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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.
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, under the umbrella of the County Collaboratives 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.
Items to Demonstrate Compliance
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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.
"Child with a disability" means a child identified under federal and state special education law as having a hearing impairment, blindness, visual disability, speech or language impairment, physical disability, other health impairment, mental disability, emotional/behavioral disorder, specific learning disability, autism, traumatic brain injury, multiple disabilities, or deafblind disability who needs special education and related services, as determined by the rules of the commissioner, is a child with a disability. A licensed physician, an advanced practice nurse, or a licensed psychologist is qualified to make a diagnosis and determination of attention deficit disorder or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder for purposes of identifying a child with a disability."
MN Stat. 125A.02, subd. 1
1.01 Identification Within the Community
A school district, group of districts, or special education cooperative, in cooperation with the health and human service agencies located in the county or counties in which the district or cooperative is located, must establish an Interagency Early Intervention Committee for children with disabilities under age five and their families under this section, and for children with disabilities ages three to 22 consistent with the requirements under sections 125A.023 and 125A.027. Committees must include representatives of local health, education, and county human service agencies, county boards, school boards, early childhood family education programs, Head Start, parents of young children with disabilities under age 12, child care resource and referral agencies, school readiness programs, current service providers, and may also include representatives from other private or public agencies and school nurses. The committee must elect a chair from among its members and must meet at least quarterly.
MN Stat. 125A.30(a)
The (Interagency Early Intervention Committee) must develop public awareness systems designed to inform potential recipient families, especially parents with premature infants, or infants with other physical risk factors associated with learning or development complications, of available programs and services.
MN Stat. 125A.30(b)(1)
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 when appropriate, 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.
The IEICs in Marshall, Norman, Polk, and Red Lake counties use a variety of methods to inform parents of the services available to children with developmental delays. "Help Me Grow" brochures are disseminated throughout the counties and are located not only at each school, but also at the county social services, public health agencies, clinics and daycares. Other brochures such as "Infant Toddler Evaluation" assist families starting the evaluation process to understand the process. The "Working Together As a Team" brochure is provided to parents whose child is placed and starting services to understand how early intervention services support their child and family.
On a regular basis, the ECSE coordinator from ASEC contacts each IEIC and provides them with updates from the State, current ASEC early childhood procedures and other information on how to support child and families.
Each system must include a public awareness program that focuses on the early identification of children who are eligible to receive early intervention services under this part and includes the preparation and dissemination by the lead agency to all primary referral sources, especially hospitals and physicians, of materials for parents on the availability of early intervention services. The public awareness program must provide for informing the public about:
the States early intervention program;
the 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
34 C.F.R.303.320
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:
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.
MN. Stat 125A30(b)(1)-(2)
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.
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:
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, current service providers, and may also include representatives from other private or public agencies and school nurses.
Referrals for children birth to three may be made to the central point of referral for each county or by contacting the State Help Me Grow at 866-693-3769 or the Help Me Grow website.
County Interagency Early Intervention agreements can be accessed below:
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.
School districts shall develop systems designed to identify pupils with disabilities beginning at birth, pupils with disabilities attending public and nonpublic school, and pupils with disabilities who are of school age and are not attending any school. The district's identification system shall be developed according to the requirement of nondiscrimination and included in the district's total special education system plan.
MN R. 3525.0750
The school districts within the ASEC, have a process in place for identifying children with disabilities beginning at birth. Children from birth three are referred by parents, physicians and other agencies to the central point of intake in each county. Referrals are forwarded to the Early Intervention Assessment Team. The facilitator with input from the family involves the appropriate agencies that may provide services to the child and family. Preschool children ages 3 to kindergarten are referred to the district of residence early childhood teacher. Preschoolers evaluated and not found eligible for early childhood special education are referred to the IEIC Help Me Grow Team when appropriate. 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 district's 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.
The following districts have board approved child study procedures:
Nothing in the Act requires that children be classified by their disability so long as each child who has a disability listed in 300.8 and who, by reason of that disability, needs special education and related services is regarded as a child with a disability under Part B of the Act.
34 C.F.R.300.111(d)
Each district must locate, identify, and evaluate all children with disabilities who are enrolled by their parents in private, including religious, elementary and secondary schools located in the school district served by the district, in accordance with paragraphs (b) through(e) of this section, and 300.111 and 300.201.
34 C.F.R. 300.131
The (district's plan for providing instruction and related services) shall include descriptions of the district's:
Child study procedures for the identification and evaluation of students or other persons suspected of having a disability beginning at birth that include a plan for receiving referrals from parents, physicians, private and public programs, and health and human services agencies.
MN R. 3525.1100, subp.2(A)
The ASEC has three private schools within the cooperative. These schools are located in East Grand Forks, Alvarado and Red Lake Falls. Specific child find procedures for private schools are outlined in the Referral Procedures for Nonpublic Sp Ed Evaluations brochure provided to the private schools and available to home school families.
Each district must:
The child count must be used to determine the amount that the district must spend on providing special education and related services to parentally-placed private school children with disabilities in the next subsequent fiscal year.
34 C.F.R. 300.133(c)