Section 613(f) of IDEA 2004:
- adds “early intervening services” to the statue under local education (LEA) eligibility;
- allows LEA implemented and coordinated early intervening services;
- clarifies the relationship between Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) and early intervening services;
- establishes reporting requirements;
- establishes coordination with the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (aka, No Child Left Behind Act [NCLB]);
- permits the use of LEA Part B funds to develop and implement early intervening services;
- requires early intervening services in the case of significant disproportionality.
United States Department of Education, IDEA 2004 http://idea.ed.gov/
Section 300.309 of the Connecticut IDEA Regs re: Specific Learning Disabilities:
(b) To ensure that underachievement in a child suspected of having a SLD is not due to lack of appropriate instruction in reading or math, the group (PPT) must consider, as part of the evaluation:
(1) Data that demonstrate that, prior to, or as part of, the referral process, the child was provided appropriate instruction in regular education settings, delivered by qualified personnel; and
(2) Data-based documentation of repeated assessments of achievement at reasonable intervals, reflecting formal assessment of student progress during instruction, which was provided to the child’s parents.
“Guidelines for Identifying Children With Learning Disabilities”
http://www.sde.ct.gov/sde/lib/sde/PDF/DEPS/Special/LDGuide.pdf
