Child Find
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The Keller ISD in the State of Texas wishes to inform interested parties that all persons with suspected disabilities from birth through the age of 21, who might be in need of special education and related services, need to be evaluated and provided with a free appropriate education.
What is Child Find?
The purpose of Child Find is to identify, locate, and evaluate children from birth to 21 years of age with known or suspected disabilities who reside in and/or attend school within district boundaries. Child find is a free referral service designed to determine whether a need for special education and related services exists.
Children learn at different rates but some children have significant difficulty in one or more areas of development.
As of February 2022, the Texas Education Agency has clarified that a district's Child Find obligations include the suspicion of dyslexia and/or dysgraphia. For more specific information from TEA, please review the links below.
Dyslexia Handbook 2021 Update: Important Changes for Families to Understand
FAQs: Dyslexia Evaluation, Identification, & Instruction House Bill (HB) 3928
Actualización del manual de dislexia 2021: Cambios Importantes que las Familias Deben Entender
What does "child with a disability" mean?
The term "child with a disability" means a child who (1) has one of the following disability conditions and (2) needs special education services to benefit from education:
- Speech/Language Impairment
- Autism
- Learning Disability
- Intellectual Disability
- Emotional Disturbance
- Orthopedic Impairment
- Vision Impairment
- Hearing Impairment
- Traumatic Brain Injury
- Other Health Impairment
Who does Child Find apply to?
This notice applies to persons residing in Texas who are:
- residing in their homes or foster homes;
- not yet attending school or are attending day care centers, public schools, independent schools, parochial schools or are being home schooled;
- highly mobile or homeless; or
- suspected of having a disability even though they are advancing from grade to grade.
The above-described persons are entitled to a comprehensive evaluation to determine if their disability qualifies them for special education and related services to be provided through an Individualized Education Program (IEP) pursuant to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA) and to rules of the Texas State Board of Education.
Who can begin the Child Find process?
Anyone can start the process: a parent/guardian, doctor, teacher, relative or friend can call their local school district Child Find. If you are concerned about a child’s learning, contact your local school campus, district, or charter school.
Senate Bill 139 requires districts to notify parents of updates to Special Education by the Texas Education Agency. Please see the notice linked here:
Updates in Special Education - English
Actualizaciones en Educaion - Spanish
These notices were distributed to parents in October 2020.
Possible Services and Placement Options
Based on the results of the evaluation, placement decisions will be determined. Placement options could include instruction and therapy services in a special education classroom, instruction in a general education classroom with special education support, or speech therapy services.
Who do I contact?
If you are concerned your school-aged child may be learning differently, please contact the Special Education department at 817-744-1045 or monica.sanchez@kellerisd.net.
If you are concerned your preschool-aged child may be learning differently, please contact the Special Education department at 817-744-1045 or monica.sanchez@kellerisd.net.
What do I do if I believe my child's evaluation was delayed/denied?
The Texas Education Agency (TEA) provides information regarding these situations available at the links below in English and Spanish.
