IGBA - Students with Disabilities - Child Identification Procedures
Policy IGBA
The district implements an ongoing system to locate, identify and evaluate all children birth to age 21 residing within its jurisdiction who have disabilities and need early intervention, early childhood special education or special education services (EI/ECSE). For preschool children the district is responsible for the evaluation(s) used to determine eligibility; the designated referral and evaluation agency, Northwest Regional Education Service District, is responsible for determining the eligibility of children for EI/ECSE services in accordance with Oregon Administrative Rule (OAR) 581-015-2100. The district identifies all children with disabilities, regardless of the severity of their disabilities, including those who are:
- Highly mobile, such as migrant and homeless children;
- Wards of the state;
- Indian preschool children living on reservations;
- Suspected of having a disability even though they advance from grade-to-grade;
- Home schooled;
- Resident and nonresident students, including residents of other states, attending a private school (religious or secular) located within the boundaries of the district;
- Attending a public charter school located in the district;
- Below the age of compulsory school attendance; or
- Above the age of compulsory school attendance who have not graduated from high school with a regular high school diploma and have not completed the school year in which they reach their 21st birthday.
The district determines residency in accordance with Oregon Revised Statutes (ORS) Chapter 339 and, for the purposes of public charter school students with disabilities, in accordance with ORS Chapter 338 and ORS Chapter 339. The district enrolls all students who are five on or before September 1 of the current school year. Students with disabilities are eligible to enroll in the district through the school year in which they reach the age of 21 if they have not graduated with a regular high school diploma.
The district shall annually submit data to the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) regarding the number of resident students with disabilities who have been identified, located and evaluated and are receiving special education and related services. The district conducts an annual count of the total number of private school children attending private schools located within the boundaries of the district, and a count of all children with disabilities attending private schools located within the boundaries of the district, in accordance with OAR 581-015-2465. The district reports any additional data to ODE as required by the ODE to meet the requirements of federal or state law and the applicable reporting dates.
END OF POLICY
Legal Reference(s):
ORS 332.075
ORS 338.165
ORS 339.115 to -137
ORS 343.151
ORS 343.157
ORS 343.193
ORS 343.221
ORS 343.517
ORS 343.533
OAR 581-015-2040
OAR 581-015-2045
OAR 581-015-2080
OAR 581-015-2085
OAR 581-015-2190
OAR 581-015-2195
OAR 581-015-2315
OAR 581-015-2480
OAR 581-021-0029
OAR 581-022-2315
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), 20 U.S.C. § 1412 (a)(3) (2012).
Early Intervention Program for Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities, 34 C.F.R. Part 303 (2017).
Assistance to States for the Education of Children with Disabilities, 34 C.F.R. § 300.111 (2017).
IGBA-AR
- The district’s Child Find efforts include:
a. Public awareness. District child find activities involve local media resources and direct contact activities, such as presentations at community meetings, business group meetings, services
agencies or advocacy organizations.
(1) The district provides information about special education services in the district and the
district’s special education referral process to public and private facilities and public
charter schools located in the district, including day care centers, homeless shelters,
group homes, county jails, hospitals, medical officer and other facilities that serve
children birth to 21 years old.
(2) The district provides information about special education services and how to make a
referral to any migrant education programs operating in the district.
b. Notice of confidentiality. Before any major child find activity, the district publishes notice in
newspapers or other media, or both, informing parents that confidentiality requirements apply
to these activities. Circulation for this notice must be adequate to inform parents within the
district’s jurisdiction.
c. Staff awareness. The district ensures that staff are knowledgeable of the characteristics of
disabilities and the referral procedures for students, including preschool children, suspected
of having disabilities.
d. Communication to parents. District staff shall inform parents about the availability of special
education services in the district and provide them with information about initiating referral for
special education evaluation, including the information about early intervention/early
childhood special education services (EI/ECSE) and the designated referral and evaluation
agencies with which the district collaborates.
2. Private School Children with Disabilities
a. The district’s child find system applies to children, including those children who are residents
of another state, that are enrolled by their parents in private schools located within the
boundaries of the district.
b. The district’s child find activities for private school students enrolled by their parents in private
schools are similar to, and completed within a comparable time period, as child find activities
for students in district public schools.
c. The district does not include the cost of conducting child find activities for private school
students, including individual evaluations, in determining whether it has spent a proportionate
share of its federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) funds on parentally
placed school students with disabilities.
d. The district consults with private school representatives and parents of private school students
with disabilities about how to carry out these child find activities, including:
(1) How private school children suspected of having a disability can participate equitably; and
(2) How parents, teachers and private school officials will be informed of the process.
e. The district child find process for parentally-placed private school students ensures the
equitable participation of parentally-placed private school students with disabilities and an
accurate count of such children.
3. Home-Schooled Students with Disabilities
a. The district collaborates with the education service district that serves the district to ensure
that the district responds promptly to information about home-schooled students with
suspected disabilities.
b. The district collaborates with home schooling organizations in the district’s jurisdiction and
provides information about special education services in the district and how to make a referral.
c. If the district has reason to suspect that a home-schooled student has a disability, the
district will obtain parent consent for initial evaluation.