Special Education & Child Find
What is Child Find?
Bellville Independent School District (BISD) serves over 300 students through the Special Education program. Child Find is a component of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) that requires States and Local Education Agencies (public and charter schools) to identify, locate, and evaluate all children who are suspected of having a disability and in need of special education and related services.
The BISD Special Education Department has a Child Find process for identifying, locating and evaluating all children/youth ages 3-21. This includes students who attend BISD, who reside in BISD and are homeschooled, or who attend a private school within BISD boundaries.
In order to qualify for special education and related services, a child must have a disability as defined through federal and state guidelines in one of the 13 federal disability categories, AND demonstrate an educational need for specialized services.
Disability categories include the following:
- Speech/Language
Impairment
- Specific
Learning Disability
- Orthopedic
Impairment
- Other Health
Impairment
- Intellectual
Disability
- Emotional
Disturbance
- Autism
- Multiple
Disabilities
- Traumatic Brain
Injury
- Visual
Impairment
- Auditory
Impairment
- Deaf/Blindness
- Non Categorical
Early Childhood
All special education and related services are
provided at no cost to students or families. Children with visual and/or auditory impairments can start receiving services from birth.