What Qualifies a Child for an IEP? Eligibility Criteria Explained

Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) give students with certain disabilities the opportunity to improve their academic, emotional, and behavioral performance at school and to reach their maximum potential within the educational environment. However, to qualify for an IEP, a child needs to meet specific eligibility criteria.

Educators, school administrators, and parents must be familiar with the IEP qualification requirements in order to be able to identify when a child might be in need of specialized instruction and accommodations and request a formal evaluation to launch the IEP process. These criteria include the presence of specific disabilities that negatively impact educational outcomes as well as age requirements and enrollment in a school district.

If your district is looking to fill special education teacher vacancies, check out Fullmind. Our IEP and Resource Room services offer state-certified, highly qualified SPED teachers that design instruction around each student’s unique goals and provide targeted support and accommodations in a real-time, virtual Resource Room.

General IEP Qualification Criteria

IEPs are a type of special education that targets students with specific disabilities that have a negative effect on their educational performance and thus necessitate special education. Unlike 504 plans, IEPs include both personalized instruction and accommodations via related services and might require a placement outside a general education classroom.

In the US education system, IEPs are regulated by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). This education law was adopted in 1990, replacing the All Handicapped Children Act of 1975, to ensure that free appropriate public education (FAPE) is made available to all eligible children with disabilities nationwide through special education and related services.

As of 1990, IDEA has been dictating the criteria that qualify a child for an IEP. It is important to note that not all children with a disability are eligible for an IEP, while they all qualify for a 504 plan. When it comes to an Individualized Education Program, a child needs to meet very specific requirements in order to get access to this highly specialized educational plan.

The main IEP qualification criteria for children in the US include:

• Category of qualifying disability: IDEA lists 13 categories of physical and psychological disabilities that qualify for an IEP. A child must have one or more of these qualifying disabilities in order to be deemed eligible for an individualized education plan.
• Negative impact on education: The disability has to have a proven negative effect on the child’s performance at school, whether academically, behaviorally, or socio-emotionally. If the disability does not impact the child’s educational process, then there is no need for an IEP.
• Age requirement: IEP qualification has an age limit of 3-21 years. This basically covers PreK-12 grade education. Children with disabilities who are younger than 3 years of age are eligible for early intervention services, which are different from an IEP. Meanwhile, youth 22+ years of age as well as those who have already graduated from high school no longer qualify for an IEP. While IEPs are not available at higher education institutions, colleges and universities have their own special education provisions to accommodate students in need of individualized services to thrive.
• Public school enrollment: IEPs are only available at public schools and charter schools, so students at private schools and homeschooled children do not have access to this right. Private schools offer Individualized Service Plans (ISPs) which are less comprehensive and thorough and thus less effective than IEPs. However, any student who is enrolled in a school district, regardless of the type of schooling they receive, is eligible for an IEP evaluation and qualification. This right is guaranteed by the Child Find policy embedded in IDEA. If a private school student or a homeschooled student is found to qualify for an IEP, they can attend a public school part-time or full-time to benefit from this important provision of the public education law.
• Need for special education services: Finally, a student must need an Individualized Education Program in order to achieve progress and success at school in order to be eligible for one. If a child’s disability does not obstruct the educational process and performance, there is no need for an IEP. Such a child might be eligible for a 504 plan to take advantage of certain accommodations without changing the mode of instruction and the placement.

Since qualifying a child for an IEP is based on a number of complex criteria and considerations, it requires a multidisciplinary approach which involves several professionals as well as the child’s parents or guardians.

13 Categories of Disabilities That Qualify for an IEP

IDEA identifies a list of 13 categories of qualifying disabilities that make a child eligible for an IEP.

The 13 categories of disabilities and their IDEA definitions include:

1. Autism

Autism or Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) signifies a developmental disability that significantly impacts verbal and nonverbal communication and social interaction and that adversely affects educational performance.

Additional characteristics associated with autism include repetitive activities, stereotyped movements, resistance to environmental change or change in the daily routine, and unusual responses to sensory experiences.

Autism is generally evident before age 3 but can be diagnosed after 3 years of age too if the above-listed symptoms are present.

2. Deaf-Blindness

Deaf-blindness (DB) refers to naturally accompanying or associated hearing and visual impairments, the combination of which results in severe communication, developmental, and educational needs that cannot be adequately addressed in special education that targets children with deafness or blindness only.

Deafness and blindness are included within the IDEA categories of disabilities separately too.

3. Deafness

Deafness (D) means a hearing impairment, the severity of which impairs the processing of linguistic information through hearing, with or without amplification. As a result, this hearing impairment impacts the child’s performance at school.

4. Emotional Disturbance

Emotional disturbance (ED) is a condition that exhibits one or more of the following characteristics:

• Inability to learn that cannot be attributed to intellectual, sensory, or health factors
• Inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships with peer students and teachers
• Inappropriate types of behavior or feelings under normal circumstances
• General pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression
• Tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears associated with personal or school problems

A child must exhibit these features over a long period of time and to a marked degree that negatively affects their educational performance.

