Special Education

• Any child ages 3-5 residing in the school district can be referred for a monthly Child Find screening. Children not currently attending a Social Circle School can also participate in Child Find screenings. 

• Preschool Child Find is a federally mandated free resource offered to Social Circle residents ages two years, five months to 6 years old. Preschool Special Education Child Find screenings offer families a service that can assist with identifying potential special education needs and providing educational opportunities with skills instruction and early intervention services. 

• Physicians, therapists, local preschool or daycare providers, or other entities can initiate a Child Find referral. Parents may make a referral at any time. The Special Education Interventionist at Social Circle Primary can schedule screening appointments as needed. 

Research demonstrates that early intervention in a child’s life increases their opportunity for success. Each Child is unique and develops at an individual pace. Having concern about a child’s development is an adequate reason to make a referral to a Child Find Screening. 

However, there are milestones that we anticipate children will typically attain by a certain age. If a child has difficulty around the age of three by demonstrating one or more of the following: 

• Has difficulty expressing themselves effectively to be understood by those who are not in their immediate environment 

• Has difficulty understanding language 

• Demonstrates repetitive behavior 

• Has a difficult time interacting with others 

• Demonstrates excessive, inappropriate behaviors 

• Delayed in sitting, walking, crawling, talking 

A multi-disciplinary team will complete the screening. The team members include a Special Education teacher, School Psychologist, Speech/Language Therapist, Audiologist, Occupational/Physical Therapist, School Nurse, and Social Worker. The Child will be given a brief screening evaluation in the following areas: 

• Vision/Hearing,

• Cognition, 

• Communication, 

• Motor, 

• Self-Help, 

• Social.

After the screening, the evaluation team will review screening information and make team recommendations. The recommendations may include but are not limited to: 

• no further intervention is needed, 

• skill intervention designated for an allotted time, or 

• a complete educational evaluation. 

At the conclusion of the skill intervention trial, parents will meet with members of the evaluation team to review the information collected and to discuss further directions. If the recommendation warrants a complete educational evaluation, skill interventions may be introduced for the allotted time until eligibility is determined. Parents will be assigned an appointment time, at the post-screening meeting, for complete evaluation requests. 

 

Student referrals must be accompanied by documentation of scientific, research, or evidence-based academic or behavioral interventions that demonstrate an insufficient rate of progress. 

Exception: Immediate referral and/or placement can be determined if a student has a significant disability in which they cannot access instruction (Deafblind). 

• Children birth through age 3 

Children referred through Babies Can’t Wait utilize the Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) interventions. 

• Preschool children, ages 29 months-5yrs 

PK Students enrolled in Social Circle schools are provided with research-based interventions recommended by the school Student Support Team (SST). The school collects data on the progress of the recommended intervention. 

• School-aged children, ages 6-21 

In each building, an administrator will set up a Student Support Team (SST) to review the academic progress and results of interventions of individual students. The SST at the school is responsible for reviewing the data from the Universal Screener and selecting the point at which students will be identified for interventions. Teachers can also refer students to the SST for review. If the SST suspects a student may have a disability, they can refer the student with parental permission. 

Children not enrolled in a Social Circle School can attend Child Find screenings. At the Child Find Post-Screening meeting, parents are provided one or two research-based interventions to implement with their child. Parents will also be provided with a data sheet to record the progress of the recommended intervention. The parent is responsible for implementing the intervention and should bring that data to the eligibility meeting. 

• School-aged children placed in private schools within Social Circle Schools zone, ages 6-21 

Private schools in Social Circle are provided with information regarding the evaluation process offered for students in Social Circle’s attendance zone. The private school administrator / Interventionist will set up meetings to review the academic progress and results of interventions of individual students. 

The SST at the private school is responsible for monitoring academic progress and selecting the point at which students will need interventions. If the SST suspects a student may have a disability, the team can refer the student for evaluation with parental permission. The private school administrator will contact the Social Circle Special Education Director to schedule the referral meeting and request a complete educational evaluation.

 

The Social Circle School District will provide details and dates for Child Find screenings to community agencies such as doctor’s offices, health departments, daycares, etc. The Child Find procedures are also published on the Social Circle School District website.