The Special Education Process
Child Find
Under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and Maryland’s COMAR regulations, the Howard County Public School System (HCPSS) is legally mandated to implement Child Find. This “affirmative duty” requires the school system to proactively identify, locate, and evaluate all children from birth through age 21 who may have a disability and require special education services. This proactive safety net ensures that students are not overlooked, even if they are advancing from grade to grade or have not yet failed a course.
Child Find coverage is comprehensive and applies to all children residing within Howard County, including those who are experiencing homelessness, are wards of the state, or are migrant students. Furthermore, this responsibility extends to children enrolled by their parents in private or religious schools located within the county. By providing evaluations at no cost to families, HCPSS ensures that any child—from a toddler missing milestones to a teenager facing academic or emotional challenges—has a formal pathway to the supports they need to succeed.
Child Find in HCPSS
HCPSS provides a “single point of entry” for families seeking support. The process for identifying and evaluating your child depends on their age and where they are currently enrolled.
Children Birth to 34.5 Months (Infants and Toddlers)
The Howard County Infants and Toddlers Program provides early intervention services for our youngest residents. If you have concerns about your child’s development, they will be referred for a developmental assessment.
Plan: If eligible, your child will receive an Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP).
Location: Services are provided in your child’s natural environment, such as your home or a childcare setting.
How to Begin: The process of receiving infants and toddlers services begins with a referral. A referral may be made by anyone who suspects that a child may have special needs, a delay in development, or a disability through Maryland’s Infants and Toddlers Program.
This can be done by:
Calling the Howard County Infants and Toddlers Program at 410-313-7017
Emailing earlyinterventionservices@hcpss.org
Parents, family members, guardians, physicians, daycare or preschool providers, teachers, or staff members from community agencies may refer a child if they have concerns about a child’s development in any of these areas:
Communication/Language: understanding and communicating with others
Fine Motor: i.e.: pinching food, grasping for toys, moving toys from one hand to the other
Gross Motor: i.e.: rolling, sitting up, crawling, walking, Torticollis
Social-Emotional/Behavior: feeling, coping, and getting along with others
Sensory: Hearing
Sensory: Vision
Cognitive: Thinking and Learning
Adaptive: Doing things for themselves
A child may also be referred for risk factors including premature birth, low birth weight, and medical conditions associated with developmental delay. As part of the referral process, identifying information is obtained from the parents through an online parent referral, a developmental survey questionnaire, and “Ages and Stages Questionnaire”. Members of the Infants and Toddlers team and the parents/guardians meet to review the written referral and the questionnaires completed by the parent.
Children 34.5 Months to Kindergarten Age
The County Diagnostic Center (CDC) manages Child Find activities for preschool-aged children who reside in Howard County or attend an MSDE-approved preschool within the county.
The Team: Evaluations are conducted by an interdisciplinary team, which may include speech-language pathologists, psychologists, and therapists. Parents are essential members of this team and participate in every IEP meeting.
Private Schools: This service also covers children in private or religious schools that meet the legal definition of an “elementary school.”
How to Begin: Email the Child Find Office at childfind@hcpss.org with “34.5 months to 5” in the subject line. Briefly describe your concerns regarding your child’s development.
School-Aged Children (K–Age 21)
The process for school-aged students depends on their current enrollment:
Resident Students in Public School: Contact the Principal or the Special Education Instructional Team Leader at your child’s zoned home school. You can use the HCPSS School Locator to identify your child’s school.
Private/Religious School Students: For both residents and non-residents attending a private or religiously affiliated school located in Howard County, email the Child Find Office at childfind@hcpss.org with “School Age” in the subject line.
The Special Ed Referral Process
A special education referral can be made by an individual in the school or by the parent.
School Referral
When a school suspects that a student may have a disability impacting their educational performance, they are legally required to initiate a special education referral. This process begins with a formal IEP Team meeting, which includes the parents as essential participants. To prepare for this meeting, the school team completes the necessary referral paperwork and provides parents with specific documents to gather their insights, observations, and feedback regarding their child’s strengths and needs.
