Child Find

 The IDEA and the Iowa Rules of Special Education require public schools to find and evaluate children who need special education. This requirement is called Child Find and it covers children from birth through age 21. It applies to all children, including those who are home-schooled, homeless, migratory, and in private schools. See 281 I.A.C. 41.111.

The Child Find process begins when a child's parent or a staff member of the school district or Area Education Agency expresses concern about a child’s progress or development in one or more of eight domains: 

1. Academic (reading, math, writing)

2. Health

3. Adaptive behavior (life skills, safety, rule-following, organization, etc.)

4. Social Emotional Behavior

5. Hearing

6. Vision

7. Physical skills (handwriting, walking, etc.)

8. Communication

When a parent has concerns that differences in their child’s progress or development in one or more of the following areas are interfering with their child’s participation at school, I encourage the parent to send an email (to the principal of the child’s school) describing the concern and asking that the child be evaluated regarding the child’s need for special education. If the child has been diagnosed with a disability by a private healthcare provider, the parent should also attach a copy of the diagnostic report to that email. See 281 I.A.C 41.300 (stating that either a parent of a child or a school district/AEA staff member may initiate a request for an initial evaluation to determine if the child is a child with a disability).

When a concern has been expressed or an evaluation requested, an evaluation team comprised of the child’s parents, teacher, and AEA staff gather information for use in determining if they suspect the child has a disability. They will gather data from sources such as:

○ Classroom assessments

○ Screening results

○ District-wide assessments

○ General education intervention results

○ Attendance records

○ Office referrals or other behavior data

○ Medical or other professional reports from outside providers

○ Observations inside or outside of the classroom

If the team decides that it suspects the child may need special education and related services to access the general school curriculum, the school will ask the parent to sign a consent form authorizing the school/AEA to perform a full evaluation to determine whether the child is eligible for special education. See 281 I.A.C. 41.111(5).  

After the parent has signed the consent form, federal and state law require the school district and AEA to complete the full initial evaluation within 60 calendar days of receiving parental consent for the evaluation. See 281 I.A.C. 41.301(3).