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What is Child Find?
Child Find is a legal requirement for all school districts. Lancaster City School's must identify, locate, and evaluate all children (ages birth through 21) that we suspect may have a disability and who may be in need of special education and related services.
This includes children who:
Live within the Lancaster City School District
Attend private schools or are homeschooled
Are homeless, in foster care, or wards of the state
What is the purpose of Child Find?
To alert parents and the public to children who may have disabilities
To help Lancaster City Schools find children who may have disabilities and who otherwise may not have come to their attention
To enable eligible children to receive the special education and related services that are needed
To promote public awareness of disabilities
What is a Disability?
A disability is a physical, mental, or developmental condition that may affect a child’s ability to learn and grow.
Disabilities can look different at different ages:
Ages birth to 3: A delay in development that might need early intervention.
Ages 3–5: A delay in areas like:
Physical development
Thinking and learning
Speech and communication
Social or emotional skills
Everyday self-help skills
Ages 5–21: A diagnosed condition like:
Autism
Deaf-blindness
Hearing impairment / deafness
Cognitive disability
Multiple disabilities
Orthopedic impairment
Other health impairment
Emotional or behavioral challenges
Specific learning disability
Speech or language impairment
Traumatic brain injury
Visual impairment
How can you help?
Parents, relatives, public and private agency employees, childcare providers, physicians and concerned citizens are encouraged to help our school district find any child, ages birth to 21, who may have a disability and are in need of special education and related services. If you suspect a child may have a disability, help is available. Please contact the Special Education Department at 740-687-7360 or your building principal.
What Happens Next?
A member of our team will contact the family. We will get permission from the parent(s) to initiate a referral for a screening or possible evaluation. In order to receive early intervention or special education services, a child must be evaluated to confirm that they have a delay or disability that falls under federal and state definitions.
More information on Child Find is available on the Ohio Department of Education & Workforce Website.
Contact Us
Special Education Department
Brenda Zeiders - Director
740-687-7360
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