Authority:            The requirements for child find under Part B are found in the Part B regulations at 34 CFR §300.111.  The requirements for location of children and notification under Section 504 are found in the Section 504 regulations at 34 CFR §104.32.

 

Question B-1:       What are Part B’s child find requirements?  How do these requirements apply to children and youth who are homeless?

 

Answer:                Under 34 CFR §300.111(a)(1)(i), all children with disabilities residing in the State, including children with disabilities who are homeless or are wards of the State, and children with disabilities attending private schools, who are in need of special education and related services, regardless of the severity of their disability, must be identified, located, and evaluated.  This requirement, known as child find, includes activities to determine whether a child is a child suspected of having a disability who should be referred for evaluation to determine eligibility for special education and related services under Part B.  Referrals of homeless children can be made from any source that suspects a child may be eligible for special education and related services.  Therefore, persons such as employees of the SEA, LEA, or other public agencies responsible for the education or care of the child may identify homeless children suspected of having disabilities who may be in need of special education and related services. 

 

Highly mobile homeless children often fail to remain in one school long enough to be appropriately diagnosed with a disability.  As a result, school and district administrators, consistent with applicable child find requirements, should consider that homeless children may be at greater risk of having undiagnosed disabilities.  Public agencies should coordinate with staff of emergency shelters, transitional shelters, independent living programs, street outreach programs, and other advocacy organizations to assist in identifying the warning signs of a disability as quickly as possible so that homeless children suspected of having disabilities can be evaluated, and if found eligible, receive required special education and related services. 

 

Question B-2:       What rights do parents of homeless children have during child find?

 

Answer:                Once a public agency or school district identifies any child through the Part B child find process as a child suspected of having a disability, the procedural safeguards in 34 CFR §§300.500 through 300.536 become applicable.  These procedural safeguards, which are fully applicable to parents of homeless children, include, among other protections, written prior notice of the school district’s proposed action to evaluate the child for possible eligibility for services under Part B, which must include an explanation of the reasons for the proposed action.  34 CFR §300.503(a) and (b)(1)-(2).  This prior written notice must reflect all of the content requirements in 34 CFR §300.503(b).

 

Under 34 CFR §300.503(c)(1), this prior written notice must be written in language understandable to the general public and provided in the parent’s native language or other mode of communication used by the parent unless it is clearly not feasible to do so.  If the language or other mode of communication of the parent is not a written language, 34 CFR §300.503(c)(2)(i)-(ii) requires the public agency to take steps to ensure that the notice is translated orally or by other means for the parent in his or her native language or other mode of communication and that the parent understands the content of the notice.  In addition to the prior written notice, a copy of the procedural safeguards available to the parents of a child with a disability under Part B, which must contain a full explanation of those safeguards, also must be given to the parents upon initial referral or parent request for evaluation.  34 CFR §300.504(a)(1) and (c).  The notice of procedural safeguards also must be provided in language understandable to the general public and in the parent’s native language or other mode of communication, unless it clearly is not feasible to do so.  If the parent’s native language or other mode of communication is not a written language, the same requirements for oral translation or other communication to the parent which apply to the prior written notice in §300.503(c)(2) are applicable to the procedural safeguards notice.  34 CFR §300.504(d).

 

A parent who disagrees with the public agency or school district on matters arising under Part B, including matters arising prior to the filing of a due process complaint, must have the opportunity to resolve the dispute through the mediation process described at 34 CFR §300.506.  A parent who disagrees with a public agency’s proposal or refusal to identify or evaluate their child as a child with a disability under Part B may file a due process complaint notice to request a due process hearing in accordance with procedures in 34 CFR §§300.507 through 300.518.  If a child is an unaccompanied homeless youth, the prior written notice and procedural safeguards notice would be provided to the surrogate parent appointed to represent the child in special education matters.  Similarly, the surrogate parent could utilize mediation or exercise due process rights on behalf of the child.  See Section F of this Q & A document regarding Unaccompanied Homeless Youth and Surrogate Parents.

 

Question B-3:       Which children are covered by Part B of IDEA?

 

Answer:                A child is considered to be a “child with a disability” under Part B of IDEA if the child is evaluated in accordance with 34 CFR §§300.304 through 300.311 as having mental retardation, a hearing impairment (including deafness), a speech or language impairment, a visual impairment (including blindness), a serious emotional disturbance (referred to as ‘emotional disturbance’), an orthopedic impairment, autism, traumatic brain injury, an other health impairment, a specific learning disability, deaf blindness, or multiple disabilities, and who, by reason of that impairment, needs special education and related services.  34 CFR §300.8(a)(1).  Children with disabilities under Part B also may include children aged three through nine experiencing developmental delays.  34 CFR §300.8(b). 

 

Question B-4:       Does Section 504’s requirement that recipients of Federal financial assistance operating public elementary or secondary education programs identify and locate qualified individuals with disabilities apply to children and youth who are homeless?

 

Answer:                Yes, Section 504 requires that recipients of Federal financial assistance operating public elementary or secondary education programs or activities must identify annually and locate every qualified individual with a disability residing in the recipient’s jurisdiction who is not receiving a public education.  34 CFR §104.32(a).  The Department interprets this requirement as applying to an individual with a disability residing in the recipient’s jurisdiction regardless of whether the student has an official place of residence or is homeless.  Section 504 also requires recipients to provide annual notice to parents regarding the recipient’s Section 504 obligations.  See 34 CFR § 104.32(b). 

Question B-5:       Which individuals are considered disabled under Section 504 and Title II?

 

Answer:                Under Section 504 and Title II, “individual with a disability” means any person who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, has a record of such an impairment, or is regarded as having such an impairment.