Chapter 2: Child Find and Referral Process

(34 CFR Section 300.111)

Child Find Responsibility

In accordance with Part B of the IDEA, as well as applicable state statutes and implementing regulations, the District has a child find process, “Child Find,” for all children with a disability from birth through the end the of the school year during which the student turns age 22, regardless of the severity of the disability, and who are in need of special education and related services.

The District’s Child Find responsibilities apply to all children who reside within the District, including children who are educated at home, homeless children, children who are wards of the state, and children attending private schools. This responsibility includes cooperating and collaborating with other agencies to identify children with disabilities.

The District has policies and procedures for conducting Child Find activities (i.e., identifying, locating, and evaluating) for all students who are suspected of having a disability, even though the student is:

• Advancing from grade to grade;
• Enrolled by their parents in private nonprofit elementary or secondary school, including a religious school, either of which is located in the jurisdiction of the school district;
• Attending a magnet or charter school;
• Between the ages of birth to three;
• A ward of the state; or
• Highly mobile, such as migrant and homeless children.

Locating Students

The District’s special education department/office coordinates all activities related to Child Find. The District uses community resources and conducts systematic activities in an effort to identify children who may require special education services.⁶, ⁷ The District has personnel who consult with designated representatives of private schools within the District’s boundaries, even for children who reside outside of the District.

The District provides the private schools located within the District’s boundaries with the standard Referral to Determine Eligibility for Special Education and Related Services document, as well as the Parent Notice of Referral to Determine Eligibility for Special Education and Related Services document and assists those schools in becoming knowledgeable about the special education referral process through professional learning opportunities.

Identification of Children Ages Birth to Three Years Old

The District has the obligation under Child Find to identify children who have or may be suspected of having a disability from birth.⁸ Child Find is also an obligation of the State’s Birth to Three System. Under the IDEA, Part C, the Birth to Three System is responsible for identifying, locating, evaluating and providing services to children between birth and age three who are eligible to receive such early intervention services due to a developmental delay or a documented physical or mental condition that has a high probability of resulting in a developmental delay.

The District will meet Child Find obligations for children between the ages of birth to three when such children are referred to the Birth to Three System for an evaluation.

When the District is informed of a child between birth to three who has or may have a disability, the district will either (a) make a referral directly to the Birth to Three System via the statewide toll-free number or website, or (b) provide the parent with the information so that the parent can make the referral themselves.⁹, ¹⁰, ¹¹

If a parent of a child under age three opts not to consent to, contact and/or pursue an early intervention evaluation through the Birth to Three System and requests that such evaluation be conducted by the District, the District will comply by convening a PPT meeting to determine if the child will be provided an evaluation in order to further determine if the child is a child with a disability under the law. The District recognizes that they are obligated to provide special education and related services to an eligible child no later than a child’s third birthday. Information about the District’s obligations when a child is referred at age 34 months or older is provided later in this chapter.

Screening and Monitoring of Children Ineligible for Participation in Preschool Programs

If a child is ineligible for participation in preschool programs under Part B of the IDEA, they will be offered a screening for developmental and social-emotional delays using validated assessment tools. Within two months after a child is determined to be ineligible, the child’s family will receive Form 5-3, Referral for Registration for Developmental Monitoring, from Birth to Three.¹² This form is to help families register for continued screening for developmental and social-emotional delays in partnership with the school district of residence.

Districts are required to monitor the development of each child who has been referred for registration on a mobile app designated by the OEC Commissioner or by another monitoring option offered by the District. The District will follow up with the family if the results indicate that the child may need to be re-evaluated. If the family does not register for developmental monitoring at the time that Birth to Three offered the family the form, the District will touch base with the family in 6 months and again in one year.

General Education Interventions

When appropriate, District personnel may explore and implement alternative, multi-tiered instructional and/or behavioral interventions and programs in general education prior to referring a student to special education. District personnel will encourage parents to collaborate with their child’s teacher(s) and other involved staff during this time. It is important to note that a referral to special education may be made at any time regardless of where the student falls within the multi-tiered intervention process.

