Public school districts are being instructed by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) to contact private schools in their jurisdiction by September 30 to discuss the participation of private school students with disabilities in the recently re-authorized Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

The new school year will see the implementation of a new method for identifying, locating and evaluating private school students with disabilities. In the past the so-called child find conducted by public school districts focused on private school students with disabilities who resided in their jurisdiction. But under the new law residency is no longer considered.

Public school districts are now required to identify, locate and evaluate children with disabilities who attend private schools located within their district. This should make the child find process easier but there may be some transitional issues as both public and private schools get used to the new approach.

For private schools an accurate child find count is crucial. An undercount yields fewer dollars thereby reducing the services available to private school students.

The Missouri Catholic Conference is preparing a four part series of Government Programs Reporters on the new special education law for distribution to Catholic school principals. Principals needing assistance in ensuring fair services for their children can contact Mike Hoey at hoeyjm@mocatholic.org.