Florida Administrative Code › 6 - DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION › 6A - State Board of Education › Chapter 6A-6 - SPECIAL PROGRAMS I › Section 6A-6.03016 - Exceptional Student Education Eligibility for Students with Emotional/Behavioral Disabilities

Current through Reg. 50, No. 138; July 16, 2024
(1) Definition.
				Students with an emotional/behavioral disability (E/BD). A student with an
				emotional/behavioral disability has persistent (is not sufficiently responsive
				to implemented evidence based interventions) and consistent emotional or
				behavioral responses that adversely affect performance in the educational
				environment that cannot be attributed to age, culture, gender, or
				ethnicity.
(2) General education
				interventions and activities. Prior to referral for evaluation, the
				requirements in subsection
				6A-6.0331(1),
				F.A.C., must be met.
(3)
				Evaluation. In addition to the provisions in subsection
				6A-6.0331(5),
				F.A.C., the evaluation for determining eligibility shall include the following:
(a) A functional behavioral assessment (FBA)
				must be conducted. The FBA must identify the specific behavior(s) of concern,
				conditions under which the behavior is most and least likely to occur, and
				function or purpose of the behavior. A review, and if necessary, a revision of
				an FBA completed as part of general education interventions may meet this
				requirement if it meets the conditions described in this section. If an FBA was
				not completed to assist in the development of general education interventions,
				one must be completed and a well-delivered scientific, research-based
				behavioral intervention plan of reasonable intensity and duration must be
				implemented with fidelity prior to determining eligibility. Implementation of
				the behavioral intervention plan is not required in extraordinary circumstances
				described in paragraph (4)(e) of this rule;
(b) The evaluation must include documentation
				of the student's response to general education interventions implemented to
				target the function of the behavior as identified in the FBA;
(c) A social/developmental history compiled
				from a structured interview with the parent or guardian that addresses
				developmental, familial, medical/health, and environmental factors impacting
				learning and behavior, and which identifies the relationship between
				social/developmental and socio-cultural factors, and the presence or
				non-presence of emotional/behavioral responses beyond the school
				environment;
(d) A psychological
				evaluation conducted in accordance with Rule
				6A-6.0331, F.A.C. The
				psychological evaluation should include assessment procedures necessary to
				identify the factors contributing to the development of an emotional/behavioral
				disability, which include behavioral observations and interview data relative
				to the referral concerns, and assessment of emotional and behavioral
				functioning, and may also include information on developmental functioning and
				skills. The psychological evaluation shall include a review of general
				education interventions that have already been implemented and the criteria
				used to evaluate their success;
(e)
				A review of educational data which includes information on the student's
				academic levels of performance, and the relationship between the student's
				academic performance and the emotional/behavioral disability; additional
				academic evaluation may be completed if needed; and,
(f) A medical evaluation must be conducted
				when it is determined by the administrator of the exceptional student program
				or the designee that the emotional/behavioral responses may be precipitated by
				a physical problem.