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Buffalo schools outline special‑education referral steps: written referral, CER packet, 60‑day evaluation timeline
Summary
Assistant Superintendent Kim Folcher walked the board through Part 200 referral rules: a written referral (parent or district designee), required CER packet from schools, parental informed consent, and completion of evaluations and a CSE meeting within 60 calendar days, with services arranged within 60 school days after eligibility.
Assistant Superintendent Kim Folcher described how Buffalo City School District handles initial referrals to special education and the timelines that govern evaluations and service delivery under state rules.
"If there's a student who is suspected of having a disability, they must be referred in writing to the district," Folcher told the board, explaining that referrals typically go to the CSE chairperson or a building administrator. She said the district follows New York State Part 200 regulations and distinguishes between a direct parental referral and a school request for referral.
Folcher described the school-required CER (student intervention) packet that documents prior interventions and data; if the CER packet meets requirements, the district prepares prior written notice and seeks parental consent. "Once that consent comes back, we are obligated to complete all evaluations and hold the CSE meeting to determine if the student is eligible or not within 60 calendar days," she said, noting those are 60 calendar days for evaluation and 60 school days to begin services once eligibility is determined.
She detailed the evaluations that may be required—educational, psychological, social history, physical and related services assessments—and stressed that a student cannot be found eligible if deficits are due solely to lack of instruction or attendance. Folcher also reviewed the continuum of placements (integrated co‑teaching, resource room, special class ratios such as 15:1, 12:1, 8:1 and more specialized 12:1:2 habilitation settings) and said services are delivered once a student is classified and the IEP is in place.
Board members asked for data on how much time students spend in general-education classrooms and on attendance and delivery rates for IEP services; Folcher said the answers depend on the recommended services and offered to provide additional metrics.
The session reinforced procedural obligations under state regulations and clarified parental consent, timelines and documentation required to initiate evaluations and services.
