Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA 2004) requires that school districts locate, identify and evaluate at public expense students who are parentally placed at private schools and who are suspected of having disabilities and needing special education or related services. This is part of the school districts responsibility, known as Child Find.

School districts must make available a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) via an Individual Educational Plan (IEP) to those parentally-placed students who are evaluated at public expense and determined to have disabilities, if the student enrolls in and attends public school. The requirement to make available a free appropriate public education does not extend to private school settings when children with disabilities are parentally-placed in those settings.

There is no individual entitlement of parentally-placed private school students to receive special education services. However, some students may receive services under a Service Plan. Please note that these services are only available to parentally-placed students with disabilities (ESE) who attend nonprofit private schools within Santa Rosa County.