Eligibility and Referral

Students between the ages of 3 and 21 suspected of having an educational disability may be referred to the Child Study Team for an evaluation by a variety of sources but generally they come from one of the following: 

1.  PARENTS:  Parents may request a Child Study Team Evaluation by submitting a handwritten letter to the Case Study Team office at the Lindenwold Board of Education Building.

2. MTSS (Multi-Tiered Systems of Support):  The Multi-Tiered Systems of Support team (MTSS) is a school-based, an academic framework using tiered, evidence-based interventions and assessments to provide differentiated support (academic, behavioral, social-emotional) to all students, guided by data-driven decision-making and continuous monitoring. The system is data-driven and problem-solving oriented, involving teams to identify student needs, implement plans, and evaluate their success through data-driven analysis. Students who move through all of the tiers and still do not make sufficient growth can be referred to the Child Study Team.

3. ADMINISTRATORS or OUTSIDE AGENCIES:  The Principal, other building/district administrator or an individual from an outside agency (doctor, social worker etc.) may refer a student for a Child Study Team Evaluation.

Once the referral has been received, the Case Manager has twenty (20) calendar days to schedule an Initial Identification Meeting. The necessary participants required to attend this meeting include a social worker, psychologist, learning disabilities teacher consultant, classroom teacher, special education teacher speech & language specialist (if the suspected disability included that area or the child was age 3-5) and certainly the parent.

No. Once a request for a Child Study Team evaluation is made, an Identification Meeting must be scheduled. At that meeting, it is determined if a Child Study Team Evaluation is warranted and, if so, an Evaluation Plan is developed. 

After the Evaluation Plan is developed, the parent/guardian must provide written consent. The district then has ninety (90) calendar days to complete the necessary evaluations. Within the ninety (90) days, an Eligibility Conference is scheduled to interpret the evaluations and determine if the student is eligible for special education and/or related services.

No! Before a student receives services, an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) must be developed. To the maximum extent that is appropriate, students are educated with their peers in the general education classroom. This is considered the least restrictive environment (LRE). Although this sounds like a place, where a child learns is only one part of the equation. LRE applies to a student's entire educational program, including services. The LRE for each child may look different because each child is unique.