Yolanda Bleu
Address
City, State, Zip Code
Telephone Number

Date

Victor Verde
Director of Special Education
Local Unified School District
Address
City, CA Zip Code

Re: Max Bleu

Dear Mr. Verde:

I am writing to refer my son, Max, for assessment to determine if he is eligible for special education services and support. He is not progressing in school. He is seven years old and attends Harvey Milk Elementary School (child’s school of attendance).

(The above paragraph is all you need to send to the school district to initiate the special education assessment process. However, if you have additional information and wish to provide the school district additional information about the types of assessments you are requesting, you may include that. Some examples of what that could look like follow. You may also want to include a paragraph requesting your child be assessed under Section 504. An example of such a paragraph is at the bottom of this Appendix.) 

(If you believe that your child may be eligible in particular categories, especially Other Health Impairment, Emotional Disturbance, or Autism, you should specifically say so and ask that the assessment address those conditions. A standard special education assessment looks at cognition, psychological processing and academic achievement, none of which may be deficient in a student qualifying in one of the above three categories.)

(If you have specialized knowledge or know specific tests, you might add additional requests for specific tests, for example —)

I request that the Local Unified School District (your District) conduct the following evaluations of my child:

1. A psychological evaluation to determine his learning potential, using instruments designed for non-oral children such as the Leiter International Performance Scale-Third Edition or the Hiskey Nebraska Test of Learning Aptitude;
2. An evaluation by a non-oral communications specialist. To my knowledge, the district does not have on staff any experts in this field. I have been recommended to Barbara Blanco, Ph.D. in non-oral communication, and unless the district has a comparable expert, I am requesting that you contract with Dr. Blanco to do the non-oral communication evaluation of my child;
3. An occupational therapy assessment.

(You may also wish to include a paragraph requesting that, in addition to special education assessments, your child also be evaluated under the provisions of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504) for any “disabling condition” which would require service accommodations and/or services that will allow the child to benefit from public education to the extent that students without disabilities do. This could ensure your child is provided Section 504 accommodations and/or services even if they are found ineligible for special education. However, you should not agree to substitute a Section 504 assessment for a special education assessment. Such a paragraph might read as follows –)

I also request that my child be evaluated under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, pursuant to title 34 C.F.R. Sec. 104.35, for educational service needs which may require any accommodation or program modification not available under special education. I also request that the Section 504 Coordinator for Local Unified School District be present at the initial IEP meeting to discuss the results and recommendations of the Section 504 Evaluation.

I look forward to receiving an assessment plan in 15 days pursuant to Education Code Sec. 56321(a). I hope that these evaluations can be completed promptly and look forward to having an IEP meeting to discuss the results of these evaluations and plan for Max’s continued education. Please ensure that I get copies of the assessment reports one week before the IEP meeting.  Thank you.

Sincerely yours,Yolanda Bleu