Referral Process

In 1975, Public Law 94-142, The Education for all Handicapped Children Act, was signed into law to insure that the educational rights of children with special needs were protected.  In 1990, this act was amended and renamed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act or IDEA. In 1997 and 2004, the IDEA was reauthorized to further strengthen the roles of parents, students and educators in the education process. IDEA has the following major components and principles of special education:

• Free appropriate public education (FAPE): This is the landmark principle of IDEA, requiring a child's education to be designed to meet his or her needs.  
• Least restrictive environment (LRE): To the greatest extent possible, children with disabilities are required to be educated with their peers without disabilities.
• IEP (Individualized Education Program): This component ensures that students with disabilities receive an appropriate and individualized program, documented through the IEP, to meet his/her unique needs. 
• Appropriate evaluation: Fair testing of children is required in all areas of suspected disability, with tests that are administered and scored in an unbiased way.
• Procedural due process: Parents must be given the opportunity to consent or object to their children's education, referral, assessment, program, or placement and a process within which to do so. 
• Parent participation: Parents may participate as full partners and have full knowledge of their child's education program.

The Committee on Preschool Special Education (CPSE) is a multi-disciplinary committee who serves to determine if a preschool-aged child between the ages of 3 through 5 is eligible for special education services. If you have concerns about your preschool child’s speech, language, learning, physical, or behavioral development, you may refer him or her to the CPSE for an evaluation by calling (914) 238-7207 x 1109. The Special Education Office will then mail a referral packet to you. You can also access the packet HERE. The referral packet will include a referral form, preschool form, medical form, prescription form, Procedural Safeguards notice, list of approved evaluation sites, timeline and Parent Guide to Special Education. 

Before or upon receiving the referral packet, you must register your child with the school district.  For information about registration, please call (914) 238-7200 X 1007.  Upon return of the referral form, the preschool form and the medical form to the Special Education Office, a "Consent for Initial Evaluation" form will be sent to you. Once the signed consent is returned to the Special Education Office, the office will contact the evaluation agency you selected (on the referral form). The agency will then contact you to make appointments for a multi-disciplinary evaluation. This evaluation is of no cost to parents. The referral form and consent form should be mailed to:

Office of Special Education and Related Services
Chappaqua Central School District
PO Box 21
Chappaqua, NY 10514

The multi-disciplinary evaluation consists of the following components: a social history (including health history and a physical examination), a psychological evaluation, an observation and other appropriate assessments/evaluations to determine your child’s skills and abilities. Areas to be evaluated include cognition, language and communication, adaptive behavior, social-emotional, and motor development. Upon completion of the evaluations, the CPSE will hold a meeting to review the results of the evaluations and determine if your child is eligible for special education services. A copy of the evaluation report, including a summary of the evaluation, will be provided to you and to other CPSE members. 

Committee on Preschool Special Education membership: 

The Committee is comprised of the following members: the parents of the preschool child, a district representative authorized by the Board of Education, a special education teacher, a regular education teacher, and the school psychologist. Other participants may include staff who evaluated the student, service providers and anyone you or the district chooses to invite who has special knowledge or expertise regarding the student. Parents may request a parent member, (a parent of a student who is or was previously classified). A parent member must be requested at least 72 hours prior to the CSE meeting. For a child in transition from early intervention programs and services, the appropriately licensed or certified professional from the Department of Health's Early Intervention Program will also attend.

Eligibility:

If the CPSE determines that, your child has a significant delay in one or more functional areas that adversely affects learning (cognition, language/communication, adaptive behavior, social-emotional and/or motor development), he or she may be classified as a “preschool child with a disability.” If a child is found eligible, the CPSE will develop an Individualized Education Program (IEP). The IEP is a written statement that provides information about the child’s strengths and needs, present levels of educational performance, measurable goals and short-term objectives and special education program and/or services. The IEP is reviewed at least annually. During an Annual Review meeting, your child’s progress is discussed and continued need for services for the upcoming year is determined.

The Committee on Special Education (CSE) is a multi-disciplinary committee who serves to determine if a child between the ages of 5 to 21 is eligible for special education services.  Referrals to the Committee on Special Education may be made by district staff or parents. If you suspect that your child may have a disability that requires specialized instruction, you are encouraged to bring your concerns to your school Principal or Assistant Principal (Elementary School) or School Counselor (Middle School and High School).  During the meeting, they will listen to your concerns and provide information to you regarding ways to support your child within the school environment.  If, after that discussion, you wish for your child to be evaluated through the Committee on Special Education, you will be provided with a referral packet. You can also find the referral packet HERE. The referral packet will include a referral form, medical form, Procedural Safeguards notice and Parent Guide to Special Education. (Para español, haga clic en Recomendación de los Padres al Comité de Educación Especial).

