Benton and Bryant to Co-Host Annual Child Find Meeting
Bryant Public Schools and Benton Public Schools will offer the Joint Annual Child Find Meeting and Consultation for parentally-placed private and homeschool providers in the respective school districts. The meeting will provide an opportunity for private and homeschool representatives to share the needs of children with disabilities enrolled in their programs. Evaluation and service specifics for parentally-placed and homeschooled children in the 2023-2024 school year will be shared with providers.
Benton’s Special Education Director, Angela McWhorter, and Bryant’s Special Education Director, Dr. Michael Taylor, will address the requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA 2004). Areas of discussion will include:
The Child Find process;
Determination of which, how, where, and by whom special education and related services will be provided;
How the services will be evaluated; and
Determination of the proportionate amount of Federal Funds available to serve parentally-placed private school children with disabilities.
Participation will be available in-person and virtually on September 28, 2023 at 9:45am. In-person attendance will be held at the Benton Administration Office at 207 W. Conway, Benton, AR 72015. To participate virtually through Google Meet, visit http://bit.ly/3Zro3LB to access the meeting link.
Child Find is a federal obligation for school districts to locate and evaluate children, ages 3-21, who are suspected of having a disability. Evaluation and services are provided to children free of charge in compliance with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
The Benton School District, through partnership with Dawson Education Cooperative, and the Bryant Early Childhood Education program provides free screening to children ages 3-5 in the areas of vision, hearing, speech-language, fine motor, gross motor, self-help, social skills, and academics.
For children younger than three, the Arkansas Department of Human Services provides free evaluations and services through First Connections. First Connections may be reached at 1-800-643-8258.