ADMINISTRATORS

Are comprehensive assessments still required for initial eligibility?

According to IDEA 2004 regulations, school systems are still required to conduct a comprehensive evaluation in all areas related to the suspected disability. Please see below:

An RTI process does not replace the need for a comprehensive evaluation. LEAs must use a variety of data gathering tools and strategies even if an RTI process is used. The results of an RTI process may be one component of the information reviewed as part of the evaluation procedures required under §§300.304 and 300.305.

“All evaluations must include a variety of assessment tools and strategies (see above discussion of the conduct of an evaluation) and the group cannot rely on any single procedure as the sole criterion for determining eligibility.” (IDEIA § 614(b)(6); 34 C.F.R. § 300.307).
“IDEIA requires that any evaluation of a child suspected of having a disability must (1) be conducted using a variety of assessment tools and strategies to gather relevant functional, developmental, and academic information about the child; (2) not use any single measure or assessment as the sole criterion; and (3) use technically sound instruments that may assess the relative contribution of cognitive and behavioral factors, in addition to physical or developmental factors.” (34 C.F.R. § 300.304(b)).

“Before making an SLD determination, the group must also ensure that underachievement is not due to lack of appropriate instruction in reading or math.” (34 C.F.R. § 300.309(b)).

What are the policies regarding providing a copy of a test record form to parents/clients (i.e., under HIPPA or FERPA regulations)?

Given the advice that we have received from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Harcourt Assessment reiterates that customers may not disseminate copies of test record forms or protocols to persons who erroneously claim that they are entitled to copies under HIPAA. As the HHS has now confirmed, HIPAA does not require any person to disclose any trade secret materials, and all restrictions on the dissemination of test record forms and protocols remain in effect.
Harcourt Assessment’s test instruments are trade secrets and their usefulness and value would be compromised if they were generally available to the public. We have stated this position in correspondence, court cases, news articles and on our website for many years. This position is also consistent with our longstanding practice of ensuring through our terms and conditions of use that all purchasers have the appropriate qualifications to administer and interpret the instruments being purchased and that such purchasers agree to maintain the confidentiality of the instruments.

Even in a school setting, release of copies of test questions or protocols in any form is not required under federal law. The applicable U.S. statute is the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). This establishes the right of parents “to inspect and review the education records of their children” (20 U.S.C. § 1232G(a)(1)(A)). It requires schools to establish procedures that will enable parents to review their children’s records within a reasonable time after a request is made.

The regulations implementing this section define “the right to inspect and review education records” as including:
“(1) the right to a response from the [school] to reasonable requests for explanations and interpretations of the records; and
(2) the right to obtain copies of the records from the [school] where failure of the [school] to provide the copies would effectively prevent a parent or eligible student from exercising the right to inspect and review the education records” (34 C.F.R. § 99.11(b)).
The import of this section is that only where failure to provide copies would deny the exercise of this right will schools be obliged to provide copies. In all other cases, inspection alone would presumably suffice. If a parent requests an inspection of a child’s record, once the school agrees to review the content of the child’s test record with the parent, it is most unlikely that a court would find that exercise of the right to review educational records had been denied.

Harcourt encourages professionals to review test results with parents, including, if the psychologist deems appropriate, review of responses to individual items. This may involve showing a test protocol or answer contained in test booklets to parents in order to facilitate discussion. However, we strongly oppose the release of copies of protocols for the reasons noted above. The tests are extremely valuable instruments, which are widely used throughout the world. Impairment of their security could threaten the validity of the tests and, therefore, their value as a measurement tool.

When a client is seeking a second opinion from a qualified provider, and has provided consent for the release of records, practitioners and school systems may release a copy of the test record form to other qualified practitioners.

When a revision of an existing instrument becomes available, are there guidelines pertaining to when the new measure must be adopted?
Most professionals agree that new instruments should be adopted between 8 and 12 months of their release. Some of the reasons for this include: more updated normative comparisons (making sure that you are comparing to a sample that is representative of the current population), using measures that are based upon the most current research, and making sure that test content reflects current standards.