6021: District Criteria for Selecting Evaluators to be used for Special Education Evaluation and Verification and Independent Educational Evaluations
The following criteria shall be used for selecting evaluators according to 92 Nebraska Administrative Code 51-006.07B:
- Those in-state service agencies that have approved rates for the current year established by the Nebraska Department of Education. A list of service agencies with approved rates, including state agencies, individual providers, and in-state providers may be found at https://www.education.ne.gov/
- Those Nebraska providers located within the boundaries of ESU 4 and its school districts.
- Evaluations must consider the educational, health, or other student records of the student provided by the school district or ESU. The parents, guardians, or age-appropriate student must provide any required consent to the disclosure of these records unless disclosure is already authorized by state and federal law.
- Evaluations must be provided to the district and ESU, including all educational, health, student, or other records created as part of or relied upon to complete the evaluation. The parents, guardians, or age-appropriate student must provide any required consent to the disclosure of these records unless disclosure is already authorized by state and federal law.
- Evaluations must be conducted by a provider that is authorized, available, and willing to discuss, confer, or otherwise cooperate with the district and ESU regarding the evaluation, its results, or any other information related to the evaluation. Such cooperation may include reasonable participation in, or the submission of additional reports or information to, an IEP, MDT, or SAT team. Evaluators must make available to the district and ESU any documents or records created in relation to the evaluation, including evaluation and assessment protocols and responses, when the ESU determines in its sole discretion that such documentation is necessary in order to permit meaningful parental participation. The parents, guardians, or age-appropriate student must provide any required consent to the disclosure of these records or information unless disclosure is already authorized by state and federal law.
- Evaluations must be sufficiently comprehensive for the evaluator to submit to the district and ESU a report that specifically details whether the student should be considered eligible for special education and related services, the nature of special education and related services recommended to accommodate the student’s suspected disability, and the particular facts or findings underlying the evaluator’s conclusions. This report must be submitted to the district and ESU within 45 days after the conclusion of the evaluation.
- Evaluations must meet the then-current state standards for reliability, research-based processes, and educational or professional best practices.
- Reimbursement to any evaluator chosen in conformance with this policy shall not exceed the cost that would be charged by the ESU’s contracted providers for the same or substantially similar evaluation.
All special education evaluations, including those independently obtained at the district’s or ESU’s expense, must be obtained in a manner consistent with the criteria set forth above, unless state or federal law requires waiver of one or more criteria in order to accommodate unique circumstances.
Adopted on: June 8, 2009
Revised on: Aug. 12, 2019
Reviewed on: April 16, 2012
Revised on: August 8, 2022
Reviewed on: March 11, 2024