NAC388.390. Eligibility of pupil with hearing impairment.

     1. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 3, a pupil with a hearing impairment who is deaf is eligible for special services and programs of instruction if the eligibility team, comprised of the persons described in subsections 6 and 7, concludes that:

     (a) The pupil has a hearing impairment and, by reason thereof, needs special education and related services;

     (b) Routine auditory communication is impossible for the pupil, or nearly so, because of the pupil’s inability to discriminate among and understand the sounds that reach the pupil;

     (c) The sense of hearing of the pupil is nonfunctional for the ordinary purposes of life, whether as the result of congenital or postlingual deafness; and

     (d) The pupil has an average hearing threshold level, at 500, 1,000 and 2,000 Hz, of 92 decibels or more.

Ê As used in this subsection, “nonfunctional for the ordinary purposes of life” means that the pupil does not receive speech sounds clearly enough through hearing, with or without amplification and notwithstanding the fact that he or she may be aware of loud or random noises, to develop language.

     2. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 3, a pupil with a hearing impairment who is hard-of-hearing is eligible for special services and programs of instruction if the eligibility team concludes that:

     (a) The pupil is hard-of-hearing and, by reason thereof, needs special education and related services;

     (b) The pupil has the ability, if aided, to hear and understand most spoken words;

     (c) The hearing mechanism of the pupil, though defective, is sufficiently functional with or without the use of a hearing aid to allow a receptive flow of information; and

     (d) The pupil has an average hearing threshold level of 30 decibels or more.

     3. A pupil with a hearing impairment who is deaf or hard-of-hearing is eligible for special services and programs of instruction if the eligibility team concludes that the pupil meets the criterion set forth in paragraph (d) of subsection 1 or paragraph (d) of subsection 2, whichever applies, notwithstanding the pupil’s failure to meet the other criteria set forth in subsection 1 or 2.

     4. A pupil with a hearing impairment who has deaf-blindness is eligible for special services and programs of instruction if the eligibility team concludes that the pupil meets the criteria set forth in subsection 1, 2 or 3, whichever applies, and the criteria set forth in NAC 388.395.

     5. A pupil under the age of 6 years is not ineligible, because of the pupil’s age, for the special services and programs of instruction referred to in this section.

     6. The eligibility team may include a teacher or specialist in the field of hearing impairment and must consist of a parent of the pupil and not fewer than three persons with expertise in one or more of the following areas:

     (a) Audiology or the interpretation of an audiological report.

     (b) Hearing impairment.

     (c) The interpretation of an assessment of:

          (1) Health.

          (2) Communication skills and disorders.

          (3) Academic achievement.

     7. If the requirements of subsection 6 are satisfied, one or more of the following persons may serve on the eligibility team:

     (a) A regular classroom teacher.

     (b) One or more persons qualified to interpret an assessment of the social or emotional condition of the pupil, or of the cognitive abilities of the pupil, because of the person’s personal knowledge of the pupil. Such persons may include, without limitation, an administrator, nurse, school counselor, school psychologist or any other certificated or licensed professional.

     8. The conclusions of the eligibility team concerning the eligibility of the pupil for the special services and programs of instruction referred to in this section must be based upon an evaluation of the pupil. The evaluation must include:

     (a) A comprehensive audiological examination, including pure tone and speech discrimination tests, performed by an audiologist; and

     (b) An assessment of the:

          (1) Health of the pupil, which must include a comprehensive examination of vision;

          (2) Academic achievement of the pupil; and

          (3) Speech and language of the pupil.

     9. If the requirements of subsection 8 are satisfied, the evaluation of the pupil may include an assessment of the pupil’s cognitive abilities and social and emotional condition.

     (Added to NAC by Bd. of Education, eff. 7-14-88; A 11-23-93; R039-98, 5-29-98; R085-99, 2-16-2000; R064-08, 9-18-2008)