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005.18.6-6.09. Eligibility Criteria.

AR ADC 005.18.6-6.09Arkansas Administrative Code

West's Arkansas Administrative Code
Title 005. Department of Education
Division 18. Special Education and Related Services
Rule 6. Evaluation - Eligibility Criteria
Ark. Admin. Code 005.18.6-6.09
005.18.6-6.09. Eligibility Criteria.
The terms used to establish eligibility criteria are defined as follows-
6.09.1 Autism
Autism means a developmental disability significantly affecting verbal and nonverbal communication and social interaction, generally evident before age 3, that adversely affects a child's educational performance. Other characteristics often associated with autism are engagement in repetitive activities and stereotyped movements, resistance to environmental change or change in daily routines, and unusual responses to sensory experiences. Autism does not apply if a child's educational performance is adversely affected primarily because the child has an emotional disturbance, as defined in paragraph (c)(4) of 34 CFR 300.8 and at ยง 6.09.3 of these regulations.
6.09.1.1 A child who manifests the characteristics of autism after age 3 could be diagnosed as having autism if the criteria in this part are satisfied.
6.09.2 Deaf-Blindness.
Deaf-Blindness means concomitant hearing and visual impairments, the combination of which causes such severe communication and other developmental and educational needs that they cannot be accommodated in special education programs solely for children with deafness or children with blindness.
6.09.3 Emotional Disturbance.
Emotional disturbance means-
6.09.3.1 The term means a condition exhibiting one or more of the following characteristics over a long period of time and to a marked degree that adversely affects a child's educational performance-
A. An inability to learn that cannot be explained by intellectual, sensory, or health factors.
B. An inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships with peers and teachers.
C. Inappropriate types of behavior or feelings under normal circumstances.
D. A general pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression.
E. A tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears associated with personal or school problems.
6.09.3.2 The term includes schizophrenia. The term does not apply to children who are socially maladjusted, unless it is determined that they have an emotional disturbance under paragraph 6.09.3.1 of this section and 34 CFR 300.8(c)(4).
6.09.4 Hearing Impairment Including Deafness.
6.09.4.1 Deafness means a hearing impairment that is so severe that the child is impaired in processing linguistic information through hearing, with or without amplification, that adversely affects educational performance.
6.09.4.2 Hearing impairment means an impairment in hearing, whether permanent or fluctuating, that adversely affects a child's educational performance but that is not included under the definition of deafness in this section.
A. Audiological Indicators.
1. An average pure-tone hearing loss in the speech range (500 - 2000 Hz) of 20dB or greater in the better ear. A child with a fluctuating hearing impairment, such as one resulting from chronic otitis media, is classified as hearing impaired (HI).
2. An average high frequency, pure-tone hearing loss of 35dB or greater in the better ear at two or more of the following frequencies: 2000, 3000, 4000 and 6000Hz.
3. A permanent unilateral hearing loss of 35dB or greater in the speech range (pure-tone average of 500 -2000Hz).
4. A diagnosis of auditory neuropathy.
6.09.5 Mental Retardation.
Mental retardation means significantly subaverage general intellectual functioning, existing concurrently with deficits in adaptive behavior and manifested during the developmental period, that adversely affects a child's educational performance.
6.09.6 Multiple Disabilities.
Multiple disabilities means concomitant impairments (such as mental retardation-blindness, mental retardation-orthopedic impairment, etc.), the combination of which causes such severe educational needs that they cannot be accommodated in special education programs solely for one of the impairments. Multiple Disabilities does not include deaf-blindness.
6.09.7 Orthopedic Impairment.
Orthopedic impairment means a severe orthopedic impairment that adversely affects a child's educational performance. The term includes impairments caused by congenital anomaly, impairments caused by disease (e.g., poliomyelitis, bone tuberculosis), and impairments from other causes (e.g., cerebral palsy, amputations, and fractures or burns that cause contractures).
6.09.8 Other Health Impairment.
Other health impairment means having limited strength, vitality or alertness, including a heightened alertness to environmental stimuli, that results in limited alertness with respect to the educational environment, that-
6.09.8.1 Is due to chronic or acute health problems such as asthma, attention deficit disorder or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, diabetes, epilepsy, a heart condition, hemophilia, lead poisoning, leukemia, nephritis, rheumatic fever, sickle cell anemia, and Tourette syndrome; and
6.09.8.2 Adversely affects a child's educational performance.
6.09.9 Specific Learning Disability.
6.09.9.1 General. The term means a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written, that may manifest itself in an imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or to do mathematical calculations, including conditions such as perceptual disabilities, brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction, dyslexia, and developmental aphasia.
6.09.9.2 Disorders not included. Specific Learning disability does not include learning problems that are primarily the result of visual, hearing, or motor disabilities, of mental retardation, of emotional disturbance, or of environmental, cultural, or economic disadvantage.
6.09.10 Speech or Language Impairment.
Speech or language impairment means a communication disorder, such as stuttering, impaired articulation, a language impairment, or a voice impairment, that adversely affects a child's educational performance.
6.09.11 Traumatic Brain Injury.
Traumatic brain injury means an acquired injury to the brain caused by an external physical force, resulting in total or partial functional disability or psychosocial impairment, or both, that adversely affects a child's educational performance. Traumatic Brain Injury applies to open or closed head injuries resulting in impairments in one or more areas, such as cognition; language; memory; attention; reasoning; abstract thinking; judgment; problem-solving; sensory, perceptual, and motor abilities; psychosocial behavior; physical functions; information processing; and speech. Traumatic Brain Injury does not apply to brain injuries that are congenital or degenerative, or to brain injuries induced by birth trauma.
6.09.12 Visual Impairment.
Visual impairment including blindness means an impairment in vision that, even with correction, adversely affects a child's educational performance. The term includes both partial sight and blindness.
6.09.12.1 Students with partial sight are those whose vision, although impaired, is still the primary channel of learning and, with adjustments, are able to perform the visual tasks required in the usual school situation. Generally, their visual acuity with correction is 20/70 or less.
6.09.12.2 Students with blindness are those with no vision or with little potential for developing vision as a primary channel for learning and, therefore, must rely upon tactile and auditory sense to obtain information.
Current with amendments received through May 15, 2024. Some sections may be more current, see credit for details.
Ark. Admin. Code 005.18.6-6.09, AR ADC 005.18.6-6.09
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