22 Pa. Code § 16.22 - Gifted multidisciplinary evaluation
(a) Prior to conducting an initial gifted
multidisciplinary evaluation, the school district shall comply with the notice
and consent requirements under §§
16.61 and
16.62 (relating to notice; and
consent).
(b) Referral for gifted
multidisciplinary evaluation shall be made when the student is suspected by
teachers or parents of being gifted and not receiving an appropriate education
under Chapter 4 (relating to academic standards and assessment) and one or more
of the following apply:
(1) A request for
evaluation has been made by the student's parents under subsection
(c).
(2) The student is thought to
be gifted because the school district's screening of the student indicates high
potential consistent with the definition of mentally gifted or a performance
level which exceeds that of other students in the regular classroom.
(3) A hearing officer or judicial decision
orders a gifted multidisciplinary evaluation.
(c) Parents who suspect that their child is
gifted may request a gifted multidisciplinary evaluation of their child at any
time, with a limit of one request per school term. The request must be in
writing. The school district shall make the permission to evaluate form readily
available for that purpose. If a request is made orally to any professional
employee or administrator of the school district, that individual shall provide
a copy of the permission to evaluate form to the parents within 10 calendar
days of the oral request.
(d)
Multidisciplinary evaluations shall be conducted by GMDTs. The GMDT shall be
formed on the basis of the student's needs and shall be comprised of the
student's parents, a certified school psychologist, persons familiar with the
student's educational experience and performance, one or more of the student's
current teachers, persons trained in the appropriate evaluation techniques and,
when possible, persons familiar with the student's cultural background. A
single member of the GMDT may meet two or more of the qualifications specified
in this subsection.
(e) Gifted
multidisciplinary evaluations must be sufficient in scope and depth to
investigate information relevant to the student's suspected giftedness,
including academic functioning, learning strengths and educational
needs.
(f) The multidisciplinary
evaluation process must include information from the parents or others who
interact with the student on a regular basis, and may include information from
the student if appropriate.
(g) The
following protection-in-evaluation measures shall be considered when performing
an evaluation of students suspected of being gifted:
(1) No one test or type of test may be used
as the sole criterion for determining that a student is or is not
gifted.
(2) Intelligence tests
yielding an IQ score may not be used as the only measure of aptitude for
students of limited English proficiency, or for students of racial-,
linguistic- or ethnic-minority background.
(3) Tests and similar evaluation materials
used in the determination of giftedness shall be:
(i) Selected and administered in a manner
that is free from racial and cultural bias and bias based on
disability.
(ii) Selected and
administered so that the test results accurately reflect the student's
aptitude, achievement level or whatever other factor the test purports to
measure.
(iii) Professionally
validated for the specific purpose for which they are used.
(iv) Administered by certified school
psychologists under instructions provided by the producer of the tests and
sound professional practice.
(v)
Selected and administered to assess specific areas of educational need and
ability and not merely a single general IQ.
(h) The GMDT shall prepare a written report
that brings together the information and findings from the evaluation or
reevaluation concerning the student's educational needs and strengths. The
report must make recommendations as to whether the student is gifted and in
need of specially designed instruction, indicate the basis for those
recommendations, include recommendations for the student's programming and
indicate the names and positions of the members of the GMDT.
(i) The GMDT shall determine eligibility as
defined in §§
16.1 and
16.21 (relating to definitions;
and general).
(j) The initial
evaluation shall be completed and a copy of the evaluation report presented to
the parents no later than 60 calendar days after the agency receives written
parental consent for evaluation or receives an order of a court or hearing
officer to conduct a multidisciplinary evaluation, except that the calendar
days from the day after the last day of the spring school term up to and
including the day before the first day of the subsequent fall school term may
not be counted.
Notes
The provisions of this § 16.22 amended under sections 1372 and 2603-B of the Public School Code of 1949 (24 P. S. §§ 13-1372 and 26-2603-B).
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