Schizophrenia is included under emotional disturbance, but this category does not cover children who are socially maladjusted.

5. Hearing Impairment

Hearing impairment (HI) refers to an impairment in hearing that is either permanent or fluctuating and that adversely impacts the child’s performance in education. This condition covers disabilities that are not included in the deafness category.

6. Intellectual Disability

Intellectual disability (ID) signifies significantly below-average general intellectual functioning that exists together with deficits in adaptive behavior and is manifested during the developmental period. This condition must have a negative influence on the child’s performance at school to qualify them for an IEP.

Intellectual disability was formerly referred to as mental retardation.

7. Multiple Disabilities

Multiple disabilities (MD) is equivalent to the presence of contaminant impairments, the combination of which leads to severe educational needs that cannot be accommodated in special education programs designed for one of the impairments.

Examples of multiple disabilities include intellectual disability and blindness, intellectual disability and orthopedic impairment, and other combinations of qualifying disabilities. It excludes deaf-blidness, which is listed as an independent category under IDEA.

8. Orthopedic Impairment

Orthopedic impairment (OI) refers to a severe orthopedic impairment that has a negative effect on the child’s educational performance.

This IEP qualifying category covers impairments caused by a congenital anomaly, impairments caused by disease such as poliomyelitis or bone tuberculosis, and impairments resulting from other causes like cerebral palsy, amputations, fractures, or burns that lead to contractures.

9. Other Health Impairment

Other health impairment (OHI) signifies the presence of a condition that causes the child to have limited strength, vitality, or alertness including a heightened alertness to environmental stimuli that leads to limited alertness to the educational environment.

This health impairment needs to be the result of chronic or acute health problems, such as asthma, attention deficit disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), diabetes, epilepsy, heart condition, hemophilia, lead poisoning, leukemia, nephritis, rheumatic fever, sickle cell anemia, and Tourette syndrome.

In addition, the impairment has to adversely impact the child’s performance at school.

10. Specific Learning Disability

Specific learning disability (SLD) means the presence of a disorder in one or more of the basic physiological processes involved in the understanding or using of spoken or written language that can manifest itself in imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or do mathematical calculations.

Some IEP qualifying conditions include perpetual disabilities, brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction, dyslexia, and developmental aphasia.

At the same time, the specific learning disability category excludes learning problems that are primarily the result of visual, hearing, or motor disabilities, intellectual disability, emotional disturbance, or environmental, cultural, or economic advantage. Many of these are covered under other IDEA categories of IEP qualifying disabilities.

11. Speech or Language Impairment

Speech or language impairment (SLI) refers to a communication disorder that has a negative impact on the child’s performance in education.

Some examples of speech or language impairment include stuttering, impaired articulation, language impairment, or voice impairment.

12. Traumatic Brain Injury

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) signifies an acquired injury to the brain that is caused by an external physical force that results in total or partial functional disability or psychosocial impairment or both and that adversely affects the child’s educational outcomes.

Traumatic brain injury covers open or closed head injuries leading to impairments in one or more areas including cognition, language, memory, attention, reasoning, abstract thinking, judgment, problem-solving, sensory, perceptual, or motor abilities, psychosocial behavior, physical functions, information processing, and speech.

The trauma brain injury category excludes congenital and degenerative brain injuries and brain injuries induced by birth trauma.

13. Visual Impairment Including Blindness

Visual impairment including blindness (VI) means an impairment in vision that even with correction has a negative impact on the child’s performance at school.

This category includes both partial sight and blindness.

Confirmation of one or more of these 13 categories of disabilities defined by IDEA in addition to the presence of the other eligibility requirements, listed above, qualifies a child for an IEP within the public education system in the US.

Who Does an IEP Qualification

An IEP qualification, formally referred to as an IEP evaluation, is a complex process that requires a multidisciplinary team that includes the relevant stakeholders needed to assess whether this is a child with a qualifying disability that adversely affects the student’s educational performance.

While a formal evaluation can be requested by a number of different people, the qualification process has to be managed and guided by the child’s school. Meanwhile, it is the responsibility of the school district to make sure that each child who might qualify for an IEP is evaluated and offered this option if found eligible. This is stipulated under the Child Find provision of IDEA.

Once the need for an evaluation is established, the school is responsible for putting together an adequate IEP team, organizing required meetings, implementing the IEP, and monitoring progress.

