Some of you have requested specific clarification regarding the eligibility and assessment of students identified as having a disability under the category Other Health Impaired (OHI). I thought that I would share our discussion and response with all of you.
Pursuant to 707 KAR 1:280, OHI is defined as; "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:
(a) Is due to a chronic or acute health problem, such as acquired immune deficiency syndrome, asthma, attention deficit disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, diabetes, epilepsy, a heart condition, hemophilia, lead poisoning, leukemia, nephritis, rheumatic fever, sickle cell anemia, Tourette's’s syndrome, or tuberculosis; and
(b) Adversely affects a child’s educational performance."
When determining eligibility, the Admissions and Release Committee (ARC) must carefully examine data to satisfactorily answer the criteria listed in the OHI definition stated above. This includes the question of whether the impairment "adversely affects" the child’s educational performance.
The term "Adverse Effect" is defined in 707 KAR 1:280 as; " the progress of the child is impeded by the disability to the extent that the educational performance is significantly and consistently below the level of similar age peers." Exact standards for determining OHI are not set out in the definition above. Therefore the ARC must use the data available to determine if a student’s educational performance is significantly and consistently below the level of similar age peers, in order to make an eligibility determination for each child. Only the ARC has the authority to determine a student eligible as having a disability and what accommodations if any that child should receive for instruction, related services and in assessment.
While the Kentucky Department of Education cannot and has not intervened in telling schools when a child can be identified as OHI or if an OHI child (or any other disability) can receive accommodations, it is important that those decisions are justified and appropriately documented. In December of 2007, Kentucky’s Child Count Data reflects that more students are classified as having a disability under the category of OHI than Specific Learning Disability (SLD). The national Child Count Data for 2006 reports the number of students identified as SLD is more than four times greater than that of OHI. That makes overidentification a major concern.
Assessment adaptations are to be consistent with the "Inclusions of Special Populations" document referenced by 703 KAR 5:070. The accommodations included in the Individual Education Program (IEP) for students who are identified as OHI are commensurate with the same process for making determinations for students identified in the other areas of exceptionality.
Please contact Larry Taylor or Johnnie Grissom at (502) 564-4970 if you have questions.
Jon E. Draud