Child Find

Kings Canyon Unified School District will actively and systematically seek out all individuals with disabilities including children with disabilities who are homeless; or are wards of the state; or children with disabilities attending private schools, regardless of the severity of the disabilities. They are located, identified, and evaluated.  Ongoing Child Find procedures may include but not be limited to the following:

• Screening and referral from physicians, hospitals, and by public or private agencies;
• Informing agencies, appropriate professional persons, and nonpublic schools of Child Find procedures;
• School staff in-services;
• Parent education and disabilities awareness;
• A comprehensive screening program, including health, vision, hearing, speech and language;
• Distribution of written information, including brochures and pamphlets describing the referral procedure;
• Public awareness campaign, including public service announcements
• Annual notices to local newspapers;
• Consultation with representatives of private schools, including religious schools on how to carry out activities to identify children with suspected disabilities;
• Coordination with district preschools, Head Starts and other childcare facilities;
• Communication with hospitals, pediatricians, obstetricians and other health professionals;
• Presentations to local professional groups and organizations established to inform and/or to serve culturally diverse populations; and
• Coordination with activities of the SELPA Community Advisory Committee (CAC).

The Fresno County SELPA has developed and printed a brochure to assist with Child Find efforts.  Copies of these are available to schools and community health agencies for distribution.

Kings Canyon Unified usually starts the child find process at the school sites by first addressing the students’ needs in a Student Study Team (SST).  SSTs are school-based, problem-solving groups whose mission is to assist teachers, parents, counselors, administrators, and school staff with intervention strategies for dealing with the academic and social-emotional behavioral needs of students.  These teams seek creative ways to maximize the use of available resources which foster academic and social growth.  From this process, all students are assisted by teachers generating classroom instructional suggestions, classroom accommodations and/or intervention plans.  When interventions and accommodations do not succeed and it is felt that an assessment is needed to see if the student is eligible for special education placement, a referral for special education assessment will be signed and processed.  The timelines for processing the special education referral will begin upon receipt of parent permission to assess.

All students with exceptional needs regardless of gender, or social, ethnic, language or economic background have a right to an individualized education that challenges students to achieve their full potential.

The district recognizes the importance of parents as active team members to ensure student progress.  It is essential that staff maintain open communication with parents to promptly address any parental or student concerns.

More information regarding Child Find can be found at the U.S. Office of Special EducationPrograms - Click Here