Once completed, your child’s school will send the completed referral form to the Special Education office. Upon its receipt, the office will send you a "Consent for Initial Evaluation" form. In order to begin the process, a parent must sign and return the consent form to the Office of Special Education Services. The District then has 60 calendar days to complete the evaluation process and hold a Committee on Special Education meeting to determine eligibility.

Committee on Special Education membership:

The committee is comprised of the following members: the parents of the child, a district representative authorized by the Board of Education, a special education teacher, a regular education teacher, and the school psychologist. Other participants may include district staff who evaluated the student, service providers and anyone the parent or district chooses to invite who has special knowledge or expertise regarding the student. Parents may request a parent member, (a parent of a student who is or was previously classified). A parent member must be requested at least 72 hours prior to the CSE meeting.  The child may be invited and attend when appropriate.

Eligibility:

After reviewing all the information gathered, including, but not limited to evaluations completed, parent observations and teacher reports and input, the CSE will determine whether your child meets the eligibility criteria as a student with an educational disability and whether the disability has an adverse effect on his/her educational performance requiring specialized instruction and/ or related services. If the CSE determines that a student has a disability as defined in law and is in need of specialized instruction, it will develop an Individualized Education Program (IEP) and recommend services to meet the student’s needs. The IEP is reviewed at least annually. During an Annual Review meeting, your child’s progress is discussed and continued need for services for the upcoming year is determined.

At any point in time during the process, you have the right to withdraw consent and the referral process may not proceed. If the student is classified, written consent to provide services is required from the parent. Once a child receives services under an IEP, a parent may revoke consent for special education in writing to the Director of Special Education and 504 Services.

Overview of Rehabilitation Act (Section 504)

"Section 504" refers to Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and to the amendments to the Act since 1973. Section 504 states that no individual with a disability shall be: "excluded from participation in, be denied benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance."  In a public school environment, Section 504 protects qualified individuals with disabilities from exclusion from participation in, denial of benefits from, or be subjected to discrimination in, district programs and/or activities.

To be eligible for protection under Subpart A of Section 504, an individual must meet the definition applying to any person with a physical or mental impairment substantially limiting one or more life activities.  Major life activities include but are not limited to; walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, communicating, breathing, endocrine system functioning, digestive functions, learning, reading, and concentration.

For students with disabilities, the most important regulations for Section 504 concern access and reasonable accommodations. Students who may require a Section 504 Plan may have chronic conditions such as epilepsy, asthma, diabetes, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and who do not require specialized instruction as provided under the IDEA.

This law does not require a written Individualized Education Program (IEP) document but it does require a plan for reasonable accommodations (504 Accommodation Plan).This law is enforced by the U.S. Office of Civil Rights and each school district with more than 15 employees is responsible for assuring compliance with Section 504.

If you suspect that your child has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity and therefore requires accommodations, special services and /or supports to enable him/her to participate in school sponsored academic and nonacademic programs and/or activities, please contact the building assistant principal (elementary schools) or school counselor (middle and high schools) to discuss your concerns and determine whether a referral to the 504 Committee is needed. If a referral is necessary, he/she will assist you in completing the referral paperwork.  You can also find the referral form HERE.

Once a referral is submitted, you will receive paperwork from the Special Education office seeking your written consent to conduct a classroom observation and any other evaluations deemed necessary. Once completed, you will be invited to attend the Section 504 meeting. The Section 504 Committee is comprised of persons knowledgeable about the student. The Section 504 Committee will review all relevant background, current school-based testing and available information such as teacher reports and report cards. Should you desire, you are welcome to provide the Committee with medical documentation of the disability and/or other evaluations for consideration by the Committee.

To determine eligibility, the Committee must determine whether the student is disabled as defined by the law. If the Committee finds that the student has a disability that meets the 504 definition, the Committee will determine if the disability substantially limits a major life activity and what, if any, accommodations and/or supports are necessary to enable the student to participate in school sponsored academic and extra-curricular programs and activities to the same extent as non-disabled students.

For questions around referrals, please contact your child's school counselor, school psychologist, or Assistant Principal.