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Special Education Referral Form

Entry into the Special Education assessment process officially starts when a student is referred for an evaluation. Any person with an interest in the child may make a referral (The WAC covering referrals is quoted below).

A referral for Special Education evaluation must be made in writing unless it is clearly unfeasible to do so. The referral form meets all the requirements under WAC .

Relevant WACs ( Washington Annotated Code)

Find a complete copy of the WACs guiding Special Education here.

WAC  392-172A-03005   Referral and timelines for initial evaluations. (1) A parent of a child, a school district, a public agency, other persons knowledgeable about the child may initiate a request for an initial evaluation to determine if the student is eligible for special education. The request will be in writing, unless the person is unable to write.

(2) The school district must document the referral and:

(a) Notify the parent that the student has been referred because of a suspected disability and that the district, with parental input, will determine whether or not to evaluate the student;

(b) Collect and examine existing school, medical and other records in the possession of the parent and the school district; and

(c) Within twenty-five school days after receipt of the referral, make a determination whether or not to evaluate the student. The school district will provide prior written notice of the decision that complies with the requirements of WAC 392-172A-05010.

(3) When the student is to be evaluated to determine eligibility for special education services and the educational needs of the student, the school district shall provide prior written notice to the parent, obtain consent, fully evaluate the student and arrive at a decision regarding eligibility within:

(a) Thirty-five school days after the date written consent for an evaluation has been provided to the school district by the parent; or

(b) Thirty-five school days after the date the refusal of the parent is obtained by agreement through mediation, or overridden by due process procedures; or

(c) Such other time period as may be agreed to by the parent and documented by the school district, including specifying the reasons for extending the timeline.

(d) Exception. The thirty-five school day time frame for evaluation does not apply if:

(i) The parent of a child repeatedly fails or refuses to produce the child for the evaluation; or

(ii) A student enrolls in another school after the consent is obtained and the evaluation has begun but not yet been completed by the other school district, including a determination of eligibility.

(e) The exception in (d)(ii) of this subsection applies only if the subsequent school district is making sufficient progress to ensure a prompt completion of the evaluation, and the parent and subsequent school district agree to a specific time when the evaluation will be completed.