Parent Referral
A special education referral may also be initiated by a parent. If a parent of a student in grades K–12 suspects their child has a disability impacting their learning, they should submit a written request for an IEP meeting to the school’s Special Education Instructional Team Leader (ITL) and the School Administrator. Upon receiving this referral, the school will provide the parent with specific forms to document their observations and concerns. This parent input is a vital component of the evaluation process, as it ensures the team has a comprehensive understanding of the child’s needs from the family’s perspective.
Initial Referral IEP Meeting
Once a referral is initiated, the school with schedule an IEP meeting. This team is composed of the parent, a meeting facilitator (the Administrator or Designee), a special education teacher, a general education teacher, and other specialists—such as a school psychologist or speech-language pathologist—based on the specific concerns identified for the child.
To ensure parents are prepared, the school will provide an IEP Team Meeting Notice at least 10 calendar days in advance. This notice outlines the meeting’s purpose, the individuals invited to attend, and a list of documents the parent will receive. Furthermore, at least 5 business days prior to the meeting, the school will send the parent copies of any documents to be discussed that have not been previously shared, such as teacher reports, work samples, and classroom-based assessments.
During this meeting, the team reviews all available data, along with parent and student input, to decide if an educational disability is suspected. If the team determines that a disability may be present, they will propose a formal evaluation to gather comprehensive data in all areas of concern. This evaluation process cannot begin until the parent provides written consent. Following the meeting, parents can expect to receive the formal meeting minutes (prior written notice) and relevant documentation within 5 business days.
IEP Meeting to Determine Initial Eligibility
Once written consent for evaluation is provided, Maryland law (COMAR) mandates specific timelines to ensure your child receives timely support. The IEP team will meet to determine eligibility within 90 calendar days of the initial written referral or 60 calendar days of the signed consent, whichever occurs first.
To ensure you are prepared for this critical meeting:
Meeting Notice: You will receive a formal notice at least 10 calendar days in advance.
Document Review: At least 5 business days before the meeting, the school will provide you with copies of any assessments and data reports to allow you time for review.
How Eligibility is Determined
In order for a student to qualify for special education services, the IEP team will determine that the student meets the following three criteria:
1. A Disability Exists: The child must meet the criteria for one of the 14 disability categories defined by IDEA and COMAR:
Autism: A disability that does not include emotional disability, significantly affects verbal and nonverbal communication and social interaction, is generally evident before 3 years old, and adversely affects a student’s educational performance.
It may be characterized by engagement in repetitive activities and stereotyped movements, resistance to environmental change or change in daily routines, and unusual responses to sensory experiences.
Deaf-Blindness: Concomitant hearing and visual impairments, the combination of which causes such severe communication and other developmental and educational needs that the student cannot be accommodated solely as a student with deafness or a student with blindness.
Deafness: A hearing impairment which is so severe that the student is impaired in processing linguistic information through hearing, with or without amplification and adversely affects the student’s educational performance.
Developmental Delay: A student with a developmental delay means a student within the age range of 3 years old through 7 years old assessed and evaluated as having a 25 percent or greater delay in adaptive, cognitive, communicative, emotional, physical or social development; atypical development or behavior; and a diagnosed physical or mental condition.
Emotional Disability: A condition exhibiting one or more of the following characteristics over a long period of tie and to a marked degree, that adversely affects a students performance:
- An inability to learn that cannot be explained by intellectual, sensory, or health factors;
- An inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships with peers and teachers;
- Inappropriate types of behavior or feelings under normal circumstances;
- A general, pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression; or
- A tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears associated with personal or school problems.
Note that:
- Emotional disability includes schizophrenia.
- Emotional disability does not include a student who is socially maladusted, unless it is determined that the student has an emotional disability.
Hearing Impairment: An impairment in hearing, whether permanent or fluctuating, that adversely affects a student’s educational performance, but which is not included under the category of “deafness”.
Intellectual Disability: General intellectual functioning, adversely affecting a student’s educational performance, that is significantly subaverage, exists concurrently with deficits in adaptive behavior, and is manifested during the developmental period.
Multiple Disabilities: Concomitant impairments, such as intellectual disability-blindness or intellectual disability-orthopedic impairment, the combination of which causes such severe educational problems that the student cannot be accommodated in special education programs solely for one of the impairments.
Multiple disabilities does not include students with deaf-blindness.
Orthopedic Impairment: A severe orthopedic impairment that adversely affects a student’s educational performance.
