Lesson 5: Building on a Foundation 2e Learners

Child Find is part of IDEA.  The Child Find mandate is a legal requirement that requires school districts to have a process for identifying and evaluating children who may need special education or related service, i.e., counseling or speech therapy (“Child Find: What it is and how it works,” Understood.org).  In brief, there are 3 big ideas you need to know as an educator/specialist/administrator about Child Find:

• All children from birth to age 21 are covered, including infants, toddlers and children who are homeschooled or in private school.
• Child Find does not require schools to agree to evaluate every child.
• If a school refuses to evaluate a child, parents may challenge that decision.

"In Colorado, Child Find is often associated with children who are not yet school age (i.e., birth to five years old). However, the mandate remains once the child is in school, most often starting in kindergarten, and remains until the child ages out of eligibility for special education services at 21 years old.  Importantly, the responsibility often shifts from a district or BOCES run child find program to the school the child attends or is zoned to attend once the child is kindergarten age" (Chris Miller, CDE).

Factors that may trigger a Child Find duty include:

(Kathryn Newell, 2021 Virtual Special Education Legal Conference, see Resource folder for PDF of presentation)

• Evidence of poor grades
• Evidence of behavior problems
• Evidence of attendance problems
• Information about a child’s medical diagnosis
• Concerns expressed by a teacher or other staff member
• Concerns expressed by a parent
• Evidence that a child’s Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) plan or Section 504 Plan is not meeting their needs

- Parents do not have to wait for a school district to initiate the evaluation process.  They can request a special education evaluation at any time.

- A parent’s request for a special education evaluation triggers the school district’s requirement to provide prior written notice (PWN).

- Child Find is an ongoing obligation.  There may be a need to reevaluate a child who was previously considered ineligible for an IEP.

Colorado Department of Education (CDE) provides guidance on finding children from birth to 5.  See: Early Child Find.  Evaluations conducted by Colorado Child Find teams are at no cost to parents.  Children who are not yet in kindergarten may be referred at any time when a family member, doctor, or child care provider has a concern about their development.