Child Find

Policy and Procedures for Students with Disabilities

Vida Charter School will ensure that all students with disabilities who are eligible to enroll in the school will have available to them free and appropriate public education (FAPE) in the least restrictive environment (LRE). The rights of children with disabilities and their parents will be protected in accordance with federal laws (IDEA, Section 504, and ADA).

As part of this Child Find responsibility, VCS seeks to ensure that all students with disabilities who are eligible to enroll in the school are identified, located, and evaluated. This Child Find responsibility shall be accomplished through a process which, while not a definitive or final judgment of a student's capabilities or disability, is a possible indicator of special education needs.

The Child Find process shall include obtaining data on each student, through direct assessment or by indirect means of the student's academic performance, gross and fine motor skills, receptive and expressive language skills, vision, hearing and cognitive skills.

School staff, parents and guardians, or agency representatives may refer students to a content-specific expert for support if they believe that a student, because of a disability, may be in need of special education and supportive services in order to benefit from regular education. VCS shall ensure that an appropriately certified school psychologist participates in the initial evaluation and all subsequent re-evaluations of the student.

Final identification of students with disabilities and programming for such students occurs only after an appropriate evaluation and determination by the student’s teachers, members of the Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) Team, and the administration. If it is determined that the child requires learning support and services in order to benefit from regular education, an Individual Education Plan (IEP) shall be developed for the student, in accordance with federal law.

If you believe your child to be in need of learning support and related services, you can initiate a referral through the school by contacting our Learning Support teacher, or your student’s teacher.