Orthopedic impairment includes impairments caused by congenital anomaly, such as clubfoot or absence of some member; caused by disease such as poliomyelitis or bone tuberculosis; and from other causes such as cerebral palsy, amputations, and fractures or burns which cause contractures.
Other Health Impairment (OHI): Having limited strength, vitality, or alertness, including a heightened alertness to environmental stimuli that results in limited alertness with respect to the educational environment, that is adversely affecting a student’s educational performance, due to chronic or acute health problems such as:
- Asthma
- Attention deficit disorder or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
- Diabetes
- Epilepsy
- A heart condition
- Hemophilia
- Lead poisoning
- Leukemia
- Nephritis
- Rheumatic fever
- Sickle cell anemia
- Tourette syndrome
Specific Learning Disability (SLD): A disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written, that may manifest itself in the imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or do mathematical calculations, consistent with Department criteria.
SLD includes conditions such as perceptual disabilities, brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction, dyslexia, and developmental aphasia.
SLD does not include students who have learning problems which are primarily the result of visual, hearing, or motor impairments, intellectual disability, emotional disability, or environmental, cultural or economic disadvantage.
Speech or Language Impairment: A communication disorder such as stuttering, impaired articulation, voice impairment, or language impairment that adversely affects a student’s educational performance.
Traumatic Brain Injury: Traumatic brain injury means an acquired injury to the brain, caused by an external force, resulting in total or partial functional disability or psychosocial impairment, or both, that adversely affects a student’s educational performance.
Traumatic brain injury includes open or closed head injuries resulting in impairments in one or more areas such as:
- Cognition
- Language
- Memory
- Attention
- Reasoning
- Abstract Thinking
- Judgement
- Problem Solving
- Sensory, perceptual, and motor abilities
- Psychosocial behavior
- Physical functions
- Information processing
- Speech
Traumatic brain injury does not include brain injuries that are congenital or degenerative or induced by birth trauma.
Visual Impairment: Impairment in vision which, even with correction, adversely affects a student’s educational performance. Visual impairment includes partial sight and blindness.
2. Educational Impact: The disability must significantly impact the student’s ability to progress in the general education curriculum of their enrolled grade level.
3. Need for Specialized Instruction: The student must require “specially designed instruction” that cannot be provided through general education alone.
Next Steps
Within 5 business days of the meeting, you will receive an IEP Team Report formally documenting the eligibility determination. If the student is found eligible, the team’s next step is to develop the Individualized Education Program (IEP), which outlines the specific goals and services your child will receive.
IEP Meeting to Develop and Approve the Individualized Education Program (IEP)
Once a student is found eligible for special education, the IEP team has 30 calendar days to develop the Individualized Education Program (IEP). This document serves as a legally binding roadmap, detailing the specific supports and services the school will provide to help the student succeed.
Preparation and Notice
To allow for meaningful parent participation in this process, Maryland law (COMAR) requires schools to follow specific communication timelines:
10-Day Meeting Notice: You must receive a written IEP Team Meeting Notice at least 10 calendar days before the scheduled meeting. This notice will state the date, time, and purpose of the meeting, along with a list of all invitees.
5-Day Document Rule: At least 5 business days before the meeting, the school will provide the parent with a copy of all documents the team plans to discuss. This includes data (teacher reports, work samples) as well as relevant documents (Draft IEP, Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP), etc.) Receiving these in advance allows you time to review the data and prepare your input.
The Individualized Education Program (IEP) Document
The development process is collaborative and follows a logical sequence to ensure the plan is truly individualized:
1. Establishing the baseline: Present Levels (PLAAFP)
Before goals can be set, the team will define the student’s current performance. This section is called the Present Levels of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance (PLAAFP). It includes data from recent assessments, classroom observations, and—just as important—parental input. The PLAAFP identifies the student’s strengths and clearly states how their disability impacts their involvement in the general education curriculum.
2. Setting Measurable Annual Goals
Based on the needs identified in the PLAAFP, the team creates specific, measurable goals. These are the skills the student is expected to achieve ater within one year. Each goal includes a “baseline” (where the student is now) and a “target” (where we want them to be), along with the method the school will use to track progress.
3. Determining Accommodations, Supplementary Aids and/or Modifications
The team then decides on the “tools” the student needs to access learning.
