Under both the IDEA and Louisiana law, an LEA has an affirmative obligation, known as “Child Find,” to identify, locate, and evaluate any child suspected of having a disability residing within the LEA’s geographic boundaries.1 If the LEA is a charter organization to which traditional attendance zones do not apply, its Child Find obligations extend to any student enrolled in one of its charter schools. An LEA’s Child Find duty is triggered when it has reason to suspect a particular child has a disability and a reason to suspect that special education services may be needed to address that disability. When these suspicions arise, the educational agency must refer the student for evaluation “within a reasonable time after the school district is on notice of facts or behavior likely to indicate a disability.”2 The U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has held that a four-month delay from notice of facts likely to indicate that a student has a disability before initiating an evaluation is unreasonable.3 The Child Find duty applies regardless of the severity of the disability and regardless of whether the student is advancing from grade to grade.4 Educators’ training, expertise, and direct student contact put them in a position to be able to identify red flags that a student may have a disability and refer the student for evaluation. The Child Find duty also extends to students with suspected disabilities residing in the LEA’s jurisdiction who are enrolled in private schools, preschools, or day care programs; who are not enrolled in any school; and who are highly mobile, including migrant students.5
- 120 U.S.C. § 1412(a)(3)(A); 34 C.F.R. § 300.111; La. Bulletin 1706 § 230(A).
- 2Dallas Indep. Sch. Dist. v. Woody, 865 F.3d 303, 320 (5th Cir. 2017).
- 3Krawietz ex rel. Parker v. Galveston Indep. Sch. Dist., 900 F.3d 673 (5th Cir. 2018).
- 434 C.F.R. § 300.111; La. Bulletin 1508 § 103.
- 534 C.F.R. § 300.111; La. Bulletin 1508 § 103.