Section A - Child Find California Education Code § 56300. A local educational agency shall actively and systematically seek out all individuals with exceptional needs, from birth to 21 years of age, inclusive, including children not enrolled in public school programs, who reside in a school district or are under the jurisdiction of a special education local plan area or a county office of education. California Education Code § 56301(a). All children with disabilities residing in the state, including children with disabilities who are homeless children or are wards of the state and children with disabilities attending private, including religious, elementary and secondary schools, regardless of the severity of their disabilities, and who are in need of special education and related services, shall be identified, located, and assessed and a practical method is developed and implemented to determine which children with disabilities are currently receiving needed special education and related services as required by Section 1412(a)(3) and (10)(A)(ii) of Title 20 of the United States Code. A child is not required to be classified by his or her disability so long as each child who has a disability listed in Section 1401(3) of Title 20 of the United States Code and who, by reason of that disability, needs special education and related services as an individual with exceptional needs defined in Section 56026. It is the policy of the SELPA that children with disabilities ages birth through 21, be actively sought and identified by public schools. The Child Find process includes a section of the LEA’s annual notice to all parents that references the referral of children with disabilities. In cooperation with the Local Interagency Coordination Area, Early Start, ages birth to three, information is distributed to hospitals, doctors’ offices, and pertinent agencies. All individuals with disabilities and their parents are guaranteed their procedural safeguards with regard to identification, assessment, and placement in special education programs. School personnel, parents, outside agencies working with the child, guardians and/or surrogate parents who show legal documentation of educational rights may all serve as sources of referral for a child for possible identification as a child with a disability. Such identification procedures shall be coordinated with school site and LEA procedures for referral of children with disabilities that cannot be met with modification of the general education instructional program. Infants, birth to three years, are referred directly by the LEA, parent, doctor, or agency to the Early Start Program at IRC. Intake information precedes the assignment of staff for assessment and the coordination with other agencies. If an infant has a solely low incidence disability, such as hearing loss, vision loss, or orthopedic disability, the infant should be referred directly to San Bernardino County operated programs. An Early Start Program Referral Form is completed, which begins the assessment process timeline. Section B - Parent Referrals California Education Code § 56301(d)(1). Each special education local plan area shall establish written policies and procedures pursuant to Section 56205 for use by its constituent local agencies for a continuous child find system that addresses the relationships among identification, screening, referral, assessment, planning, implementation, review, and the triennial assessment. The policies and procedures shall include, but need not be limited to, written notification of all parents of their rights under
Chapter 1 - Identification and Referral, Desert/Mountain SELPA As of 8/27/2021 Steering Committee Approval
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