1.0 IDENTIFICATION SYSTEM STANDARDS

Identification means the continuous and systematic effort made by the districts to identify, locate and screen students birth through 21, who may need special education services. Identification encompasses the district's public awareness efforts within the community; efforts to identify children in private schools; and comprehensive child find efforts that include programs to identify homeless and migratory children and children who may need special education even though they are advancing from grade to grade.

Required Policies

Each district in the Area Special Education Cooperative (ASEC) has developed a comprehensive identification system that identifies students with disabilities from birth; students with disabilities attending both public and nonpublic schools; and students of school age who are not attending school.

The Coop, through the Interagency Early Intervention Committees of Polk, Norman, Marshall and Red Lake Counties, have developed and implemented policies and procedures related to public awareness systems, child find systems, and identification of children who may need special education and services.

1.0 Identification System Standards

ASEC School districts have developed a system designed to identify persons with disabilities beginning at birth, students with disabilities attending school, and persons with disabilities who are of school age and are attending private school or who are not attending any school. The district’s identification system is developed in accordance with the requirement of nondiscrimination and included in the ASEC’s total special education system (TSES) plan. (M.R. 3525.0750)K

1.1 Identification Within the Community

Member districts of the Area Special Education Cooperative (ASEC) conduct on-going activities designed to identify pupils who may require special education. These activities shall include, but are not limited to:

1.1.1 Public Awareness

Member districts in cooperation with the Area Special Education Cooperative and the county Interagency Early Intervention Committee (IEIC),  prepare and disseminate information regarding available services and the referral procedures for learners with disabilities who are eligible for special education services. Each district insures that such information is available in the native language of its non-English speaking residents. Dissemination may be made by public news releases (i.e., newspapers, radio, etc.), school bulletins, brochures, speaking engagements to parent and civic groups, etc. Records of news releases, speaking engagements and copies of disseminated information shall be maintained by the District and/or Cooperative as appropriate.

1.1.2 Public Awareness for Infant and Toddler Services

The districts and cooperative personnel, along with the county IEIC committees,  provide information regarding early identification of children, available services, referral procedures, forms, etc. to all community agencies, groups and individuals who have contact with pupils ages birth through 21 years old. Community agencies and groups shall include, but are not limited to:

1. Physicians, clinics and hospitals;
2. Public health agencies;
3. Public and private social service agencies;
4. Public and private schools;
5. Head Start, preschools, nurseries and day care facilities;
6. Mental health service agencies; and
7. Local chapters of parent and lay associations

The focus of the public awareness program is to provide information about the state's early intervention program, the local child find system including the purpose and scope of the system; how to make referrals and how to gain access to a comprehensive multidisciplinary evaluation and other early intervention services; and the central directory

Each interagency early intervention committee in each of the ASEC counties, have developed a public awareness system designed to inform potential families of available programs and services and have implemented interagency child find systems designed to seek out, identify, and refer infants and young children with, or at risk of, disabilities and their families. Minn. Stat 125A30(b)(1)-(2)

Interagency Early Intervention Committee (IEIC) Responsibilities

The school districts within the Area Special Education Cooperative, in cooperation with the health and human service agencies located in each county in which the ASEC district's are located, have established an interagency early intervention committee for children with disabilities under age five and their families and for children with disabilities ages three to 22. Minn Stat. 125A.30(a)

The committees include representatives of local and regional health, education, county human service agencies, county boards, school boards, early childhood family education programs, parents of young children with disabilities under age 12, current service providers, and when appropriate, representatives from other private or public agencies and school nurses.

The interagency early intervention committee in each county, has developed and implemented interagency policies and procedures to coordinate services at the district level for children with disabilities regarding the following:

1. Develop public awareness systems designed to inform potential recipient families of available programs and services.
2. Implement interagency child find systems designed to actively seek out, identify, and refer infants and young children with, or at risk of, disabilities and their families.
3. Establish and evaluate the identification, referral, child and family assessment systems, procedural safeguard process, and community learning systems to recommend, and where necessary, alterations and improvements.
4. To assure the development of individualized family service plans for all eligible infants and toddlers with disabilities from birth through age two, and their families, and individual education plans and individual service plans when necessary to appropriately serve children with disabilities, age three and older and their families and recommend assignment of financial responsibilities to the appropriate agencies.
5. Encourage agencies to develop individual family service plans for children with disabilities, age three and older.
6. Implement a process for assuring that services involve cooperating agencies at all steps leading to individualized programs.
7. Facilitate the development of a transitional plan if a service provider is not recommended to continue to provide services.
8. Identify the current services and funding being provided within the community for children with disabilities under age five and their families.
9. Develop a plan for allocation and expenditure of state and federal early intervention funds.
10. Develop a policy to enable a member of the interagency early intervention committee to allow another member access to data classified as not public. Minn. Stat. 125A.30(b)

Each committee must include representatives of local and regional health, education, and county human service agencies, county board, school boards, early childhood family education programs, parents of young children with disabilities under age 12, current service providers, and may also include representatives from other private or public agencies and school nurses.

Hearing/Vision Impairment Identification

When a student who is suspected of having a hearing loss fails the school screening, the parents should be contacted and the student’s health history should be obtained to determine if there is a history of ear infections, an indication of a possible hearing acuity problem. The student should be re-screened by the school (school nurse or speech clinician) in approximately six weeks from the original screening to obtain a puretone hearing threshold. If a second screening is failed (for whatever reason), the student should be referred to the district’s student support team for review. If the team recommends further audiometric diagnostic assessment, the school can refer the student to an audiologist for assessment. When the results of the assessment are received, the team, which should include the parent and a teacher of the deaf and hard of hearing, will review the information and determine the need for additional school assessment.

Because of the developmental nature of young children, best practice with preschool children who are referred for assessment would suggest that they are screened for hearing/vision even when the presenting concern may not indicate a vision or hearing loss.

1.2 Child Find

The school districts within the ASEC,  have a process in place for identifying children with disabilities beginning at birth. Children from birth through age five are referred by parents, physicians and other agencies to the central point of intake at county nursing service. The facilitator with input from the family involves the appropriate agencies that may provide services to the child and family. For school age children attending either attending a public or private school or children with disabilities who are of school age and are not attending school, referrals can be made to the building student assistance team. The student assistance team will process the referral, obtain parent input and permission to evaluate, and involve the appropriate team members from the school and other agencies, as appropriate.

Last modified April 21, 2006