The District recognizes that initiatives in general education programming, such as multi-tiered levels of support, are designed to emphasize successful differentiated instruction for all Pre-K to Grade 12 students. Scientific Researched-Based Interventions (SRBI) emphasizes high quality core general education practices, as well as targeted instruction for students experiencing learning, social-emotional, and/or behavioral difficulties. SRBI is designed to ensure that all students in public school classrooms receive appropriate instruction by identifying critical information about the student’s instructional strengths and needs and using this information to create effective, research-based instructional interventions in general education with frequent monitoring of student progress.¹³ If the student’s difficulties persist, the District will promptly refer the student to special education while the alternative procedures and programs in general education continue. In other words, the District will not use SRBI to delay or deny a timely evaluation for students suspected of having a disability.

Referral to Determine Eligibility for Special Education and Related Services

The District accepts and processes all referrals to determine eligibility for special education and related services. The District’s Board of Education shall make available information, understandable to the general public, concerning the procedures for making such a referral to all parents and professional staff. This information is available on the District’s Website¹⁴ and at each of the District’s schools.

A referral can be made by:

• An adult student;
• A parent;
• School personnel; or
• Other individuals from other agencies (e.g., physicians, psychologists, social workers) to whom parental permission to make a referral has been given.

Pursuant to state law, District staff will promptly refer students who are suspended repeatedly in or out-of-school, or whose behavior, attendance, including truant behavior, or academic progress in school is considered unsatisfactory or at a marginal level of acceptance.¹⁵

A referral of a child who is suspected of having a disability requires the District to convene a PPT meeting to consider the need for an initial evaluation to determine if the child is a child with a disability who is eligible for special education and related services.

Referral Process

[Insert district procedures for processing a referral from a staff member.]¹⁶, ¹⁷

The District shall make available information, understandable to the general public, concerning the procedures for requesting an initial evaluation of a child to all parents and professional staff of the District. Such information shall include, but not be limited to, a description of the general education interventions that are provided to meet the needs of individual children, and the special education referral and evaluation process. Such information shall identify at least one person in each school building that parents or professional staff of the District may contact regarding school policies and procedures for special education referrals and evaluations.

A parent is not required to submit the standard referral form for a referral for an initial evaluation to determine if a child is a child with a disability. The District shall accept as a referral a concern expressed in writing from the parent of the child that such child be referred for an initial evaluation. The District shall accept a referral that uses terms that clearly indicate a concern that such child may be a child with a disability and should be evaluated for special education identification and services.

The date of referral is the date the District first receives the referral from the parent in writing. If the parent does not make the referral using the standard referral form, the District must complete the standard referral form to coincide with the parent’s written referral. If the standard referral form is completed later, the date of referral remains the date that the District first received the referral in writing from the parent. The District has developed the following process for accepting referrals from parents who cannot put their request in writing. [Insert district procedures for accepting and processing a referral from parents who cannot put their request in writing]¹⁸

If a child is receiving general education interventions and the District receives a referral for an evaluation, the District shall accept the referral and convene a PPT meeting to consider the referral to determine if an evaluation of the child is appropriate. During such time the District shall also continue the general education interventions.

Notification of Referral and Initial PPT Meeting

If someone other than the student’s parent makes the referral, the District will provide notice of the referral to the parent no later than five school days after the District receives the referral. The District will use the Parent Notice of Referral to Determine Eligibility for Special Education and Related Services form to notify the parent of the referral and confirm receipt of the referral. The District will also send the Procedural Safeguards Notice, as discussed in more detail in Chapter 8.¹⁹

Notice of PPT Meeting

As discussed in more detail in Chapter 3, after receipt of a referral, the District will schedule an initial PPT meeting at a time and location convenient to the parent, and provide notice of the meeting, using the Notice of PPT Meeting form, to the parent at least five days prior to the date of the meeting unless the parent agrees to waive the five day notice. At the initial PPT meeting, the PPT will review the referral and determine whether the team suspects a disability and if it does, whether additional evaluative data is required in order to make an eligibility determination.

