Child Find

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires all states to implement a policy to identify, locate, and evaluate all children with disabilities.  This includes all school districts. One method of locating and identifying children with a suspected disability is the Child Find program.

The Child Find Program requires all school districts in California to locate, identify, and evaluate all children with a suspected disability, regardless of the severity of their disabilities, from birth to 21 years of age, inclusive, children not enrolled in public school programs, homeless children or who are wards of the state, children attending private, including private religious, elementary schools, and migrant children. (See 20 USC § 1412 (a)(3).) Those who are in need of special education and related services, shall be identified, located, assessed, and if eligible, offered FAPE. 

IDEA 2004 shifted the Child Find obligation relative to private school students from the district in which the student resides to the district in which the private school is located that the student attends. Our district collaborates in conducting meaningful consultation with private school representatives in the area. As part of this consultation, private school representatives are informed about the Child Find mandate and the referral process for students suspected of having a disability who are attending private schools. The Child Find mandate is the same for all children, regardless of whether they attend public or private school. Private school representatives are also surveyed regarding identified eligible students in their schools and this input is considered by the district in the determination of policies for provision of equitable services to private school students via an Individualized Service Plan (ISP).

The site administrator or his/her designee has the responsibility at the local school level for the coordination of the Child Find activities. The district works in collaboration with other public agencies to assure that local private schools, hospitals, pre-schools, Regional Center, and California Children’s Services have been supplied with special education public information to help parents, teachers, and the community, in general, become aware of our child find obligations and many special education opportunities that are available through the Palm Springs Unified School District.

If you suspect your child has a disability, please contact the

PSUSD Special Education office at (760) 883-2703.