• Identification

     

    What’s Required

    All children with disabilities residing in the State, regardless of the severity of their disabilities, and who need Special Education and related services, must be identified, located, and evaluated. In addition to children enrolled in the public schools, the Child Find duty extends to children who are homeless or wards of the State or are who are attending private schools ( and 20 USC 1412(a)(3)(A)).


    For private schools, each district must locate, identify, and evaluate all children with disabilities who are currently enrolled by their parents in private, including religious, elementary schools, and secondary schools located in the district (20 USC 1412(a)(3)(A)). The district must conduct timely and meaningful consults with representatives of private schools; and maintain and provide to TEA the number of children evaluated, determined, and served under this framework 34 CFR 300.131(c), and .

     

    What We Do

    In coordination with the Early Childhood Intervention (ECI) of Tarrant County, we provide services for children from birth up to the third birthday who are deaf/hard of hearing, or visually impaired.

    Infants and Toddlers

    A meeting will be held with the school district and ECI Program representative before the child's third birthday to transition from ECI to school services.

    Through home visits, the teacher models support and advises the parents in the instructional areas of hearing aid management, parent-child communication, listening skills, and language development for students who are deaf/hard of hearing. Instructional materials are brought to the home to make the program effective for the family.

    This plan includes activities and techniques that address the impact of the visual impairment on the child's development.

    The teachers of the visually impaired demonstrate these activities to the caregiver which can then be continued in the home between sessions.

    For children referred before age three, special education services must be made available to the child on his or her third birthday if the student is found eligible.

    Not all children served by the ECI Program will qualify for special education services.

    Referral Process for Children Served Through ECI:

    • A meeting will be scheduled by the Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE) Team to help the family make the transition from ECI services to special education services at least 90 days before a toddler receiving ECI turns three years old, if appropriate.
      Referral Process for Children Not Served Through ECI
    • The child's parents or guardian should contact the district Child Find Coordinator to initiate a Special Education Referral for an evaluation of the child's needs for a pre-school child who is at least two years and 9 months of age.
    • The Coordinator or SLP will provide the parent or guardian a referral packet or Prior Written Notice (parent’s native language) of the school's refusal to evaluate by email or physical address.
    • After the referral packet is received by the ECSE Evaluation Team, the parent or guardian will be contacted to schedule an evaluation date.
    • The evaluation will be completed within 45 school days of receipt of the signed Consent for Initial Evaluation.
    • The ARD/IEP meeting will be held within 30 calendar days of the completion date of the written Full Individual Evaluation.

    Child Find Procedures for Private Schools

    Students who attend private schools located within 91ÖÆƬ³§ are eligible for referral, evaluation, and determination of eligibility for Special Education regardless of the child's district of residence.

    In Texas, home schools are considered private schools.

    • For students presently attending a private school, the referral source should request an evaluation by contacting the 91ÖÆƬ³§ Assessment Coordinator.
    • The evaluation will be completed within 45 school days of receipt of Written Initial Parent Consent.
    • The ARD/IEP meeting will be held within 30 days of the completion date of the Full Individual Evaluation.

    Resources