Educational Impact in Early Childhood: Connecting Assessment to Eligibility
Join the California Early Childhood Special Education (CalECSE) Network for this no-cost virtual training focused on Determining Educational Impact in Early Childhood Special Education.
Determining educational impact is a critical component of the special education eligibility process for young children, yet it can often be one of the most nuanced and challenging areas for multidisciplinary teams to navigate. This session will explore how teams can thoughtfully determine whether a child’s disability affects their access, participation, engagement, and progress within early learning environments.
Participants will examine educational impact through an early childhood lens, including the role of developmentally appropriate expectations, functional participation, social-emotional development, communication, play, adaptive skills, and access to routines and instruction across settings. This training will also highlight the importance of gathering meaningful data from observations, family input, classroom performance, and authentic assessment practices to support legally defensible and child-centered eligibility decisions.
