Triennial Review

The process of gathering information to determine whether a child has a disability and needs special education services. An evaluation must use a variety of assessment tools and strategies, cannot rely on a single measure, must be administered by trained professionals, and must assess all areas of suspected disability.

A review of existing data and, if needed, additional assessments to determine whether a child continues to have a disability and still needs special education. Re-evaluations must occur at least every three years (triennial) but can happen sooner at the request of the parent or teacher. The school cannot re-evaluate more than once a year without parental agreement.

A document that summarizes evaluation findings and determines whether a student qualifies for special education services under IDEA. The report must identify whether the student has a disability under one of the 13 IDEA categories and whether that disability adversely affects educational performance, requiring specially designed instruction. States use various names for this document including ETR (Ohio), FIE (Texas), and MET Report (Michigan).