The IEP team that conducts the qualification must include:

• Administrator: The IEP administrator is a school admin who is responsible for running the IEP evaluation. This can be the school principal or the IEP coordinator. This person is aware of the human and other resources available at the school and the district and how they can contribute to the IEP process.
• General education teacher(s): One or more of the general education teachers that work with the child need to be a part of the qualification team. These are the people who are best aware of the student’s performance in accordance with the general education curriculum, their progress towards grade-level standards, and their performance on standard assessments as well as the challenges, weaknesses, and strengths that they face in the educational setting.
• Special education teacher(s): One or more special ed teachers who instruct or will instruct the student have to join the IEP team. In addition to performing some testing, these experts can also judge what adjustments to instruction and what accommodations in terms of related services would best serve the specific needs of the child.
• Local education agency (LEA) representative: A school district representative has to be involved in the IEP qualification too. This individual needs to be licensed to provide or supervise special education services and has the responsibility to approve school resources for the IEP, among other duties.
• School psychologist(s): One or more school psychologists take part in the IEP evaluation by performing a comprehensive assessment of the child to decide if they are eligible for special education. School psychologists also play a crucial role in the process by interpreting the results of the evaluation and helping work out an all-inclusive IEP that meets the specific needs of the child.
• Parents/guardians: The parents or guardians of the child are an indispensable part of the qualification process. Indeed, an IEP evaluation can only be initiated after a permission by the parents, and an IEP can be implemented only after a parental approval.

• Specialist(s): A variety of additional experts and specialists might be involved in the IEP qualification process. Some common examples of extra IEP team members include speech therapists, vision and mobility specialists, physical therapists, mental health professionals, occupational therapists, behavioral specialists, and assistive technology specialists. They can evaluate specific areas, such as speech, language, motor, and functional skills, as well as provide valuable insights into what accommodations would work best for each qualified student.
• Child’s doctor: While the student’s physician cannot be a part of the formal IEP evaluation team, they can be invited to the IEP team meetings to offer description and explanation of the child’s medical condition, its severity, available treatment, and impact on the educational process.

An IEP qualification team is constructed by the school after an evaluation has been requested by a relevant individual and approved by the parents. This has to happen within a reasonably short period after the parental permission in order to start assisting potentially IEP qualifying children right away.

How to Request an IEP Qualification

A child can be referred for an IEP initial full assessment, known as an IEP evaluation, by a number of individuals. This evaluation is used as the basis for establishing a child’s qualification for an IEP.

The people who can refer a student for evaluation include:

• Parents: Frequently parents are the first people who start suspecting that their child’s potential or confirmed disability might be causing poor outcomes at school, including academic, socio-emotional, or behavioral subpar performance. Parents can submit a formal request to the district to have their child evaluated.
• Child’s physician: The child’s doctor is another individual who can refer the student for an assessment. While the physician might be unaware of the exact effect of a disability on the educational process, they are usually most knowledgeable about the child’s health condition and associated disabilities.
• School personnel: Teachers, instructors, paraprofessionals,  school psychologists, school counselors, and other school staff are placed in a unique position that gives them a clear perspective of the educational performance of students. That’s why they are often the first to notice that below-average outcomes might be the result of an underlying health condition and suggest an IEP evaluation.

Regardless of who requests the IEP qualification, the evaluation has to be approved by the child’s parents or guardians before it can be initiated.

To request an assessment themselves, parents need to submit a written letter to the district’s director or the special education coordinator or to the school’s principal. Under Child Find, it is the school district’s responsibility to make sure that all students who might potentially qualify for an IEP are evaluated and offered a personalized education plan if needed. 

Alternatively, if a school employee refers a child for qualification, the school administrator needs to contact the parents/guardians to ask for their permission to start the evaluation process. Permission needs to be given in writing to be valid.

In either case, it is recommended that parents keep copies and records of all communication in this regard for future reference.

While the IEP process is dictated by the IDEA provisions, which is a federal law, there might be some variations in specific rules and procedures by state and district. Thus, if a parent suspects that their child might have a disability that is adversely affecting their schooling, they should consult with school or district representatives to learn the steps forward.

What Goes Into an IEP Evaluation

An IEP qualification evaluation is a complex process that includes multiple steps and considerations to produce the most comprehensive and reliable results that can build the basis for an effective Individualized Education Program.

Following are the procedures that go into an IEP assessment:

• Agreement on the need for evaluation: The school and the parents need to agree on the necessity to assess a child. This requires the exclusive permission of the parents/guardians to conduct an IEP evaluation.
• School performance data gathering: Teachers and school admins provide assessment records, test scores, discipline records, and other documentation that demonstrates the child’s performance at school in terms of academics, behavior, and socio-emotional interactions.
• Administering questionnaires: Questionnaires are given to the teachers, patents/guardians, caregivers, and potentially the student to gather additional information about the child’s performance at school and at home. This is needed to obtain a full picture of the extent to which a disability is impacting the educational process.
• Assessment by a psychologist: A psychologist needs to test the child to determine how the child thinks and solves problems.
• Testing by additional specialists: Other specialists, such as speech therapists, vision and mobility specialists, and physical therapists, to name a few, need to test the child to establish the impact of the disability on educational performance.
• Classroom observation: Members of the IEP team observe the child’s behavior in a school setting, inside and outside the classroom.
• IEP meeting: The IEP team needs to attend a formal meeting organized by the school to discuss the results of the evaluation together and come up with an IEP document that sets out the necessary instruction adjustments and other accommodations for special education.

