The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires all states to have in effect policies and procedures to ensure that all children with disabilities residing in their state, regardless of the severity of their disability, and who are in need of special education and related services, are located, identified, and evaluated.

What Is Child Find?

Prior to 1975 children with disabilities did not attend public schools. As part of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA 1975, also known as the Education for All Handicapped Children Act Public Law 94-142), each state was mandated to create policies and procedures for public schools to seek out or “find” children within their state and local school district boundaries who may already have a disability or might be suspected of having a disability, including whether the child is in need of special education and related services. Therefore, the term “located” was placed within the IDEA law to mandate an obligation for both the state and the public schools to create a practical method of finding children with disabilities who might be eligible under IDEA, which includes public awareness activities for you as a parent to know who to contact at your local school district if you suspect your child may have a disability.

If your child is enrolled in school, the district is required to screen students to identify those who may be at risk and in need of academic or behavioral interventions. If your child does not make adequate progress with these targeted interventions, school personnel will contact you to request your written consent (signature) to conduct a comprehensive evaluation. This evaluation is designed to gather the necessary data to determine whether your child qualifies as a student with a disability under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Part B. If found eligible, your child would be entitled to a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE), including special education and related services through an Individualized Education Program (IEP), from age three through high school standard diploma or if necessary through the age of 21.

For children from birth through age two (prior to their third birthday), responsibility for early intervention falls under IDEA Part C, which in Oklahoma is administered through the state’s SoonerStart program—not the public school district.

Locating students may include, but is not limited to, children with disabilities who are:

• Homeless (as defined by the McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Assistance Improvement Act of 2001)
• Wards of the State
• Attend Public Schools, Charter Schools, Virtual Schools, Alternative schools
• Attending Private School (Parentally-Placed), including religious, elementary and secondary schools located within the district’s boundaries
• Homeschooled
• Adjudicated and Placed in Juvenile Detention/Correctional Facilities/Treatment Facilities
• Placed in Residential Facilities or State Institutions
• Attending Head Start
• Preschool Age (ages 3-, 4-, and 5-year-old not yet kindergarten eligible)
• An Adult with a Disability (age 18 through 21) Who Has NOT Received their Standard/Regular Diploma
• Advancing from grade to grade
• Highly Mobile
• Migrant

Public school districts undertake public awareness activities such as placing child find posters in the community (e.g., at the local public library, at the local grocery store/convenient store, within their local school district buildings, etc.), or an announcement in the local paper, or on the district’s website, or other community/public awareness programs. These public awareness activities let parents know of the specific categories of disabilities listed in IDEA and the contact information they should reach out to in regards to their child suspected as being a child with a disability in need of being identified and evaluated under IDEA.

The term “identified” in the IDEA law refers to another obligation of the state and public schools to assess students or screen students to determine if the results indicate which students are at-risk in the areas of academics, including functional performance or behavior.  From the screening results, school personnel provide students with specific supports involving instructional strategies within the general education classroom, such as differentiated instruction, or if needed, targeted supports by implementing evidence-based interventions that match the skill deficit(s).

As a parent or guardian, you have the right to request a comprehensive evaluation for your child at any time. Please be aware that the implementation of interventions cannot be used to delay or deny the initiation of this evaluation process upon your request for your child to be referred for a comprehensive evaluation under IDEA. The public school district must obtain your signature prior to conducting the “initial” evaluation and provide you a copy of your “procedural safeguards,” also known as “parent rights.” This document is your parent rights regarding your child with a disability involving issues such as parental consent, evaluation, independent educational evaluations, written notice, access to education records, dispute resolution (e.g., IEP facilitation, mediation, state complaint, and due process), etc.  The timeline for completion of this initial evaluation is 45 “school” days from the date you sign consent to the date of the IDEA eligibility determination made by a group of qualified professionals and you, the parent.

Under the IDEA law, the term “evaluated” refers to a comprehensive evaluation—which is a thorough process used to determine whether a child qualifies for special education and related services involving one or more of the disabilities listed within the federal regulations:

• Autism,
• Deaf-Blindness,
• Emotional Disturbance,
• Hearing Impairment (Hard-of-Hearing)-Including Deafness,
• Intellectual Disability,
• Multiple Disabilities,
• Orthopedic Impairment,
• Other Health Impairment,
• Specific Learning Disability,
• Speech or Language Impairment,
• Traumatic Brain Injury, and/or
• Visual Impairment-Including Blindness

An optional category for public school districts to use is the “Developmental Delays” (DD) term for children ages 3 through 9, or prior to turning 10 years old. An exception to this DD category is if the child’s primary disability is Visual Impairment/Blindness, Hearing Impairment/Deafness and Deaf-Blind, then they would not be considered under the category of DD. The categories listed above are the only categories outlined in the IDEA and are defined within the federal regulations at 34 C.F.R. § 300.8.

A basic screening conducted by a school district to identify students who may be at risk does not count as a comprehensive evaluation under IDEA. Similarly, a diagnosis from a licensed physician or mental health professional, on its own, does not establish IDEA eligibility. In fact, IDEA does not require a medical diagnosis be obtained for purposes of determining whether a child has a particular disability but may be part of the information gathered by the school district as existing data or information provided by you, the parent.

Each state is responsible for developing policies and procedures that define what constitutes a comprehensive evaluation. These policies ensure that school districts assess using specific, required components based on the suspected category of disability or disabilities as pieces of the comprehensive evaluation to determine whether a child meets the specific criteria and sufficient key eligibility indicators to determine whether the child has a disability and is eligible for an Individualized Education Program (IEP) under IDEA. The Oklahoma State Board of Education approved the Oklahoma Special Education Policies and Procedures which lists the required components for a comprehensive evaluation based upon the suspected category or categories of disabilities. This comprehensive evaluation is free and is at no cost to the parent/guardian or adult student.

The Oklahoma Parents Center (OPC) assists parents in understanding the Child Find process, please call us toll free at 1-877-553-4332.

If there appears to be a delay in any area of your child’s development such as communication (articulation and/or language), cognitive, adaptive behavior/daily living skills, social skills/self-regulation behavior skills, and/or motor skills, you may seek assistance from us. The OPC staff are happy to guide you to the appropriate people/services for extra assistance, if needed.

Where to call for a free evaluation from the state depends on your child’s age:

Birth through Two (2) Years Old or Under Three (3) Years Old is a Program Under Part C of the IDEA

Contact SoonerStart Early Intervention Services at 405-521-3351 or locate your local SoonerStart office by clicking here!

Three (3) Years Old through the age of 21 or Prior to Turning 22 Years Old is a Program Under Part B of the IDEA

Contact your local public school system.  Click here for a list of School Districts in Oklahoma!

*Even if your child is not yet old enough for kindergarten or is not currently enrolled in a public school, you can still request an evaluation by contacting your local school district. Ask to speak with someone who can assist you with the evaluation process. This person is often the Director of Special Education, but the district may also connect you with a school counselor or other qualified professionals involved in evaluations, such as a school psychologist, school psychometrist, or speech-language pathologist, etc.

If you’re not sure who to contact, call the Oklahoma Parents Center toll-free at 877-553-4332 and we can help you!

Updated: 25 July 2025