialized instruction.
"Specially designed instruction means adapting, as appropriate to the needs of an eligible child under this part, the content, methodology, or delivery of instruction— (i) To address the unique needs of the child that result from the child‘s disability; and (ii) To ensure access of the child to the general curriculum, so that the child can meet the educational standards within the jurisdiction of the public agency that apply to all children." Rhode Island Regulations Governing the Education of Children with Disabilities.
There are 13 categories that a student could be found eligible under based on the evaluation process. These include: (click on the link to learn more about that area of disability
- Autism Spectrum Disorder
- Emotional Disturbance
- Click here for a module from RIDE to help guide discussion
- Blind and Visual Impairements
- Deaf or Hearing Impairment
- Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
- Intellectual Disability
- Other Health Impairement- Click here for a module from RIDE to help guide discussion
- Specific Learning Disabilities
- Use this great toolkit to learn more about the criteria for identifying students with Specific Learning Disabilities
- Speech or Language Impairment
- Orthopedic Impairment
- Multiple Disabilities
- Deaf-Blindness