Special Rules for the Initial Evaluation of a Ward of the State

When the District seeks to evaluate a student for the first time and the student is in the custody of the Commissioner of the Department of Children and Families (DCF) and not residing with the student’s parent, the District is required to obtain consent from the student’s assigned surrogate parent.

Surrogate Parents

According to state law, the Commissioner of Education (or a designee of the commissioner) will appoint a surrogate parent when a child requires or may require special education and:

1. the parent or guardian of such child cannot be identified;
2. the whereabouts of the parent cannot be discovered after reasonable efforts to locate the parent have been made;
3. the child is a ward of the state; or
4. the child is an unaccompanied homeless youth as defined in the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act.²⁰

This also applies in cases where a child required special education and no longer requires such education, but requires or may require services under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.

The surrogate parent acts as the child’s advocate in the educational decision-making process (i.e., identification, evaluation, placement, hearing, mediation and appeal procedures provided for in federal and state special education law) in place of the child’s parents or guardian. The educational-decision process also includes the evaluation and planning procedures provided for by Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, which may be available to a child who has been exited from special education.

There are specific circumstances under which it may be necessary to request the appointment of a surrogate parent for a student in order to protect the student’s educational rights. The District is among those individuals or entities who may initiate a request for the CSDE to assign a surrogate parent.²¹

Late Referral to the Birth to Three System

The Birth to Three System will not accept referrals of children at or over 34 months of age. Those children will be referred directly to the child’s school district or Connecticut 2-1-1 Child Development Infoline.²² The District will accept the Birth to Three referrals of children who have been referred to the Birth to Three System at 34 months of age. The special education referral process will begin on the date a child has been referred to the District. For children referred by a parent during the summer months, Connecticut state regulations for the initial referral timeline apply (the timeline begins on the first day of school that all students are in attendance that students are in attendance for the regular school year).

In cases of children who are referred by their parents to the District at 34 or 35 months of age, the District recognizes that the goal is to ensure that all children are identified, located and evaluated to ensure that eligible children are provided with FAPE no later than their third birthday. In situations where it may not be possible to provide FAPE by the time the child reaches age three the District shall complete the referral process within 45 school days of the referral.

If the District opts to conduct a trial placement for diagnostic purposes as part of an initial evaluation, the PPT will develop diagnostic goals and objectives as well as the types and amounts of services needed to conduct the trial placement to more conclusively determine the child’s needs. The diagnostic placement will be completed prior to the child turning age three in order to ensure that an IEP offering FAPE is implemented by the child’s third birthday if the child is found eligible.

For children over the age of 30 months, whose parents have not referred the child to the District, the District will conduct ongoing appropriate Child Find activities to ensure that identification, location and evaluation activities can occur. Child Find activities may include inviting these children and their families to a community screening under Child Find and/or sending a letter or postcard with district contact information.

Transition to Special Education Service from Birth to Three System (Transition from IDEA 2004 part C to IDEA 2004 Part B)

The purpose of transition planning for toddlers with disabilities receiving early intervention services through the Birth to Three System is to ensure that eligible children and their families experience a seamless transition to the District. The Birth to Three System will (a) obtain written parental consent on the Birth to Three Referral to the School District form as the child nears age three and will be transmitted to the District through CT-SEDS; or (b) provide child specific information on children over 30 months of age whose parents have not consented to the referral of their child to the District so that Child Find activities can occur.

