Eligibility for Special Education under designation of Severe Multiple Impairment
The Michigan Administrative Rules for Special Education (MARSE) define eligibility for special education services within thirteen categories of disability.
R 340.1702 Student with a disability defined.
Rule 2. “Student with a disability” means a person who is determined by an individualized education program team or a hearing officer to have 1 or more of the impairments specified in this part that necessitates special education or related services, or both, who is not more than 25 years of age as of September 1 of the school year of enrollment, who has not completed a normal course of study, and who has not graduated from high school. A student who reaches the age of 26 years after September 1 is a “student with a disability” and entitled to continue a special education program or service until the end of that school year.
R 340.1714 Severe Multiple Impairment explained; determination.
Rule 14. (1) Students with severe multiple impairments shall be determined through the manifestation of either of the following:
(a) Development at a rate of 2 to 3 standard deviations below the mean and 2 or more of the following conditions:
(i) A hearing impairment so severe that the auditory channel is not the primary means of developing speech and language skills.
(ii) A visual impairment so severe that the visual channel is not sufficient to guide independent mobility.
(iii) A physical impairment so severe that activities of daily living cannot be achieved without assistance.
(iv) A health impairment so severe that the student is medically at risk.
(b) Development at a rate of 3 or more standard deviations below the mean or students for whom evaluation instruments do not provide a valid measure of cognitive ability and 1 or more of the following conditions:
(i) A hearing impairment so severe that the auditory channel is not the primary means of developing speech and language skills.
(ii) A visual impairment so severe that the visual channel is not sufficient to guide independent mobility.
(iii) A physical impairment so severe that activities of daily living cannot be achieved without assistance.
(iv) A health impairment so severe that the student is medically at risk.
(2) A determination of impairment shall be based upon a full and individual evaluation by a multidisciplinary evaluation team, which shall include a psychologist and, depending upon the disabilities in the physical domain, the multidisciplinary evaluation team participants required in R 340.1707, R 340.1708, or R 340.1709, R 340.1709a, or R 340.1716.
