9th Circuit Decision Calls into Question 45-Day Evaluation Timeline
A decision recently issued by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in J.G. v. Douglas County School District, 108 LRP 71106 (9th Cir. 2008), calls into question the validity of relying on the 45-school-day evaluation timeline in the state special education regulations for the completion of an initial special education evaluation as "reasonable". In this case, a referral to special education of twins with developmental delays came into the school district in early May, and the twins were scheduled for evaluation consistent with Nevada's 45-school-day evaluation timeline, which stopped during the summer months and picked up again in the fall. In the middle of the summer, while the evaluations were in progress, the school district received word that there was a possibility that the twins might be autistic. The evaluation plan was revised to include evaluations for autism, and meanwhile the children were identified as eligible for services based on a developmental delay, and were provided with an IEP. Once the autism evaluations were completed in the fall, the IEP's were revised to include the autism diagnosis and additional services appropriate for children with autism. The parents argued that the school district unreasonably delayed the evaluation of the twins and provision of appropriate services, and the school district argued that the evaluation timeline was reasonable, in part because it complied with the state's 45-day regulatory requirements.
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