Key Changes in the Process of Identification for students with EBD

  • PL 94-142

    Otherwise known as, The Education for All Children Act, the government decided to include children with emotional disturbance and the definition of seriously emotionally disturbed was used as a qualifying category for eligibility.
  • Eligibility Checklist

    Checklists were created by some states to consider eligibility for students with EBD. The purpose of these forms was to facilitate discussions from the team regarding eligibility decisions.
  • Multicultural issues in assessment

    Research was conducted which suggested that, when assessing a student for EBD, behaviors speciic to the students' culture need to be identified.
  • Behavior Rating Scales

    Around the late 80's-early 90's, a variety of behavior rating scales were developed to characterize the patterns of a student's behaviors. Several of these scales include the Conner's Teacher Rating Scale, Walker and McConnell's Scale of Social Competence and School Adjustment, Social Skill Rating System, etc.
  • IDEA 97

    IDEA changes qualifying category for eligibility to emotionally disturbed and makes a more clear definition.
  • Developing IEP Goals for an EBD student

    IDEA 97 explicitly requires IEP teams to address behavior problems using goals and objectives. There is an increased emphasis on teaching students in the general education curriculum and assessing progress using functional behavior assessments.