Process overview: Initial referral

When an individual suspects that a student has a disability and may require special education services, the student's parents or guardians and school staff work together to evaluate the student and make a recommendation. This process begins by creating a Request for Initial Referral or an Initial Referral in SESIS.

School staff includes the principal, social worker, psychologist, general education teacher, special education teacher and others.

Select from below.

If...	Do this...
The parent or guardian made the referral	No approval is needed to create the initial referral. A DOE staff member creates the Initial Referral document in SESIS. A DOE staff member prints the Initial Referral-Parent fax coversheet. A DOE staff member faxes the parent referral into SESIS using the Initial Referral-Parent fax coversheet. A DOE staff member sends the Notice of Referral: Initial to the parent or guardian. A DOE staff member finalizes the Initial Referral document. Proceed to step 3.
Anyone else made the referral	A DOE staff member creates the Request for Initial Referral document. A DOE staff member changes the document status to Review. Note: Principals who initiate the referral do not need approval. The student appears on the principal's Request for Initial Referrals Awaiting Approval report. The principal approves or disapproves the request. Proceed to step 2.

Select from below.

If...	Do this...
The request is approved	The student appears on the Status of Initial Referrals in Process report. A DOE staff member sends the Notice of Referral: Initial to the parent or guardian. A DOE staff member finalizes the Request for Initial Referral document. Proceed to step 3.
The request is disapproved	The student appears on the Status of Request for Initial Referrals and Additional Evaluations report. A DOE staff member sends the Notice of Request for Initial Referral to the parent or guardian notifying him or her that the request for referral was disapproved. A DOE staff member finalizes the Request for Initial Referral document. Note: If the parent or guardian disagrees with the decision and wishes to have his or her child evaluated, the parent or guardian must submit an initial referral and the DOE staff member must create the Initial Referral document in SESIS.

A DOE staff member creates, finalizes, and sends the Notice of Social History to the parent or guardian.
The social worker creates the Social History Package document.
The social worker conducts the social history meeting with the parent or guardian and requests consent.

Select from below.

If...	Do this...
The parent or guardian consents for evaluations	The parent or guardian signs the consent form. In SESIS, the social worker types the results from the meeting in the appropriate Social History section/form (primarily the Social History Evaluation section). The social worker prints the Consent for Initial Evaluation fax coversheet and faxes it along with the signed consent form into SESIS. The social worker finalizes the Social History Package document. As applicable, the social worker faxes in additional documents to the Social History Package using the appropriate fax cover sheets, including: Authorization for Release of Health Information Consent for use of Electronic Mail Request for Release of Records Request for Medical Accommodations The case manager creates the Assessment Planning document, adds the appropriate assessments, and does one of the following for each assessment identified: Indicates that the evaluation will be completed by school staff. Requests assistance from the Children First Network (CFN). Indicates that prior assessments will be used. Important: The case manager will not be able to identify any evaluations in the Assessment Planning document until consent has been faxed into SESIS using the appropriate fax coversheet. The evaluators complete all evaluations with the student. Each evaluator creates the appropriate evaluation document in SESIS to record his or her evaluation results. Once all evaluations are completed and finalized in SESIS, the case manager finalizes the Assessment Planning document. Important: The case manager may not finalize the Assessment Planning document until all evaluations are entered in SESIS and finalized. The case manager creates, finalizes, and sends the Notice of IEP meeting to the parent or guardian. The case manager creates the IEP document in SESIS. The case manager prints the IEP meeting attendance page. The IEP team conducts the IEP meeting and each participant signs the Attendance Page. The case manager prints the Attendance Page fax coversheet and faxes the coversheet along with the signed Attendance Page into SESIS. The case manager develops the IEP based on decisions made during the IEP meeting. The case manager finalizes the IEP document. The case manager sends a copy of the finalized IEP to the parent or guardian. The case manager places the student using CAP/SEC. Note: SESIS data will be reflected in CAP within 24-48 hours after the IEP is finalized.
The parent or guardian does not consent for evaluations	The process stops. An initial case cannot move forward without parent/guardian consent. The DOE staff member closes the case in SESIS and selects Parent refused to consent for evaluations as the reason.

SH7262

Last revised: May 18, 2011