The Special Education Program for Children with Disabilities provides services for children ages birth through 21. If you are aware of a child who is suspected of having a disability, please contact GISD/Department of Individualized Instruction (940) 549-3399 or Region IX Education Service Center (940) 322-6928 or (940) 322-8297 for information about screening and evaluation at no cost.
Public schools in Texas provide for the special education of children who have a disability. Children with identified physical, mental, perceptual, speech, language, social and/or emotional disabilities may be eligible for the program. Children with vision and/or hearing problems may be eligible for services beginning at birth. GISD/Department of Individualized Instruction will use information from a variety of sources to determine eligibility according to Texas Education Agency guidelines.
If a parent makes a written request for an initial evaluation for special education services to the director of special education services or an administrative employee of the school district or open enrollment charter school, the district or charter school must respond no later than 15 school days after receiving the request. At that time, the district or charter school must give the parent a prior written notice of whether it agrees to or refuses to evaluate the student, along with a copy of the Notice of Procedural Safeguards. If the school district or charter school agrees to evaluate the student, it must also give the parent the opportunity to give written consent for the evaluation.
Please note that a request for a special education evaluation may be made verbally and does not need to be in writing. Districts and charter schools must still comply with all federal prior written notice and procedural safeguard requirements and the requirements for identifying, locating, and evaluating children who are suspected of being a child with a disability and in need of special education. However, a verbal request does not require the district or charter school to respond within the 15-school-day timeline.
If the district or charter school decides to evaluate the student, it must complete the student’s initial evaluation and evaluation report no later than 45 school days from the day it receives a parent’s written consent to evaluate the student. However, if the student is absent from school during the evaluation period for three or more school days, the evaluation period will be extended by the number of school days equal to the number of school days that the student is absent.
There is an exception to the 45-school-day timeline. If a district or charter school receives a parent’s consent for the initial evaluation at least 35 but less than 45 school days before the last instructional day of the school year, it must complete the written report and provide a copy of the report to the parent by June 30 of that year. However, if the student is absent from school for three or more days during the evaluation period, the June 30th due date no longer applies. Instead, the general timeline of 45 school days plus extensions for absences of three or more days will apply.
Upon completing the evaluation, the district or charter school must give the parent a copy of the evaluation report at no cost.
Additional information regarding special education is available from the district or charter school in a companion document titled Parent’s Guide to the Admission, Review, and Dismissal Process.
The designated person to contact regarding options for a student experiencing learning difficulties or regarding a referral for evaluation for special education services is:
Graham ISD Contact Person: Natalie Husen, Director Special Populations
Phone Number: 940-549-3399
Region IX Education Service Center (940) 322-6928 or (940) 322-8297
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