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Benton Area Chamber of Commerce

October 5, 2021 By Shelli Poole

Benton & Bryant Schools to co-host annual Child Find meeting for homeschool October 8th

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Benton Public Schools and Bryant 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 students with disabilities enrolled in their programs. Evaluation and service specifics for parentally-placed and homeschool children in the 2021-2022 school year will be shared with providers.

Benton’s Special Education Director, Angela McWhorter, and Special Education Director for Bryant, Kelly Colbert (or their designees), will address the requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA 2004). Areas of discussion will include:

  1. The Child Find Process
  2. Determination of which, how, where, and by whom special education and related services will be provided
  3. How the services will be evaluated, and
  4. Determination of the proportionate amount of Federal Funds available to serve parentally-placed private school children with disabilities

The Child Find and Consultation Meeting will be held, virtually through Zoom, on Friday, October 8, 2021 at 10:00 AM. Contact Keri Coats, Assistant Special Education Director for Benton at 501-776-5701 for the Zoom video conference 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 Service Cooperative, and the Bryant Early Childhood Education program provides free screenings 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.