Child Find

What is Child Find?

Child find is a component of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA ’04) that requires Public Education Agencies (PEA) to locate, identify, and evaluate all children with disabilities, aged from birth through 21, located within their boundaries of responsibility* who are in need of early intervention or special education services.

*Boundaries of responsibility include any children who reside within the school district boundaries who are homeschooled, pre-school aged, or who attend for-profit, private school. Additionally, the responsibility extends to children who attend a non-profit, private school which is located within the school district boundaries.

Who is it for?

Children ages 3-5 having trouble achieving milestones in one or more of the following developmental or academic areas:

• Vision and Hearing

• Motor Control or Coordination

• Behavior or Social Skills

• Cognitive or Academic Skills

• Speech or Communication Skills

Public Awareness

School District on an annual basis creates public awareness of special education opportunities and advises parents of the right of children with disabilities. Through Child Find, the district attempts to locate, identify, and evaluate children with disabilities preschool – 12th-grade students residing within the district boundaries or K-12 students attending private/parochial schools located within the district boundaries who are in need of special education and related services. The district will ensure that district staff and the general public are informed of:

• The availability of special education services

• Student rights to a free appropriate public education

• Confidentiality protections

• The special education referral process screening for children birth through 2 years 9 months will be referred to the Navajo Nation AzEIP (Growing in Beauty program) at (928) 871-6338. For more information about AzEIP visit www.azdes.gov/azeip or call (928) 871-6338 or (877) 222-5432.

Screening of Preschool Children Ages 2.9 through Five Years.

Preschool special education services are offered to eligible children ages 2 years, 9 months to 5 years of age who have been identified through the district’s Child Find process. Parents, private preschools, pediatricians, and other community members may contact the Exceptional Student Service Director.

Child Find procedures for preschool children are as follows:

• When a child is referred to the Child Find screening personnel by the parents or other community members, the parents will be provided a Child Find dates, times and location. It is the responsibility of the parents to bring children to the next scheduled child find event, which occurs every 45 days.

• The screening staff will screen the child in vision, hearing and the DIAL-4 screening tool or the Brigance.

• If the child passes the developmental screening test, parents will be given a copy of the screening results and information about community programs and parent activity packets.

• If the child fails the developmental screening test, the Child Find information will be forwarded to the preschool evaluation team. The preschool evaluation team will contact the parents to schedule a review of existing data and potential comprehensive evaluation.

Screening for School-Age Children K-12th grades

All kindergarten and other new students will be screened within 45 days of the date of enrollment using the New Student Screening form. The screening will be conducted to identify possible problems in the areas of vision, hearing, academic skills, cognitive development, psychomotor skills, communication, and social-emotional development. The New Student Screening process is as follows:

• The Office Manager/Attendance Clerk or Designee generates the New Student Screening Form and gives the form to the general education teacher of the student.

• The teacher completes the form and returns it to the Office Manager/Attendance Clerk or Designee.

• If concerns are indicated, the Office Manager/Attendance Clerk or Designee refers the form to the ESS Department who indicates on the form of what actions are to be taken. Examples of actions to be taken are included in the New Student Screening form and may include consideration for Child Study. The Administrator or Designee follows up with a staff member and signs and dates the form. Staff members will follow up.

• The parent must be informed in writing, within 10 days of the concerns and the intended action to be taken.

• If no concerns are noted, the Administrator or Designee mark the form “No problem noted at this time” and signs and dates the form.

• In addition, Child Find brochures will need to be downloaded, printed and made available for parents to pick up.