Child find is a component of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA ’04) that requires schools to locate, identify, and evaluate all children with disabilities, aged birth through 21, located within their geographical boundaries who are in need of early intervention or special education services.

ECP will define and pursue efforts to see that:

• All children with disabilities, who are in need of special education and related services, will be identified, located and evaluated.
• A practical method will be developed and implemented to determine which children are currently receiving needed special education and related services.
• The program also applies to highly mobile children with disabilities and children who are suspected of being a child with a disability and in need of special education, even though they are advancing from grade to grade.

To carry out these duties, assigned ECP personnel will:

• Maintain documentation of the public awareness efforts to inform the public and parents within their jurisdiction of the availability of special education services.
• Implement screening activities for all newly enrolled students and those transferring in without sufficient records.
• Complete the screening activities within 45 days of a student’s enrollment.
• Include in the screening consideration of academic or cognitive, vision, hearing, communication, emotional, and psychomotor domains.
• Maintain documentation and annually report the number of children with disabilities within each disability category that have been identified, located and evaluated.

Section 504

The Rehabilitation Act of 1973, commonly referred to as “Section 504,” is a federal statute that prohibits discrimination against persons on the basis of their disability by institutions that receive financial federal assistance.

Section 504’s purpose is, among other things, to assure that disabled students have educational opportunities and benefits equal to those provided to non-disabled students. An eligible student under Section 504 is a student who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity. If a student is covered by Section 504, Empower College Prep must provide such accommodations as are necessary to ensure that the student has equal access to services, programs, and activities offered by our schools.

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