Child Find

Child Find Request

Philadelphia Public School District Stacy Shields, Director of Special Services

248 Byrd Avenue 601-656-2955 (phone) 601-656-3141 (fax)

Philadelphia, MS 39350 [email protected]

Person Making the Request and Agency Represented:	Relation to Child:
Requester’s Address:	Requester’s Phone:
Requester’s Email:	Date Request Received:

PERSONAL DATA

Child’s Full Name:

Race/Ethnicity:

Gender:

DOB:

Child’s Physician:

Physician’s Address:

HOME AND FAMILY INFORMATION

Parent/Guardian 1:

Parent/Guardian 2:

Home Address:

Home Phone:

Employer/Occupation:

Work Phone:

Child Lives With:

LANGUAGE(S) SPOKEN IN THE HOME

Is any language other than English spoken in the child’s home? o Yes o No (skip to next section)

Parent/Guardian’s Language:

Child’s Language:

CHILD’S EDUCATIONAL SETTING

Does the child attend a public/private school or preschool/childcare center? o Yes o No (skip to next question)

School/Center Name:

School/Center Phone:

School/Center Address:

Teacher:

CONCERNS FOR THE CHILD

Describe any concerns that you have about the child’s development, behavior, and/or learning.

How did you hear about Child Find?

Child_Find_Poster (1)[77537]

Child Find Requests and Referral Procedures

PHILADELPHIA PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT

OFFICE of SPECIAL SERVICES

Child Find Requests and Referral Procedures

A request for an evaluation to determine eligibility for Special Education services may be made by any source who:

Has knowledge of or interest in a child ages birth through twenty-one (21) years, including but not limited to parents, teachers, and Teacher Support Team (TST) members, or representatives of other public agencies; and
Suspects that child may have a disability.

Initial evaluations and responses to such requests are not limited by the number per year or the time of year requests are received.

When a request is made, the individual making the request should complete a Child Find Request Form. That form should then be returned the principal of the school that the child attends or to Stacy Shields at Philadelphia Public School District’s Central Office by mail (248 Byrd Avenue, Philadelphia, MS 39350), email [email protected] or fax

(601-656-3141). The form should be submitted as soon as possible.

When a request for an initial evaluation is made, a Multidisciplinary Evaluation Team (MET) composed of the parent, the child (if appropriate), and qualified professionals will be convened within fourteen (14) calendar days to review the request including all pertinent existing documentation. Philadelphia Public School District will invite the parent to participate; however, if the parent is unable to attend, the MET team must proceed. The MET will also include an agency representative who can allocate school resources for the evaluation and, if necessary, resolve disagreements in eligibility determination decisions. Day one is the day the parent, teacher, Teacher Support Team (TST) member or representative of another public agency makes the request to the Local Educational Agency (LEA).

The appropriate composition of the MET including the selection of qualified professionals will depend on the concerns included in the initial request. Consideration will be given to the Special Education Eligibility Determination Guidelines which specify the qualified professionals required for each disability category in assembling the initial MET; however, as a child’s disability must not be pre-determined, the composition of the MET must be flexible to change over time as needed for conducting specific evaluations, assessments, observations and procedures necessary for determining the eligibility and the educational needs of the child.

The MET has the sole responsibility for deciding whether or not to evaluate a child. If the MET determines that the need for an evaluation is substantiated, appropriate notice will be provided to the parent within seven (7) calendar days of the meeting. In these cases, the MET will obtain informed written consent from the parent before it proceeds with an initial evaluation (i.e., no individual assessments may be conducted prior to obtaining this consent). If the MET determines that the need for an Initial Evaluation is not substantiated at this time, appropriate notice will be provided to the parent within seven (7) calendar days of the meeting. In these cases, the MET may refer the child to the TST for focused supplemental instruction or intensive interventions using the Three Tier Instructional Model to promote the child’s success in the general education curriculum.