Private Practitioners
In response to many questions we have received from private practitioners, we offer this information in the hope that we can be of assistance to you when providing valuable consultations and/or evaluations to your clients. If you have other questions not covered here, please feel free to call our offices at: 386-734-7190 (DeLand Administration, ask for School Psychological Services Office) or 386-255-6475 (East Volusia County area).
Examples of intellectual assessments that are acceptable and most commonly used when determining eligibility for ESE services:
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Examples of achievement assessments that are acceptable and most commonly used when determining eligibility for ESE services:
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Examples of behavioral assessments that are acceptable and most commonly used when determining eligibility for ESE services:
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Examples of process tests that are acceptable (process tests are not mandatory) when determining eligibility for ESE services:
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Examples of adaptive behavior ratings that are acceptable and most commonly used when determining eligibility for ESE services:
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Assessments needed to consider eligibility for Specific Learning Disabilities* placement:
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Assessments needed to consider eligibility for Emotional/Behavioral Disabilities placement:
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Assessments needed to consider eligibility for Intellectual Disability placement:
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Assessments needed to consider eligibility for Gifted** placement:
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*State Board rules indicate general education interventions with response to intervention data must be used to determine SLD placement.
** For children evaluated privately, the school-based screening requirements will also have to be met (i.e., Parent Rating Scale, Teacher Rating Scale, Checklist of Creative Positives).
Instruments that are unacceptable for eligibility purposes:
Screening instruments such as Bender-Gestalt, Wechsler Individual Achievement Test (Screener Composite), Wide Range Achievement Test, Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test (K-BIT), K-TEA Brief, Woodcock Mini-Battery of Achievement, Kaufman Functional Academic Skills Test (K-FAST), Otis-Lennon, etc. Behavior screeners such as the Burks' Behavior Rating Scales, Conner's Behavior Ratings, and Devereux Behavior Rating-School Form are unacceptable for initial placement in Emotional/Behavioral Disabilities.
Additional information/data necessary when self-contained placement is being considered:
For Emotional/Behavioral Disabilities and Intellectual disabilities, a social history must be completed by a School Social Worker. If one has previously been completed by a private social worker or by a School Social Worker in another county or state, this report must be submitted to the Volusia County Schools Social Work Services office for approval.
Acceptability of using short forms or pro-rating tests:
We suggest that examiners adhere to the recommended assessment procedures described by the test publisher or author in the examiner's manual (i.e., administration of all subtests rather than partial batteries, administration of the recommended subtests vs. substituting supplemental subtests, etc.).
Age norms or grade norms for test scores:
Age norms.
Using Standard Error of Measurement for Gifted placement:
The Standard Error of Measurement may be applied to the Full Scale IQ of the Wechsler scales and the Stanford-Binet. The recommendation to apply the Standard Error of Measurement when considering eligibility must be stated in the written report of the examining psychologist.
Should private practitioners make recommendations for special class placement?
No. We are bound by State Board of Education rules for determining eligibility for ESE placement.
Accommodations that are made for children diagnosed as ADHD/ADD:
Students referred for possible attentional problems (through parents, teachers, physicians, or private clinicians) are handled through the Problem Solving Team at the child's school. Appropriate interventions and accommodation plans based on the individual student's needs are developed through these committees with parent input. School Psychologists do not make the diagnosis of ADHD/ADD.
What Volusia County School Psychologists look for when reviewing private reports:
- Report is written on letterhead stationery
- Report is signed by the examiner
- Testing was completed within the past 3 years, when the data will be used to determine eligibility for ESE services
- Subtest and cluster scores are included in the report
- Testing was done by a licensed private practitioner or a state certified school system examiner (DOE certificate number or licensure data should be included)
- Evaluations not using the most recent normative data (i.e., WISC-V, Stanford-Binet-V, WPPSI-IV, etc.) will not be approved.
Where should reports done by private practitioners be submitted for approval:
Private reports may be submitted to any of the Psychological Services offices, to the School Counselor of the child's zone school, to the Problem Solving Team Chairperson of the child's zone school, or directly to the School Psychologist assigned to the child's zone school.
The procedure once the private report has been submitted for approval:
The approved report is distributed to the school, the School Psychologist assigned to the child's zone school, and the Placement Specialist assigned to the child's zone school. If the private practitioner has made a diagnosis that might indicate the need for ESE services, a Case Review may be held in order to determine whether any additional information needs to be gathered. In addition, the child's teacher should discuss the child's functioning at a Problem Solving Team meeting and provide research based interventions for an appropriate time period. If the interventions have not been successful, the Team may recommend that a referral be made to the Psychological Services office (if additional testing is necessary) or to the Placement Specialist (if no additional testing is needed).