Administrative Rule 24:14:12 | South Dakota Legislature

(1) "Assessment," the ongoing procedures used by qualified personnel to identify the child's unique strengths and needs and the early intervention services appropriate to meet those needs throughout the period of the child's eligibility under Part C and includes the assessment of the child and the child's family, pursuant with this chapter;

(2) "Initial assessment," the assessment of the child and the family conducted before the child's first IFSP meeting;

(3) "Evaluation," the procedures used by qualified personnel to determine a child's initial and continuing eligibility under Part C, consistent with the state's criteria of an eligible child; and

(4) "Initial evaluation," the child's evaluation to determine his or her initial eligibility under this Part C.

Source: 39 SDR 109, effective December 17, 2012; 49 SDR 7, effective July 31, 2022.

General Authority: SDCL 13-37-1.1.

Law Implemented: SDCL 13-1-23, 13-14-1, 13-37-1.1.

24:14:12:02. Evaluation and assessment of individual child. The department shall ensure that, subject to obtaining parental consent, each child under the age of three who is referred for evaluation or early intervention services under Part C and who is suspected of having a disability, receives timely, comprehensive, multidisciplinary evaluation of the child in accordance with this chapter unless eligibility is established under § 24:14:12:02.02. If the child is determined eligible, the child shall receive (1) a multidisciplinary assessment of the unique strengths and needs of that child and the identification of services appropriate to meet those needs; (2) a family-directed assessment of the resources, priorities, and concerns of the family; and (3) the identification of the supports and services necessary to enhance the child's family's capacity to meet the developmental needs of that child. The assessments of the child and family may occur simultaneously with the evaluation, if the requirements of this chapter are met.

A service coordinator shall arrange for the evaluation of each child, birth through two years, referred for evaluation. The process shall be conducted by qualified personnel, be based on informed clinical opinion, and include a review of health records.

An evaluation of the child's level of functioning shall be conducted in each of the following developmental areas:

(1) Cognitive development;

(2) Physical development, including fine motor, gross motor, vision, and hearing;

(3) Communication development, including receptive and expressive;

(4) Social or emotional development; and

(5) Adaptive development.

An assessment shall be made of the unique needs of the child for each of the developmental areas listed in this section, including the identification of services appropriate to meet those needs, a review of the results of the evaluation conducted under this chapter, and personal observation of the child.

Source: 20 SDR 223, effective July 7, 1994; 28 SDR 105, effective January 31, 2002; 39 SDR 109, effective December 17, 2012; 49 SDR 7, effective July 31, 2022.

General Authority: SDCL 13-37-1.1.

Law Implemented: SDCL 13-1-23, 13-14-1, 13-37-1.1.

Rule 24:14:12:02.01 Procedures for evaluation of child.

24:14:12:02.01. Procedures for evaluation of child. Procedures for evaluating the child must include:

(1) Administering two or more evaluation instruments;

(2) Taking the child's history, including interviewing the parent;

(3) Identifying the child's level of functioning in each of the developmental areas in § 24:14:12:02;

(4) Gathering information from other sources such as family members, other care-givers, medical providers, social workers, and educators, if necessary, to understand the full scope of the child's unique strengths and needs; and

(5) Reviewing medical, educational, or other records.

Source: 39 SDR 109, effective December 17, 2012.

General Authority: SDCL 13-37-1.1.

Law Implemented: SDCL 13-1-23, 13-14-1, 13-37-1.1.

Rule 24:14:12:02.02 Use of records to determine eligibility.

24:14:12:02.02. Use of records to determine eligibility. A child's medical and other records may be used to establish eligibility, without conducting an evaluation of the child, under Part C if those records indicate that the child's level of functioning in one or more of the developmental areas identified in § 24:14:12:02 constitutes a developmental delay or that the child otherwise meets the state's criteria for eligibility under this article. If the child's Part C eligibility is established under this section, the department or early intervention service provider shall conduct assessments of the child and family in accordance with this chapter.

Source: 39 SDR 109, effective December 17, 2012.

General Authority: SDCL 13-37-1.1.

Law Implemented: SDCL 13-1-23, 13-14-1, 13-37-1.1.

Rule 24:14:12:02.03 Informed clinical opinion.

24:14:12:02.03. Informed clinical opinion. Qualified personnel shall use informed clinical opinion when conducting an evaluation and assessment of the child. In addition, the department shall ensure that informed clinical opinion may be used as an independent basis to establish a child's eligibility under Part C even when other instruments do not establish eligibility. However, in no event may informed clinical opinion be used to negate the results of evaluation instruments used to establish eligibility under this section.

Source: 39 SDR 109, effective December 17, 2012.

General Authority: SDCL 13-37-1.1.

Law Implemented: SDCL 13-1-23, 13-14-1, 13-37-1.1.

24:14:12:03. Family-directed assessment of needs. A family-directed assessment must be completed to appropriately determine the child's and family's needs. A family-directed assessment must be carried out by qualified personnel using evidence-based early intervention practices as determined by the state Part C program. The practices must be designed to determine the resources, priorities, and concerns of a family and the identification of the supports and services necessary to enhance the family's capacity to meet the developmental needs of the child.

Any assessment that is conducted must be voluntary on the part of each family member participating in the assessment. The assessment must be conducted by qualified personnel trained to use state-approved methods and procedures, and must be based on information obtained through an assessment tool and through interviews with family members who participate in the assessment.

Source: 20 SDR 223, effective July 7, 1994; 26 SDR 153, effective May 22, 2000; 39 SDR 109, effective December 17, 2012; 49 SDR 7, effective July 31, 2022.

General Authority: SDCL 13-37-1.1.

Law Implemented: SDCL 13-1-23, 13-14-1, 13-37-1.1.

24:14:12:04. Nondiscrimination. The evaluation and assessment of children and families under this article must meet the following requirements for nondiscrimination:

(1) Tests and other evaluation and assessment materials and procedures must be administered in the native language of the parents and the other family members being assessed pursuant to § 24:14:01:01(13), unless it is clearly not feasible to do so;

(2) Any assessment and evaluation procedures and materials must be selected and administered so as not to be racially or culturally biased;

(3) No single procedure may be used as the sole criteria for determining a child's eligibility under this article;

(4) Evaluations and assessments must be conducted by qualified personnel; and

(5) Any test for a child with impaired sensory, manual, or speaking skils must be selected and administered to best reflect the child's aptitude or the achievement level of the factors measured by the test, rather than reflecting the child's impaired skills.

Source: 20 SDR 223, effective July 7, 1994; 39 SDR 109, effective December 17, 2012; 49 SDR 7, effective July 31, 2022.

General Authority: SDCL 13-37-1.1.

Law Implemented: SDCL 13-1-23, 13-14-1, 13-37-1.1.

Rule 24:14:12:04.01 Determination child not eligible.

24:14:12:04.01. Determination child not eligible. If, based on the evaluation conducted under this chapter, the department determines that a child is not eligible under this article, the department shall provide the parent with prior written notice, and include in the notice information about the parent's right to dispute the eligibility determination through dispute resolution mechanisms, such as requesting a due process hearing or mediation or filing a state complaint.

Source: 39 SDR 109, effective December 17, 2012.

General Authority: SDCL 13-37-1.1.

Law Implemented: SDCL 13-1-23, 13-14-1, 13-37-1.1.

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