Special Education Eligibility Meeting Guide

Meeting Overview

The Individualized Education Program (IEP) team will

• Review the area(s) of suspected disability.
• Discuss the results of all evaluations (with time for your questions).
• Consider each suspected area and additional factors for determining eligibility.
• Discuss how needs in each area affect your child’s education.

The IEP team will then answer

• Does your child meet criteria for one or more of the fourteen disability categories?
• Does the disability negatively impact educational performance?
• Does the disability require specially designed instruction?

The team also considers whether any factors explain challenges, such as

• lack of appropriate instruction in reading,
• lack of appropriate instruction in math, or
• limited English proficiency.

Based on all information, the team determines eligibility for special education services.

If eligible, the team identifies a primary disability area and may consider a secondary area.

Information for parents about the eligibility meeting

There are 14 disability categories

1. Autism (AU)
2. Deaf-Blindness (DB)
3. Deafness (Df)
4. Developmentally Delayed (DD)
5. Emotional Disability (ED)
6. Hearing Impairment (HI)
7. Intellectual Disability (ID)
8. Multiple Disabilities (MU)
9. Orthopedic Impairment (OI)
10. Other Health Impaired (OHI)
11. Specific Learning Disability (SLD)
12. Speech or Language Impairment (SI)
13. Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
14. Visual Impairment (VI)