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Christ the King Catholic School

Resource Program

At Christ the King, we believe it is our responsibility to help locate, identify and evaluate students suspected of having disabilities. We work with the South Bend Community School Corporation who funds educational evaluations conducted via Child Find, so there is no cost to the school or child’s parent.

What Criteria Determine a Child’s Eligibility?

There are two criteria the student must meet:

  1. The child must have a named disability.
  2. The disability must render the child in need of special education and related services.

What are the Named Disabilities?

  • Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
  • Blind or Low Vision
  • Cognitive Disability
  • Deaf or Hard of Hearing
  • Deaf or Blind
  • Developmental Delay
  • Emotional Disability
  • Language or Speech Impairment
  • Multiple Disabilities
  • Other Health Impairment (includes ADHD)
  • Orthopedic Impairment
  • Specific Learning Disability
  • Traumatic Brain Injury

If you suspect your child may have a disability, contact Katie Flint, Christ the King’s Lead Learning Specialist.

 

EVALUATION PROCESS

The Evaluation Process

  1. Parent contacts the child’s teacher or Katie Flint
  2. District has 10 days to provide written notice to parents of one of the below decisions:

Will Evaluate

  • Parent must provide consent
  • Evaluation and Case Conference Committee (CCC) Meeting must occur within 50 school days
  • Parents may request copy of educational evaluation and/or meeting to explain results prior to CCC meeting
  • CCC Meeting determines student eligibility for special education and related services.

Won’t Evaluate

  • Must provide information considered and explanation of decisions
  • Parents should discuss with principal, then diocesan office if need be

PROCESS FOR ELIGIBILITY

After the evaluation, a Case Conference Committee meeting will convene to determine if the child is eligible for services.

Process for Eligibility Determination

The Case Conference Committee Meeting determines if student is eligible for special education and related services.

If the School Corporation determines the child is eligible for services the parents have two options:

  1. Parent may accept and enroll child in public school’s program
  2. Parent may reject the offer, and keep child in current non-public school
    • Individual Service Plan (ISP) is developed
    • ISP documents all services student receives that are funded by district
    • ISP doesn’t include accommodations made by private school or recommended services not funded by district

If the School Corporation determines the child is NOT eligible for services the parents have two options:

  1. After at least a year, the child may be reevaluated
    • Parents will be the ones to reinitiate the process at the appropriate time
  2. Parents may appeal
    • Ask for district-funded independent educational evaluation (IEE)
    • Within 10 days of receiving parents’ request, school may either:
      • Grant request
      • Initiate due process hearing to show original evaluation is appropriate

FAQ

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

If a private psychologies identities a child as having a disability, does that mean the child is eligible for services?

No. The school corporation must evaluate the child and determine the child is eligible. However, this does not include attention issues. If there is a diagnosis of this, an Individualized Accommodation Plan (IAP) will be put into place by Christ the King’s Resource Department (similar to a 504 Plan).

 

My non-public school is located in South Bend, but a child who we suspect has a disability lives in Mishawaka. Is the South Bend or Mishawaka school corporation responsible for Child Find?

Because the non-public school is in South Bend, it is the South Bend Community School Corporation’s responsibility to conduct Child Find, count disabled students, and provide services. However, the parent may choose to have the Mishawka school corporation conduct the evaluation.

 

The school corporation says the child must go through Response to Intervention (RTI) before being evaluated via Child Find. Is this correct?

RTI is a method to assist in determining the presence of Specific Learning Disabilities (SLDs). Some states require public schools to use RTI, but a child cannot be denied a Child Find evaluation because their non-public school does not have an RTI program.

 

On what grounds may the school corporation deny conducting a Child Find evaluation?

If the School Corporation does not suspect the child has a disability, it may refuse to evaluate the child. The school corporation makes this determination by reviewing the supporting documentation provided when the Child Find evaluation request is made.