, if your child may regress educationally — and perhaps even fail —because they need extended and/or intermittent home or hospital-based instructional services, then they likely “need” special education for eligibility purposes. In addition to academics and health conditions, schools must consider how your child’s emotional health or other conditions adversely affect their non-academic performance.
Under state law, your child qualifies if they have an impairment which “requires [specialized] instruction and services which cannot be provided with modification of the regular school program” in order to ensure FAPE is provided to the student. [1]
Above-average intelligence or academic ability by itself does not disqualify a student for special education. [2] So, even though a student may have above-average intelligence or academic ability, you could still show that the student’s condition has an “adverse effect on educational performance” as required by the OHI category. Regardless of intelligence or ability, a student’s condition must have an adverse impact on a student’s educational functioning in order for them to qualify for special education services. See Chapter 3, Information on Eligibility Criteria and Q. 14.7 above for more information about OHI and “adverse affect”.