Public schools are required to provide Early Childhood Special Education, at no cost to the family, to an eligible child with a disability beginning on the day of the child's 3rd birthday. A child must be referred for an initial evaluation and found eligible for services before special education services can be provided.
If you have any concerns about your child's development, or know that your child has a disability, call your local public school and ask that your child be evaluated for Early Childhood Special Education.
If your child has been receiving early intervention services through First Steps, a plan should be put in place to help the child transition from First Steps to Early Childhood Special Education before his or her third birthday.
A child must be referred for an initial evaluation and found eligible for services before special education services can be provided. See a developmental checklist.
Early Childhood Special Education Eligibility
A child may be eligible for Early Childhood Special Education if he or she has one or more of the following disabilities:
Early Childhood Special Education Instruction and Services
Special education refers to individualized educational and related services for children with disabilities.
To determine what educational and related services a child will receive, a case conference committee will develop an Individualized Education Program (IEP).
A case conference committee is a group of people, including school personnel and parents, who decide if a child is eligible for special education and what special education and related services will be provided, based on his or her needs.
An Individualized Education Program (IEP) is a written document developed by the case conference committee that describes accommodations, modifications, special education and related services that will be provided to the student. The IEP must be reviewed and updated by the case conference committee every 12 months.
Services that may be included in an IEP include:
All special education services must be provided in the least restrictive environment (LRE). LRE means educating a child with disabilities along side children who do not have disabilities, for all or part of the school day, or as much as possible.