IDEA Child Find: how states find children who may need special education or early intervention
Child Find is the duty, under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), to identify, locate, and evaluate children with disabilities. Part B covers school-age and preschool children through the state and local school districts. Part C covers infants and toddlers through each state’s early intervention lead agency, which must take referrals from “primary referral sources” such as hospitals, physicians, and clinics. This page quotes the federal regulations on the Department of Education’s IDEA site. State timelines and procedures can add to them.
Quoted from official pages checked November 11, 2026. Confirm current requirements, fees, and dates on those sites. This page is not legal advice and does not guarantee eligibility, certification, or licensure.
Sources read on November 11, 2026 on the Department of Education’s IDEA site: 34 CFR 300.111 Child find, 34 CFR 300.131 (parentally placed private school children), and 34 CFR 300.301 Initial evaluations (Part B; each page last modified May 3, 2017); and 34 CFR 303.302 Comprehensive child find system (last modified July 7, 2017) and 34 CFR 303.303 Referral procedures (last modified May 3, 2017) (Part C).
Part B: children in schools and preschools
Section 300.111 states that the State must have policies and procedures to ensure that “All children with disabilities residing in the State, including children with disabilities who are homeless children or are wards of the State, and children with disabilities attending private schools, regardless of the severity of their disability, and who are in need of special education and related services, are identified, located, and evaluated; and”.
It adds: “Child find also must include—” “Children who are suspected of being a child with a disability under §300.8 and in need of special education, even though they are advancing from grade to grade; and” “Highly mobile children, including migrant children.”
It also states: “Nothing in the Act requires that children be classified by their disability so long as each child who has a disability that is listed in §300.8 and who, by reason of that disability, needs special education and related services is regarded as a child with a disability under Part B of the Act.”
Private school children
Section 300.131 states: “Each LEA must locate, identify, and evaluate all children with disabilities who are enrolled by their parents in private, including religious, elementary schools and secondary schools located in the school district served by the LEA”. It adds: “The child find process must be completed in a time period comparable to that for students attending public schools in the LEA consistent with §300.301.”
From Child Find to an evaluation
Section 300.301 states: “Consistent with the consent requirements in §300.300, either a parent of a child or a public agency may initiate a request for an initial evaluation to determine if the child is a child with a disability.” The initial evaluation “Must be conducted within 60 days of receiving parental consent for the evaluation; or” “If the State establishes a timeframe within which the evaluation must be conducted, within that timeframe”. What happens after eligibility is on IEPs and IFSPs.
Part C: infants and toddlers
Section 303.302 states that each system must include a comprehensive child find system that is “consistent with part B of the Act (see 34 CFR 300.111)” and that “Ensures rigorous standards for appropriately identifying infants and toddlers with disabilities for early intervention services under this part that will reduce the need for future services; and”.
The lead agency must ensure that “All infants and toddlers with disabilities in the State who are eligible for early intervention services under this part are identified, located, and evaluated”. The section lists programs the child find system must be coordinated with, including “Early Periodic Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment (EPSDT) under Title XIX of the Social Security Act”. Medicaid’s EPSDT benefit is on Medicaid EPSDT.
Who refers, and how fast
Section 303.303 requires state referral procedures to “Provide for referring a child as soon as possible, but in no case more than seven days, after the child has been identified; and”.
Its list of primary referral sources includes “Hospitals, including prenatal and postnatal care facilities;”, “Physicians;”, “Parents, including parents of infants and toddlers;”, “LEAs and schools;”, and “Other clinics and health care providers;”. The regulation does not list therapists by profession; whether a particular clinic or practice counts is a question for the state’s Part C program.
It also requires the referral of a child under age three who “Is the subject of a substantiated case of child abuse or neglect; or” “Is identified as directly affected by illegal substance abuse or withdrawal symptoms resulting from prenatal drug exposure.” Separate state reporting duties are on mandated reporting.
What this page does not do
It does not describe any state’s Child Find procedures or timelines and does not say whether any child should be referred. It is not legal, medical, or compliance advice. Confirm current rules with the agency or organization that publishes them, your employer, and your state board.