WEBSTER PARISH

Child Search

Webster Parish Schools assures that all children, ages 3 through 21, residing within the jurisdiction of the school system that have a disability and are in need of special education, related, and/or support services are identified, located, and evaluated. Annual and ongoing activities are conducted to identify and locate children (ages 3 through 21) suspected of being exceptional and needing special education and/or related services.

Child Search offers educational screening and evaluation services for preschool students who may have a disability who are not enrolled in a Webster Parish school. Please contact Kari Allen, Pupil Appraisal Coordinator and Child Search Coordinator, at (318) 377-7052 for more information.

Parents of preschool and school age children enrolled in a Webster Parish school may request a School Building Level Committee (SBLC) meeting at your child's school site to discuss your concerns.

Pupil Appraisal

Each school within Webster Parish has a team of Pupil Appraisal personnel who is assigned to the school. Pupil Appraisal Services include prevention and intervention activities and, if needed, the referral of children suspected of needing special edcuation services. According to a child’s referral needs, a comprehensive evaluation is conducted by a multidisciplinary team of qualified examiners. These qualified examiners are certified by the Louisiana State Department of Education and include, but are not limited to educational diagnosticians, school psychologists, school social workers, speech pathologists, occupational therapists, physical therapists, and/or adapted physcial edcuation teachers.

Prior to a formal evaluation, a number of pre-referral activities must occur. A meeting with the School Bulding Level Committee (SBLC) is arranged when concerns are expressed by the classroom teacher or the parent. At the meeting, information such as cumulative records, attendance, educational interventions, health screenings, and other pertinent data are reviewed. The SBLC’s options include, but are not limited to the following:

• Conduct no further action
• Interventions through the Response to Intervention (RTI) process
• Individual evaluation
• Refer the student for possible 504 evaluation

An evaluation to determine eligibility for special education services is conducted by a comprehensive multidisciplinary team. The process of review and interpretation of interventions, assessments, interviews, observations, relevant functional, social, and developmental information, and eligibilty determination must by completed within 60 business days from the date the parent gives informed written consent for the evaluation.

For additional information please contact the Pupil Appraisal Department at (318) 377-7052.