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#5110

SUSQUEHANNA TOWNSHIP SCHOOL DISTRICT

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17109

POLICY

REQUESTS FOR MULTI-DISCIPLINARY EVALUATION

Teachers and principals are responsible for referring students who are experiencing social, emotional, or educational problems within the school setting to the building child study team. The teacher(s) or principal initiating the referral will present documentation which may include but is not limited to discipline referrals, writing samples, daily papers, an anecdotal record of behavioral observations and/or gathering of information for the team meeting. Each building has a regularly scheduled time and place for its team meeting and teachers will be given opportunities to participate prior to and/or during the meeting through written and oral comments. The team will decide on appropriate actions and who will implement them.

If the team recommendation is that a multi-disciplinary evaluation is necessary, the director of pupil services will provide the teacher or counselor with appropriate forms and directions on how to process them including parent, nurse and other teacher evaluations. When all forms are completed they should be assembled in order and given to the principal who will check the referral for accuracy. The MDE meeting will be scheduled and chaired by the director of pupil services who will complete sections III, IV and the psychological impressions for the MDE report. All participants are responsible for returning corrected drafts to the director of pupil services.  Completed copies of the MDE will be provided to parents and teachers by the director of pupil services. The IEP process which follows every MDE will be chaired by the building principal with the special education teacher assuming responsibility for writing the IEP. Each principal will determine the priority within his/her building with more urgent referrals taking precedence over earlier ones, but within the 45 day time line. The original referral must be made by a staff member for problems of an educational nature or having educational implications, but not for the purpose of determining whether a student should pass or fail. 

If a parent refuses to give written consent for a multi-disciplinary evaluation, the teacher should report this to the building principal in writing, including date of contact and reason for refusal. This should be filed in the child’s folder. If the principal feels evaluation is necessary for the child’s educational progress, he should request parental consent. If the parent still refuses to cooperate, the principal should forward all documentation of efforts and the referral request to the office of the director of pupil services for further actions.

Approved by the School Board – June 8, 1987

Revised by the School Board – January 8, 1990

Revised and Approved by the School Board – January 13, 1992