Essentially, the student must be functioning overall in the severe range of ability (including adaptive behavior) of below four standard deviations below the mean and MSSD must be the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) for the student. Both criteria must be met. Decisions on eligibility are made by a team of MSSD personnel and the decision on such eligibility is not appealable. The home district may resubmit new information for consideration, but all information previously submitted will also be included in the decision-making process. It is incumbent on MSSD to ensure that a student is appropriate for placement in our District.

The answers in the Justification for Separate School Placement (JOP) are used when determining whether or not MSSD would be the LRE for the student.