Accommodations/Supplementary Aids: Change how a student learns or is tested (e.g., extra time on tests, preferred seating, or text-to-speech software) without changing the academic standard.
Modifications: Change what a student is expected to learn (e.g., simplified reading materials or reduced learning objectives).
4. Defining Services and Placement
Finally, the team determines what specialized services are required and where they will be delivered.
Service Hours: The team specifies how many minutes of specialized instruction or “related services” (like Speech, OT, or Psychological) the student needs.
Placement: Following the principle of Least Restrictive Environment (LRE), the team decides where the student will receive these services. IDEA and COMAR mandate that students learn in the general education classroom with their peers as much as possible, moving to more specialized settings only if the student’s needs cannot be met in the general education classroom even with support.
Annual Review- Reviewing and Revising the IEP
The IEP is a “living document” that will evolve alongside the student. To ensure the plan remains effective as the student progresses from grade to grade, the IEP team is legally required to meet at least once per year for an Annual Review. However, the team does not have to wait for the annual review date to make changes; an IEP meeting can be requested at any time by a parent or teacher if new needs or concerns arise.
Preparation for the Meeting
To support the parent’s role as an equal partner in this process, the school will provide all documents to be discussed—including a Draft IEP, teacher reports, data, etc.—at least 5 business days before the meeting.
Reviewing the Draft: The parent should keep in mind that a draft is simply a starting point for discussion. It is not final and can be modified during the meeting based on the team’s collaborative conversation.
The Right to Postpone: If the parent does not receive these documents within the 5-day window, they may request that the meeting be postponed to allow for meaningful participation.
Proactive Collaboration: Parents are encouraged to review the materials and take notes. Sharing questions or requests with the child’s Case Manager before the meeting allows the team to be fully prepared to address those insights.
The Parent as an Equal Partner
The parent is a valuable and essential member of the IEP team. Because they are able to provide input about what they believe to be the student’s strengths, interests, and challenges their perspective is vital. During the meeting, the parent is encouraged to:
Share strategies that work for the child at home or in the community.
Offer suggestions for revisions or clarifications to the goals and accommodations.
Clearly state any disagreements so the team can work toward a resolution.
Re-Evaluation
At least every three years, the IEP team will conduct a reevaluation to determine if the student continues to be eligible for special education services and to ensure the team has the most current data regarding the student’s strengths and needs. While this comprehensive review occurs triennially, a parent or school staff member may request an evaluation sooner if new concerns arise or additional information is required.
Determining the Need for Assessment
The reevaluation process begins with the IEP team reviewing existing data to decide what, if any, new data, including testing, is necessary.
No New Data Needed: The team may determine that current classroom data and progress reports provide sufficient evidence of the student’s continued eligibility and performance levels.
Additional Data Needed: If the team decides that more information is required, they will propose what additional data is required. This may include specific formal assessments.
Timelines and Dismissal
If new data is collected, the IEP team will meet within 90 calendar days of the IEP meeting where the team recommended the evaluation to review the results AND revise the IEP as needed.
A student must be reevaluated before they can be dismissed from special education services. If the IEP team proposes dismissal based on existing data, the parent may request formal assessments to be completed before a final decision is made.
Interim IEP Reviews and Revisions
The IEP is a fluid document designed to adapt as a student’s needs change. While the Annual Review is a fixed yearly requirement, the parent or the school staff may request an Interim IEP Meeting at any time to discuss new concerns, review updated data, or propose changes to the student’s goals and services.
Updating the Plan
There are specific protocols for how an IEP can be updated between annual meetings:
IEP Team Meetings: Most substantive changes are made during a formal meeting where the full team can collaborate on the revisions.
Amendments Without a Meeting: In some cases, the parent and the school may agree to modify the IEP without holding a formal meeting. This is typically reserved for minor adjustments or specific updates where both parties are in full agreement. This will be documented in writing and agreed to by both the parent and a school representative.
Clerical Updates: Minor administrative corrections (such as updating contact information) may be completed by the school without a formal meeting or written agreement.
Documentation
Regardless of how the revision occurs, the parent will receive a finalized copy of the updated IEP within 5 business days of the meeting or the signed written agreement. This ensures the parent always has the most current version of the student’s IEP.