56320
. Before any action is taken with respect to the initial
placement of an individual with exceptional needs in special
education instruction, an individual assessment of the pupil's
educational needs shall be conducted, by qualified persons, in
accordance with requirements including, but not limited to, all of
the following:
(a) Testing and assessment materials and procedures used for the
purposes of assessment and placement of individuals with exceptional
needs are selected and administered so as not to be racially,
culturally, or sexually discriminatory. Pursuant to Section 1412(a)
(6)(B) of Title 20 of the United States Code, the materials and
procedures shall be provided in the pupil's native language or mode
of communication, unless it is clearly not feasible to do so.
(b) Tests and other assessment materials meet all of the following
requirements:
(1) Are provided and administered in the language and form most
likely to yield accurate information on what the pupil knows and can
do academically, developmentally, and functionally, unless it is not
feasible to so provide or administer as required by Section 1414(b)
(3)(A)(ii) of Title 20 of the United States Code.
(2) Are used for purposes for which the assessments or measures
are valid and reliable.
(3) Are administered by trained and knowledgeable personnel and
are administered in accordance with any instructions provided by the
producer of the assessments, except that individually administered
tests of intellectual or emotional functioning shall be administered
by a credentialed school psychologist.
(c) Tests and other assessment materials include those tailored to
assess specific areas of educational need and not merely those that
are designed to provide a single general intelligence quotient.
(d) Tests are selected and administered to best ensure that when a
test administered to a pupil with impaired sensory, manual, or
speaking skills produces test results that accurately reflect the
pupil's aptitude, achievement level, or any other factors the test
purports to measure and not the pupil's impaired sensory, manual, or
speaking skills unless those skills are the factors the test purports
to measure.
(e) Pursuant to Section 1414(b)(2)(B) of Title 20 of the United
States Code, no single measure or assessment is used as the sole
criterion for determining whether a pupil is an individual with
exceptional needs or determining an appropriate educational program
for the pupil.
(f) The pupil is assessed in all areas related to the suspected
disability including, if appropriate, health and development, vision,
including low vision, hearing, motor abilities, language function,
general intelligence, academic performance, communicative status,
self-help, orientation and mobility skills, career and vocational
abilities and interests, and social and emotional status. A
developmental history shall be obtained, when appropriate. For pupils
with residual vision, a low vision assessment shall be provided in
accordance with guidelines established pursuant to Section 56136. In
assessing each pupil under this article, the assessment shall be
conducted in accordance with Sections 300.304 and 300.305 of Title 34
of the Code of Federal Regulations.
(g) The assessment of a pupil, including the assessment of a pupil
with a suspected low incidence disability, shall be conducted by
persons knowledgeable of that disability. Special attention shall be
given to the unique educational needs, including, but not limited to,
skills and the need for specialized services, materials, and
equipment consistent with guidelines established pursuant to Section
56136.
(h) As part of an initial assessment, if appropriate, and as part
of any reassessment under Part B of the federal Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. Sec. 1400 et seq.) and this
part, the group that includes members of the individualized education
program team, and other qualified professionals, as appropriate,
shall follow the procedures specified in Section 1414(c) of Title 20
of the United States Code. The group may conduct its review without a
meeting.
(i) Each local educational agency shall ensure that assessments of
individuals with exceptional needs who transfer from one district to
another district in the same academic year are coordinated with the
individual's prior and subsequent schools, as necessary and as
expeditiously as possible, in accordance with Section 1414(b)(3)(D)
of Title 20 of the United States Code, to ensure prompt completion of
the full assessment.