If the District has received the Birth to Three Referral, the District will comply with a process for transitioning the student as follows:

1. The District receives the Birth to Three Referral and completes the standard referral form;
2. The District has a system of collecting and maintaining data on children referred from the Birth to Three System and other child specific information in order to track children receiving early intervention services over time to ensure that they are evaluated in a timely manner and provided FAPE by age three;
3. The District has an assigned transition contact that is the primary person responsible for working with the family of the child and the child’s Birth to Three program regarding the transition;
4. The District has one or more individuals that will participate in the 90-day transition planning conferences convened by the Birth to Three System. The District has the capacity and available staff to ensure the availability of school personnel to participate in the 90-day transition conferences throughout the calendar year, including during the summer months when school is not in session;
5. The District coordinator will explain the PPT process and provide the parents with the pre-PPT documents and information they need to participate fully in the process;
6. The District will schedule a PPT meeting to discuss the referral of a child to the District. The PPT meeting will be scheduled sufficiently early (preferably soon after the 90-day transition conference) to ensure that, if eligible, the child will receive FAPE no later than their third birthday. Identification of PPT meeting dates can be a part of the discussion at the 90-day transition planning conference and a component of the child’s written transition plan developed at the transition planning conference with the Birth to Three Program, the family and the District;²³
7. The District, with parental consent, will invite the child’s Birth to Three service coordinator to participate in the child’s PPT. The child’s PPT will review and consider all available Birth to Three information, including the child’s Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP), in the PPT decision-making process. The District will consider current assessments from the Birth to Three provider;
8. If the child will turn three years old during the summer months, the District will determine if the child is eligible for FAPE and whether the child requires extended school year (ESY) services. If the child is eligible for the provision of FAPE and requires ESY services, the District will ensure the implementation of the IEP no later than the child’s third birthday, even if the child’s birthday occurs during the summer when school is not in session. If the PPT determines that the child is eligible for FAPE and does not require ESY services, then the IEP services will commence on the first day of school; and
9. A designated member of the PPT will be prepared to discuss with the parents the differences between the Birth to Three System and early intervention services and the provision of special education and related services in the public school. Areas of discussion include but are not limited to the difference in focus (e.g., the Birth to Three System is family oriented where education is focused on the individual child with alignment of services to curriculum based standards), the difference between an IFSP and an IEP, and the nature of the specialized instruction and related services the student will receive to help them make progress in the general education curriculum and appropriate preschool activities.

Chapter 2 Appendix

List of community resources

List of media outlets used for notification

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6. (see chapter 2 appendix)
7. (see chapter 2 appendix)
8. The District’s Child Find obligations will include those activities that target children whose families are homeless, highly mobile, whose primary language is not English and who participate in public and private early childhood programs.
9. 1-800-505-7000
10. https://cdi.211ct.org/cdireferralform/
11. http://www.birth23.org/referral/forms/parent/
12. https://www.birth23.org/wp-content/uploads/procedures/forms/5-3-NotEligPartB.docx
13. It is appropriate for identified students with disabilities to be included in this type of multi-tiered system of intervention if deemed beneficial and appropriate to their level of learning or behavioral progress.
14. (add link to district website)
15. CGA §10-76-d7(c)
16. It is inconsistent with the IDEA and state special education law to have policies that include language requiring a referral from a staff member to be approved by a supervisor before being submitted/processed.
17. School districts should insert policies and procedures for staff referrals.
18. School districts should insert policies and procedures for accepting referrals from parents who cannot put their request in writing.
19. https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/SDE/Special-Education/Prosaf.pdf?la=en
20. https://portal.ct.gov/SDE/Special-Education/Surrogate-Parent-Program
21. It is important to note that when a student has an open DCF case or is in the custody of DCF, multiple individuals may be attending the student’s PPT meeting, including the student’s parents. Once the District has been notified in writing that a surrogate parent is appointed, the surrogate parent has the sole authority to make decisions regarding the student’s education. Foster parents may not make these decisions.
22. https://cdi.211ct.org/program/early-childhood-special-education/
23. Although not a recommended practice, it is not prohibited by law to hold the PPT meeting immediately following the transition meeting. The referral PPT meeting must be considered a separate and distinct meeting. The transition meeting is the responsibility of the Birth to Three provider and the referral PPT meeting is the responsibility of the District.