Kannapolis City Schools’ employees and staff are responsible for ensuring that the district identify, locate, and evaluate all children suspected of having a disability who are in need of special education and related services. This includes all children ages 3 to 21 who:
Attend public or private school;
Are home schooled;
Are homeless or wards of the state; and/or
Advancing from grade to grade and highly mobile (migrant) children
Child Find activities include screening and general education intervention.
Preschool Children (Ages 3-5)
A screening, which may lead to a comprehensive assessment for children age 3 through 5, may be provided through the district’s Exceptional Children Preschool Services Team. Parents may contact EC Preschool Coordinator Wynter Sexton at McKnight Preschool-932-7433, for assistance regarding preschool screening and Child Find activities for children ages 3 - 5.
School-Age Children (Ages 5-21)
General education interventions for children in grades K – 12 are provided at each school by its Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) team. The MTSS team works on behalf of children who are experiencing academic, behavioral/emotional, and/or functional difficulties. The MTSS team works with the child’s parent(s) and teachers to develop and implement evidence and research-based intervention(s) for students. While working with the student, the team collects progress monitoring data to assist in decision making. The child’s parent(s) receive written notification when MTSs study of their child occurs. Parents may contact their child’s teacher and/or school administrators regarding MTSS case study and / or the Child Find process.
Parent Referrals
If a parent verbally requests an evaluation (also known as a parent referral to special education); staff should advise the parent to make the request in writing and send to the principal/teacher/EC teacher If the parent is unable to make the request in writing, Kannapolis City Schools is obligated to assist the parent in getting this task completed. Upon receipt of the parent request, the principal /LEA shall provide the request to EC personnel to schedule the IEP Team meeting to discuss the parent request. This begins the regulatory/procedural timeline associated with initial referrals/evaluations. An invitation will be sent to the parent requesting a meeting to discuss her concerns in a timely manner.