Child
Find
Lori
Kirsch-Goodwin, Esq. and Hope N. Kirsch, M.A.Ed., Esq.
Kirsch-Goodwin & Kirsch, PLLC
8900 East Pinnacle Peak Rd., Suite 250
Scottsdale, Arizona 85255
(480) 585-0600
www.azspecialeducationlawyers.com
All children
with disabilities, including children with disabilities who are homeless
children or are wards of the State – and children with disabilities attending
private schools – regardless of the severity of their disabilities, and who are
in need of special education and related services, must be identified, located,
and evaluated and a practical method is developed and implemented to determine
which children with disabilities are currently receiving needed special
education and related services. 20 U.S.C.A. § 1412(3)(A).
Each State is required to have policies and
procedures to ensure that “all children with disabilities . . . including
children with disabilities who are homeless children or are wards of the State,
and children with disabilities attending private schools, regardless of the severity
of their disability, and who are in need of special education and related
services, are identified, located and evaluated.” 20 U.S.C. § 1412(a)(3)(A); 34 C.F.R.
300.111(a)(1)(i). This obligation is known as the “child find”
requirement. 34 C.F.R. 300.111, titled
“Child Find.” IDEA requires Child Find
to include “children who are suspected of being a child with a disability …
even though they are advancing from grade to grade.” 34 C.F.R. 300.111(c)(1). The IDEA “child find” mandate is an
affirmative ongoing obligation for schools.
Arizona in turn requires each public education
agency (school districts and charter schools) to identify and evaluate all
students suspected of having a disability, and to have policies and procedures
in place for such identification and evaluation. Arizona Administrative Code,
R7-2-401(D) and (E) (emphasis added).
Thus, at least in Arizona, the threshold is very low, requiring nothing
more than a suspicion.
A school’s Child Find obligation is triggered where
there is knowledge of, or reason to suspect a student has a disability, and
reason to suspect that a student may need special education services to address
that disability. Dept. of Educ. v.
Cari Rae S., 158 F. Supp.2d 1190, 1194 (D. Hawaii 2001). The threshold for suspecting that a child has
a disability is relatively low. A
school’s appropriate inquiry is whether the child should be referred for an
evaluation, not whether the child actually qualifies for services. Id., at 1195.
Beyond the initial 45-day screening, under Child
Find, schools are obligated not only to seek out disabled students, but to also
evaluate or provide services when it has “knowledge” of a disabled child. Knowledge includes poor grades, behavioral
concerns, and/or “off-task” classroom behavior.
J.S. v Shoreline school, 220 F.Supp.2d.1175, 1184, 170 Ed. Law
Rep. 264 (W.D. Wash. 2002). Parents
expressing concern their child might have autism triggers an evaluation. Orange Unified school v. C.K., 59
IDELR 74 (C.D. Cal. 2012). Reported
anxieties also trigger the obligation to evaluate. Forest Grove School District, Oregon
State Educational Agency, 9/12/2012 (finding Child Find violation when no
evaluations were completed to determine why the student was exhibiting anxious
behaviors and how they were interfering with her education).
Thus, there are no magic words that trigger the duty
to evaluate; there need be nothing more than suspicion, possibility, or
concern. The suspicion threshold is
relatively low because the key is not whether the child actually qualifies for
special education services, but whether the child should be referred for an
evaluation.
The school district responsible for child find:
·
Non-profit
private schools district in which non-profit school is located. Arizona
Administrative Code (“A.A.C.”) Rule 7-2-401(D)(4)(b).
·
For-profit
private schools, the district where the parent resides. Letter to Chapman , (OSEP 2007).
This is what Letter to Chapman says:
“Under section 612(a)(3)(A) of IDEA and 34 CFR
§300.111, a State must ensure that all children with disabilities residing in
the State, including children with disabilities attending private schools, and
who are in need of special education and related services, are identified,
located, and evaluated; this includes children with disabilities attending
for-profit private schools. A State determines which public agency is
responsible for conducting child find under 34 CFR §300.111 for children
suspected of having a disability attending for-profit private schools.
Generally, this agency is the LEA in which the child resides.”
Under Arizona
statutes, homeschooled students are considered private school students. A.R.S. § 15-763(C). Charter schools are responsible for child
identification activities for students enrolled in the charter school. A.A.C. R7-2-401(D)(4)(a). However, charter schools are not responsible
for outreach under the child find regulations because charter schools have no
specific geographical boundaries.