The Child Find process details the activities conducted to identify students with educational disabilities who attend Philadelphia County nonpublic schools.  As indicated, the identification of disabled nonpublic school children is essential in calculating the level of EP dollars available to nonpublic schools each year.  Nonpublic school student Child Find activities include:

– The request to evaluate non-public school students for potential disabilities;

– The evaluation for disability and subsequent interaction with parents/guardians, including the offer of FAPE;

– Re-evaluations for students who have already been identified.

There are several pathways for nonpublic school student referrals to IU 26 for evaluation. The parent or legal guardian can directly request an evaluation by (a) emailing ossequitableparticipation-request@philasd.org, (b) presenting at their SDP neighborhood school, or (c ) by completing the EP Evaluation Request Form online (linked here). Students may also be referred by the completion of the EP Evaluation Form by nonpublic school staff.

Once the referral has been received and validated, a representative of IU 26 will contact the parent / legal guardian to provide more detail on the evaluation/reevaluation process. The very first step in this process is obtaining consent to initiate the evaluation process. To prepare the consent form, linked here, and to conduct a thorough evaluation, our staff will need to review student academic and behavioral data from the enrolled nonpublic school. Pursuant to the law (34 CFR § 99.1), a Release of Student Records must be signed before the nonpublic school can share student information with IU 26. The IU 26 representative will provide this form.

After the evaluation/reevaluation has been conducted, if your child is identified as having a disability, this will be discussed at an eligibility meeting. Your child will also be included in the annual Child Find count that determines the equitable share of the IU 26 IDEA-B award allocated to private schools. At the end of this meeting, if you are a resident of Philadelphia, you will be informed of your right to an offer of Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE).

You may decide to use the information discovered through the evaluation to discuss, with your nonpublic school, supports available at your child’s current location of enrollment. If choosing to maintain enrollment at the nonpublic school, the EP Child Find process concludes with this meeting.

If, however, you are considering transferring your child to a School District of Philadelphia school, you can request an “offer of FAPE.” If requested, a team will draft a contingent IEP describing potential services your child would receive if you decided to enroll them in a School District of Philadelphia public school.