Private School ESE Services
Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA 2004) requires that school districts locate, identify, and evaluate at public expense students who are parentally placed at private schools and who are suspected of having disabilities and needing special education and related services. This is part of the general school district responsibility, known as child find.
School districts must make available a free appropriate public education (FAPE) via an Individual Educational Plan (IEP) to those parentally-placed students who are evaluated at public expense and determined to have disabilities if the student enrolls in and attends public school. The requirement to make available a free appropriate public education does not extend to private school settings when children with disabilities are parentally placed in those settings.
There is no individual entitlement of parentally-placed private school students to receive special education services. However, some students may receive services under a Service Plan. Please fill out the "Problem Solving Intake Form for Parentally Placed Private School and Homeschool Students" below to request what services the district has agreed to provide for the current school year.
Please note that these services are only available to parentally-placed students with disabilities (ESE) who attend nonprofit, participating private schools located within Hernando County.
Private School ESE Services Coordinator:
· Maureen Keiper
· Keiper_m@hcsb.k12.fl.us
· (352) 797-7022 x488
Problem Solving Intake Form for Parentally Placed Private School and Homeschool Students
Consultation Process
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA) requires that timely and meaningful consultation occur between the District School Board of Hernando County and private school representatives regarding any decision that affects the opportunities of eligible private school students with disabilities, teachers, and other educational personnel to participate in programs under this Act, and shall continue throughout the implementation and assessment of activities under this section. The final decision regarding what services will be provided resides with the district.
Consultation meetings are typically scheduled in October and a District Symposium is in January of each school year, but the consultation process occurs throughout the school year.
Child Find - Requesting an Evaluation
"Child find" is the process of locating, identifying, and evaluating all students residing in the state, including students with disabilities who are homeless or are wards of the state and students with disabilities attending private schools, regardless of the severity of their disability, and who are in need of ESE and related services. This includes all private school students ages 3-21 suspected of having a disability. (34 C.F.R. § 300.131)
Parents requesting an evaluation for a child ages 3-5, not enrolled in a public school, may do so through FLDRS at: https://www.fdlrsgulfcoast.org/child-findrefer-a-child
Child Find - FDLRS Gulf Coast
www.fdlrsgulfcoast.org
Parents with school-aged children that are enrolled in a private school located in Hernando County and are requesting an evaluation may reach out to the ESE Coordinator of Private Schools for assistance in determining the zoned public school for that private school or the parents' address if a resident of Hernando County.
Please contact Maureen Keiper, ESE Coordinator, at (352) 797-7022 x488 with any questions regarding child find or requesting an evaluation.
Child Find - FDLRS - Gulfcoast:
· FDLRS Screenings
· FDLRS Road Map through Child Find
· FDLRS FAQ
FLDOE Private School Links:
Office of Independent Education and Parental Choice
Private School Directory
FLDOE Private School Resources:
FLDOE Technical Assistance Paper for General Education Intervention Procedures, Child Find, and the Initial Provision of Exceptional Education Services to Eligible Students (See sections E-1, E-4, and E-6 on pages 14, 16-17 for information relating to private school)