Eligibility for Special Education under designation of Traumatic Brain Injury
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 340.1716 Traumatic Brain Injury defined; determination.
Rule 16. (1) “Traumatic brain injury” means an acquired injury to the brain which is caused by an external physical force and which results in total or partial functional disability or psychosocial impairment, or both, that adversely affects a student’s educational performance. The term applies to open or closed head injuries resulting in impairment in 1 or more of the following areas:
(a) Cognition.
(b) Language.
(c) Memory.
(d) Attention.
(e) Reasoning.
(f) Behavior.
(g) Physical functions.
(h) Information processing.
(i) Speech.
(2) The term does not apply to brain injuries that are congenital or degenerative or to brain injuries induced by birth trauma.
(3) A determination of disability shall be based upon a comprehensive evaluation by a multidisciplinary evaluation team, which shall include an assessment from a family physician or any other approved physician as defined in 1978 PA 368, MCL 333.1101 et seq.
