IDEA Disability Categories in New York

What disability categories qualify for an IEP in New York?

New York recognizes 13 disability classification categories under 8 NYCRR Section 200.1(zz)(1)-(13), which align with the 13 federal IDEA categories at 34 CFR Section 300.8. A student must be classified under one or more of these categories to be eligible for special education. The 13 categories are: (1) Autism -- a developmental disability significantly affecting verbal and nonverbal communication and social interaction, generally evident before age three, that adversely affects educational performance (8 NYCRR Section 200.1(zz)(1)); (2) Deafness -- a hearing impairment that is so severe the student is impaired in processing linguistic information through hearing, with or without amplification, which adversely affects educational performance (8 NYCRR Section 200.1(zz)(2)); (3) Deaf-blindness -- concomitant hearing and visual impairments causing such severe communication and educational needs that they cannot be accommodated in special education programs solely for deaf or blind students (8 NYCRR Section 200.1(zz)(3)); (4) Emotional disturbance -- a condition exhibiting one or more specified characteristics over a long period of time and to a marked degree that adversely affects educational performance, including inability to learn not explained by intellectual, sensory, or health factors; inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships; inappropriate types of behavior or feelings; general pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression; or tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears associated with personal or school problems; the term includes schizophrenia but does not include students who are socially maladjusted unless they also have an emotional disturbance (8 NYCRR Section 200.1(zz)(4)); (5) Hearing impairment -- an impairment in hearing, whether permanent or fluctuating, that adversely affects educational performance but is not included under deafness (8 NYCRR Section 200.1(zz)(5)); (6) Intellectual disability -- significantly subaverage general intellectual functioning, existing concurrently with deficits in adaptive behavior and manifested during the developmental period, that adversely affects educational performance (8 NYCRR Section 200.1(zz)(6)); (7) Learning disability -- a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or using language, spoken or written, that may manifest in an imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or do mathematical calculations; the term does not include learning problems primarily the result of visual, hearing, or motor disabilities, intellectual disability, emotional disturbance, or environmental, cultural, or economic disadvantage (8 NYCRR Section 200.1(zz)(7)); (8) Multiple disabilities -- concomitant impairments whose combination causes such severe educational needs that they cannot be accommodated in a program solely for one of the impairments; the term does not include deaf-blindness (8 NYCRR Section 200.1(zz)(8)); (9) Orthopedic impairment -- a severe orthopedic impairment that adversely affects educational performance, including impairments caused by congenital anomaly, disease, or other causes (8 NYCRR Section 200.1(zz)(9)); (10) Other health impairment -- having limited strength, vitality, or alertness due to chronic or acute health problems such as asthma, ADD/ADHD, diabetes, epilepsy, heart conditions, lead poisoning, leukemia, nephritis, rheumatic fever, sickle cell anemia, and Tourette syndrome, that adversely affect educational performance (8 NYCRR Section 200.1(zz)(10)); (11) Speech or language impairment -- a communication disorder such as stuttering, impaired articulation, a language impairment, or a voice impairment that adversely affects educational performance (8 NYCRR Section 200.1(zz)(11)); (12) Traumatic brain injury -- an acquired injury to the brain caused by an external physical force, resulting in total or partial functional disability or psychosocial impairment, or both, that adversely affects educational performance (8 NYCRR Section 200.1(zz)(12)); and (13) Visual impairment including blindness -- an impairment in vision that, even with correction, adversely affects educational performance, including both partial sight and blindness (8 NYCRR Section 200.1(zz)(13)).