Child Find Information
What is Child Find?
Child Find is a component of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 2004 (IDEA ’04) that requires states to locate, identify, and evaluate all children with disabilities, aged birth through 21, who are in need of early intervention or special education services. This includes children who are highly mobile, such as migrant or homeless children, children suspected of having a disability even though they are advancing from grade to grade, private school students, and homeschool students.
The Arizona initiative for child find is referred to as AZ FIND.
Help for Infants and Toddlers
Children ages birth to 2 years 10 1/2 months are screened through the Arizona Early Intervention Program (AzEIP) to determine if early intervention services are needed.
Early intervention brings professionals, working in partnership with parents and families of children with special needs, together to support infants’ or toddlers’ growth, development, and learning.
If you have questions about your child’s development an AzEIP specialist will talk with you about your concerns and observe your child. If your child is found eligible, a plan will be designed to include strategies, activities, and supports to achieve desired outcomes related to your child’s needs.
Make an online referral at www.azdes.gov/azeip. For more information, call 1-888-439-5609 or (602) 532-9960.
Help for Preschool and School-Aged Children
Your local school district (preschool-aged students only), or the charter school your child attends (for school-aged students), screens all children ages 2 years 10 1/2 months through 21 years.
Public schools use an informal screening process to check your child’s development and academic progress.
- Screening must be completed within 45 calendar days of the date you notify the school of your concerns.
- When a concern is identified through screening procedures, you must be notified within 10 school days and informed of procedures to follow up on your child’s needs.
For example:
- Your child may be referred to the school’s Scholar Study Team for pre-intervention services;
-or- - If screening results indicate your child may have a disability, a comprehensive evaluation will be necessary to determine your child’s eligibility for special education and related services. A team, of which you will be a member, will meet to begin the process.
Screening and evaluation are free. All information contained in the screening or evaluation is confidential.
Contact your local school district of residence (for preschool-aged students only) or if your child attends a Leman Academy of Excellence charter school, please contact Director of ESS, ESSrecordsAZ@lemanacademy.org or 520-499-1474 ext. 2009. For children attending private schools, contact the principal at the school district in which the private school is located.
Identification and Screening of Scholars
Federal law requires that Leman Academy of Excellence, Inc. must ensure that a free appropriate public education (FAPE) is available to all scholars with disabilities residing within the charter school boundaries between the ages of three and 22 including scholars with disabilities who have been suspended or expelled from school.
Leman Academy of Excellence, Inc. shall ensure that all scholars with disabilities residing within our boundaries regardless of the severity of their disabilities and who are in need of Exceptional Scholar Services (ESS) and/or related services are identified, located and evaluated.
The identification, locating and evaluation of scholars with disabilities within Leman Academy of Excellence, Inc. is accomplished a number of ways:
- Preschool children – Any teacher, parent or other person knowledgeable about a preschool child, under the age of five, who suspects that the child may have a disability, may refer the preschool child for screening. Preschool screenings are conducted by the school district where the preschool child currently resides. More information is available by contacting the ESS Director, via email: ESSrecordsAZ@lemanacademy.org
- 45-Day Screening – All scholars enrolling in a Leman Academy of Excellence charter school for the first time will be screened within 45 days in the areas of vision and hearing status, communication, cognitive or academic development, motor, adaptive development and social or behavioral development.
- Tier 1 & 2 Interventions – All scholars receive Tier 1 instruction, but those scholars in need of supplemental intervention receive additional instruction at the Tier 2 level. Tier 2 consists of scholars who fall below the expected levels of accomplishment (called benchmarks) and are at some risk for academic failure but who are still above levels considered to indicate a high risk for failure. The needs of these scholars are identified through the assessment process, and instructional programs are delivered that focus on their specific needs. Instruction is provided in smaller groups than Tier 1 is (which would be all scholars in a teacher’s classroom). Teachers may request a consultation with the school psychologist about scholars receiving these types of interventions. The type of each intervention, duration of each intervention, and results of each intervention are recorded by the general education teacher and/or interventionist.
- Scholar Study Team (SST) / Tier 3 Interventions – Any teacher, parent, or other person knowledgeable about a scholar, who suspects that the scholar may have a disability, may refer the scholar to the Scholar Study Team (SST). The person submitting the SST request shall contact the school psychologist at the appropriate campus. The role of the SST is to discuss the concerns about the scholar, scholar’s response to intervention strategies, and recommend action to address the specific concerns and needs of the scholar. The SST shall recommend whether or not the scholar needs to move toward an evaluation. Parents, teachers, interventionists, school psychologist, ESS staff, site administration and related service providers (when appropriate) are requested to attend all SST meetings.