Changes to the Maine Unified Special Education Regulations, Birth-20, (M.U.S.E.R.) will go into effect on August 25, 2017. Until that date, schools should continue to use existing procedures for the identification of children with a specific learning disability.
Chapter 101 (Section VII.2.L) and pertaining to the identification of children with specific learning disabilities was amended to require:
- the inclusion of general education intervention data under Section III of the rule when the IEP team uses a process based on the child’s response to scientific, research-based interventions and,
- the inclusion of psychological processing data from standardized measures to identify contributing factors.
These changes will affect any child’s evaluation that begins on or after August 25, 2017.
The Specific Learning Disability Eligibility Form that is used in the process of identifying children with specific learning disabilities will also change on August 25, 2017.
Please check the Maine DOE website at http://www.maine.gov/doe/specialed/forms/ for more information or contact the Maine Department of Education, Office of Special Services at 624-6713.