Teaching · Special Education

Before the eligibility meeting, see what the file can prove.

Walk the evaluation file item by item: consent, tools, sources, the two questions eligibility turns on, what has been ruled out and the family’s copies. The summary shows how much is in the file, how long since consent, and exactly what is still missing.

Start a file reviewWhat you get
$5one-time · every device you sign in on
Buy · $5

Included with Caveat Classroom and Whole-school licenses. Or get it in the New special education teacher kit, $39 for 31 items.

The file review

One record per student and review. Use initials or a code, never a name. The example is made up.

Loading the form. If nothing appears, turn on JavaScript.

What you get

Teaching · Special Education$5 · included with Classroom and Whole-school licenses

What you finish with
For each evaluation file, every federal evidence item marked in the file, missing or not applicable, the two eligibility questions with where the evidence sits, and a summary of what to gather before the meeting.
Who it is for
Special education case managers and coordinators preparing for an eligibility meeting; school psychologists checking their report; anyone auditing evaluation files.
Format
Browser checklist. Several saved records; printed with the summary or as a blank checklist; CSV with one row per record; export and import a file.
Access
$5 one-time, yours on every device you sign in on; the tool opens once you are signed in with it. Included with Caveat Classroom and Whole-school licenses. Also in the New special education teacher kit ($39) and the Special Education toolkit ($99), and 2 more bundles. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The Special Education space in Caveat Teaching.
Support
Questions about an order, access or a correction: team@caveatacademic.com.
categoryneed
Drawn for this page. Eligibility under IDEA has two gates: a disability under a federal category, and a need for special education because of it. The file needs evidence for both.

How to use it

  1. Start a record with the student’s initials or a code and the review date.
  2. Choose the category the team is considering; the learning disability section appears only when it applies.
  3. Mark each item in the file, missing or not applicable as you page through the file.
  4. Note where the evidence for each of the two questions sits, by page or source.
  5. Read the missing list and close the gaps before the meeting.

Start a file review

What the review is for

The two questions

Under IDEA, a child with a disability is one who has one of the listed impairments and who, because of it, needs special education and related services. Both parts have to be shown. A diagnosis alone is not enough, and neither is low achievement alone.

What federal rules ask of the evaluation

A variety of tools and strategies, no single measure, every suspected disability and related need, the child’s language or mode of communication, and information from the parent. The decision draws on several sources and cannot rest on a lack of appropriate instruction in reading or math or on limited English proficiency. The parent receives the report and the eligibility documentation, with prior written notice.

What this checklist is not

It does not decide eligibility and holds no criteria for any category. States add their own definitions, timelines and methods, especially for learning disabilities; follow them. The 60-day figure is the federal default when a state has not set its own timeline.

Sources

  1. Individuals with Disabilities Education Act regulations, 34 CFR 300.8 (child with a disability; the categories).
  2. 34 CFR 300.300 and 300.301 (consent; the 60-day initial evaluation timeline unless the state sets one), 300.304 and 300.305 (evaluation procedures; review of existing data).
  3. 34 CFR 300.306 (determination of eligibility: sources, exclusion factors, copies for the parent).
  4. 34 CFR 300.307 to 300.311 (additional procedures for specific learning disabilities: criteria, observation, written report and certification).
  5. 34 CFR 300.503 (prior written notice); Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, 34 CFR Part 99.

The example student is made up. The review checks that evidence is in the file; it does not decide eligibility, which belongs to the team and the parent under federal and state rules. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.