Federal and state laws require that students receive education and services in the least restrictive environment (LRE) to the greatest extent possible to meet their needs.
The state provides an alternative form, which can be downloaded from the OSPI website, entitled How to Make a Recommendation for Special Education.
Under IDEA (the country's special education law), you also have the right to ask the school to evaluate your child. The purpose of the evaluation is to see if you have a disability and need special education services. This page presents a sample letter or email that you can write to the school to request that your child be evaluated to see if he has a disability and if he qualifies for special education and related services.Name of the special education principal or administrator Name of the school, street, city, state, zip code. At the end of the initial evaluation, the evaluation team will meet with parents to review the information collected during the evaluation and determine if the student is eligible for special education. Requesting a special education evaluation is NOT a recommendation to remove a student from the normal classroom and move them to an exclusive learning environment. When a student is struggling in school and there are reasons to suspect that the challenges are related to a disability, anyone can refer them to an educational evaluation.
Below is a sample letter requesting an evaluation to consider a student for special education services. OSPI provides a form for making a special education recommendation, which can be downloaded from a page on the website entitled How to Make a Recommendation for Special Education. There are times when you, as a parent, may want to contact your child's school in writing about a problem or concern regarding your child's education or well-being.
