Special Education Eligibility

Beginning in 1996, the department held informational hearings and appointed task forces to review the requirements in Chapter PI 11, Wisconsin Administrative Code, related to eligibility criteria and the need for special education services.

On July 1, 2001, new rules for eligibility criteria in the areas of cognitive disabilities, visual impairments, hearing impairments, speech/language impairments, specific learning disabilities, and emotional behavioral disabilities and the need for special education went into effect in Wisconsin. The impairment areas of autism, orthopedic impairment, other health impairment, significant developmental delay, and traumatic brain injury were not changed by these new rules.

Eligibility Worksheets

As part of the activities related to the new criteria, DPI program consultants developed eligibility criteria checklists in the six disability areas listed above. Those checklists were included in the evaluation guides posted on the website and were widely disseminated at numerous inservice presentations statewide to CESAs, LEAs, professional organizations, and other interested groups. As part of the implementation of the new criteria, DPI program consultants visited districts and reviewed IEP team records. The focus was to determine if all key components of the eligibility criteria were being addressed and documented. When school districts used the eligibility criteria worksheets, the IEP team documentation of eligibility criteria was more likely to adequately address all of the required elements and result in fewer cases of inappropriate identification. Use of the eligibility checklists will also increase Wisconsin's performance when measured against Indicator #10 of the State Performance Plan related to the disproportionate representation of racial and ethnic groups in specific disability categories.

Checklists are available in the following disability areas (*indicates focus of Indicator #10). MS Word and Spanish versions are form-fillable.

If a student is determined to meet eligibility criteria in one or more of the impairment areas, the IEP team must then consider whether the student needs special education. A worksheet to assist IEP teams in addressing the "Need for Special Education" is part of model form ER-1, Evaluation Report.

Eligibility Evaluation Guides and Resources

Beginning in 2001, Department staff conducted workshops and developed evaluation guides to assist districts in implementing the new eligibility criteria. These guides and other resource materials are available on the individual disability wepages:

Eligibility Criteria Study, PI 11.37

As part of the revisions to the eligibility criteria, the Department of Public Instruction was required to conduct a study of the effect of the modification of special education eligibility criteria (PI 11.37). In response to the request for proposal (RFP) from the DPI, the contract to conduct research was awarded to the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh as of January 1, 2002. A preliminary report to the Assembly and Senate education committees was made on June 30, 2003, and the final report submitted June 20, 2005.

For questions about this information, please contact the Special Education Team at (608) 266-1781.

Last updated on 7/23/2009 11:19:02 AM