When conducting an IEP evaluation, the team needs to be guided by these best practices:

• Use a comprehensive set of measures and assessments (academic, cognitive, speech, language, motor, socio-emotional, behavioral, etc.) that utilize different tools (standardized tests, teacher reports, discipline reports, classroom observation, questionnaires, interviews, etc.) to gather all the information that is needed to qualify for an IEP. Decisions cannot be based on a single metric or factor.
• Administer evaluation measures in the child’s native language and avoid culturally biased or discriminatory approaches. The school might need to provide a translator as part of the process.
• Apply measures that are technically sound and adequate to the specific situation of the child.
• Administer and interpret IEP evaluations via trained, qualified, and knowledgeable school and district personnel.
• Involve parents as key partners in the IEP qualification, design, and implementation process as they are most intimately familiar with the struggles and the needs of their child and have the right to be their advocates for adequate education.
• Provide a copy of the IEP evaluation report including the determination of qualification to the parents/guardians as well as all other players.
• Comply with legally established timelines and deadlines.

It should be noted that the IEP team does not have the right to request the child’s medical records as part of the qualification process. Meanwhile, if deemed necessary by the parents, the student’s doctor can be invited to the meetings to discuss relevant aspects of the disability and its impact on schooling and education.

How to Request a Child Reevaluation for an IEP

In general terms, an IEP reevaluation is required every 3 years. Under some special circumstances and in some states, triennial reevaluations can be waived if both the parents and the LEA representative agree, while in other situations a reevaluation might be required on an biennial basis.

In addition, the IEP team is mandated to hold yearly meetings to assess the child’s progress towards the annual goals set up in the IEP document as well as towards grade-level standards, adjust the IEP plan if needed, and decide on the new objectives for the upcoming year. However, these regular meetings do not constitute a formal reevaluation of the child’s qualification for an IEP. Instead, they aim to monitor progress and provide the space for necessary modifications in a timely manner.

Additional reevaluations (within the obligatory triennial reevaluations) can be requested in the following cases:

• When the child is not perceived to make significant progress towards the annual goals and grade-level standards in spite of the prescribed implementation of IEP instruction, accommodations, and supports.
• When a suspicion arises that the student might have an additional category of a disability qualifying under IDEA that was not detected during the initial evaluation process.
• When the child is planned to undergo a major placement change, such as transitioning from a specialized classroom instruction or homebound schooling to a general education classroom or vice versa.

All these reasons are considered important enough to deem another IEP evaluation necessary for the benefit of the child despite the lengthy and demanding process. In general, reevaluations do not happen more than once a year unless they are strong considerations to believe that it is really needed.

The stakeholders who can request an additional reevaluation outside the triennial reevaluation framework include:

• Parents: The parents and guardians have the right to ask for an IEP qualification reevaluation of their child in case they notice that the current plan does not address their child’s needs and requirements in an adequate manner. This can also be done if they believe that their child’s situation has changed since the last evaluation. To request an IEP reevaluation, parents need to submit a written letter to the school district, similar to the request for an initial evaluation.
• Teacher or school personnel: General education teachers, special ed teachers, paraprofessionals, and tutors can suggest a reevaluation if they witness a negative change in the student’s academic, behavioral, or socio-emotional performance. Other school staff, such as psychologists and therapists, can also request a new assessment if they observe changes in the child’s behavior or needs.
• Related service providers: The specialists providing IEP related services can recommend a reevaluation in case they notice significant changes in the student’s conditions or suspect the need for new supports.
• LEA representative: The school district can request a child’s IEP reevaluation if they deem it necessary.

Parents need to give their written permission before an IEP reevaluation process can be launched.

Bottom Line

Individualized Education Programs are a key provision that ensures that children with different disabilities have access to high-quality, adequate, and free-of-charge public education as part of their civil rights and education rights. It is the responsibility of instructors, school and district administrators, related service providers, and parents to recognize the need for special education, develop an effective plan, and implement it meticulously while tracking progress to provide students with the education that they deserve. The first step in this process is understanding what qualifies a child for an IEP so that all involved stakeholders have the tools and the skills to identify students in need of specialized instruction, accommodations, and related services.

Is your district struggling with addressing special education teacher shortages? Fullmind IEP and Resource Room services provide state-certified, highly qualified SPED teachers who understand how to meet IEP requirements via seamless virtual learning integration. Get in touch to discuss your district needs and the best way to meet them.