Child Find And Free Appropriate Public Education

(1) Child Find. (a) Every LEA shall develop and implement child find activities to identify, locate, and evaluate all children with disabilities, or who are suspected of having a disability, within its jurisdictional boundaries, ages three (3) through twenty-one (21), both inclusive, who need special education and related services, even though they are advancing from grade to grade. This includes but is not limited to: 1. Children who are enrolled by their Parents in a non-public school located within the jurisdictional boundaries of the LEA; 2. Children who are wards of the state; and 3. Children who are highly mobile (including children who are migrant and children who are homeless). (b) Each LEA shall develop and implement procedures for creating public awareness of special education programs and services. A notice shall be published or announced in newspapers, other media (including the LEA’s website), or both, with circulation adequate to notify Parents of the activities conducted by the LEA. SPECIAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS AND SERVICES CHAPTER 0520-01-09 (c) Any child suspected of having a disability may be referred to the LEA. The LEA shall establish written procedures for accepting, processing and documenting receipt of each referral. The procedures shall be subject to review by the Department of Education. (d) As a component of child find activities, general education programs within each LEA shall provide and document interventions implemented in the general education program. (e) A Parent may request that the LEA conduct a full and individualized evaluation of the Parent’s child to determine if the child has a disability and is eligible for special education and related services. (f) Eligibility determinations shall be completed within sixty (60) calendar days of receipt of parental consent for an initial evaluation. (2) Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE). (a) FAPE shall be made available to all children with disabilities, including those children who reach twenty-two (22) years of age during the school year and children who have been suspended or expelled from school for more than ten (10) school days in a school year. (b) To meet the obligations of FAPE, each LEA or Charter School shall provide services that address all of a child’s identified special education and related service needs, based on the child’s unique needs and not on the child’s disability. (c) Charter Schools shall ensure students with disabilities receive education services required by their IEP. LEAs shall be responsible for ensuring that children with disabilities attending a charter school authorized by the LEA are provided FAPE. (d) The Tennessee academic standards adopted by the State Board of Education shall serve as the basis for developing special education programs. Each LEA and Charter School shall provide a variety of services, interventions, and programs to meet the educational needs of all students, including the needs of children with disabilities. (e) LEAs and Charter Schools shall provide children with disabilities with special transportation as required by the student’s IEP. 1. Children with disabilities shall, whenever appropriate, be provided transportation along with children who do not have disabilities. Adaptations shall be made to meet the needs of children with disabilities rather than separate transportation whenever appropriate. 2. Travel time for children with disabilities shall not exceed the travel time for other children, provided that exceptions may be made by the IEP team. 3. Vehicles used to provide special transportation shall meet the requirements established by the State Board’s Pupil Transportation Rule 0520-01-05. 4. Operators and attendants of vehicles who provide special transportation shall be given special training regarding the needs and special requirements of children with disabilities, except when Parents are transporting children with disabilities. Special attendants shall be provided when an IEP team determines that such services are necessary. SPECIAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS AND SERVICES CHAPTER 0520-01-09 5. LEAs may contract for special transportation provided that the operators, attendants, and vehicles used by a contractor meet the requirements established by the State Board of Education, except when Parents are transporting children with disabilities. (f) Children with disabilities who are convicted as adults under state law and incarcerated in adult prisons shall be entitled to their rights under IDEA with the following exceptions: 1. The following requirements do not apply: (i) Participation of children with disabilities in general statewide assessments; and (ii) Transition planning and transition services with respect to the students whose eligibility under IDEA Part B will end, because of their age, before they will be eligible to be released from prison based on consideration of their sentence and eligibility for early release. 2. The IEP team may modify the child’s IEP or placement if the state has demonstrated a bona fide security or compelling penological interest that cannot otherwise be accommodated. The requirements of 34 C.F.R. § 300.320 relating to the definition of an IEP and the general requirements of 34 C.F.R. § 300.114 relating to least restrictive environment do not apply with respect to these modifications.