IDEA: Child Find, Evaluations, and the IEP

What IDEA is

IDEA is the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. It is the federal law that gives eligible children with disabilities the right to a free appropriate public education (FAPE) and to special education and related services. It runs from birth to age 21 (early intervention under age 3 is a separate part). This note covers school-age services (ages 3 to 21).

Child Find: the school's duty to look for kids

Every state must identify, locate, and evaluate all children with disabilities who may need special education. This duty is called Child Find (source: Parent Center Hub, the federally funded parent information network).

Two ways a child gets flagged:

1. Child Find activities run by the state or district.
2. A referral, which a parent or a school staff member can make. A parent can simply ask, in writing, for their child to be evaluated. Put the request in writing and date it.

You do not have to wait for the school to notice. As a parent, you can start the process yourself.

The evaluation

• The school needs the parent's written consent before it can evaluate the child.
• Under the federal IDEA regulations, the evaluation must be completed within 60 days after the parent gives consent. Some states set a different timeline in state rules, and then the state's timeline applies. Ask your district which timeline it uses.
• The evaluation must be "full and individual" and must assess the child in all areas related to the suspected disability.
• If you disagree with the school's evaluation, you have the right to an Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE), and you can ask the school to pay for it.

Eligibility

A team of qualified professionals plus the parents reviews the results and decides whether the child is a "child with a disability" under IDEA and needs special education. Autism is one of IDEA's disability categories. If parents disagree with the decision, they can request a due process hearing.

The IEP

If the child is found eligible, the team must meet to write an Individualized Education Program (IEP) within 30 calendar days of the eligibility decision.

The IEP is a written, legally binding plan. Parents are full members of the IEP team. Key facts:

• The school must give parents enough notice to attend, at a time and place that works for them.
• Before services start the first time, the parent must give consent.
• The IEP spells out the child's goals, the special education and related services, and the accommodations, modifications, and supports the child will get.
• Progress toward the goals must be measured and reported to parents at least as often as report cards go to other students.
• The IEP is reviewed at least once a year, and more often if a parent or the school asks.
• The child must be reevaluated at least every three years (the "triennial"), unless the parents and school agree it is not needed.

When you disagree

Parents have real legal tools if they disagree with the evaluation, the eligibility decision, the IEP, or the placement:

• Work it out informally with the team.
• Mediation (voluntary, free).
• A state complaint to the state education agency.
• A due process complaint, the first step toward a due process hearing.

Where this fits

• IDEA covers educational services. It is separate from Medicaid, which covers medical services like ABA. A child can and often should have both. See medicaid-epsdt-aba-coverage.
• IDEA (IEP) versus Section 504, and the rights of children in private school, are covered in iep-vs-504-and-private-school-rights.