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Child Find

Child Find is an ongoing process of locating, evaluating, and identifying children ages birth to 21, and providing services to meet the unique and individual needs of those students.

“Child Find” is a requirement of both federal and state law. It mandates that each school district will locate, identify and evaluate, at no cost to the family, all students, from birth to 21, who are suspected of having a disability. The Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) lists and defines thirteen disabilities. They are autism, deaf-blindness, auditory impairment, emotional disturbance, mental retardation, multiple disabilities, orthopedic impairment, other health impairment, learning disability, speech impairment, traumatic brain injury, visual impairment, and non-categorical early childhood.

If you suspect an infant, child or young adult of having a developmental delay or disability, your school can open a window of hope for a brighter future. Services at no cost to the family are available to all eligible individuals from 3 through 21 years of age (starting at birth for auditory and/or visual impairments), regardless of the severity of their disability.

Children ages 0-3, who reside within the boundaries of the Burleson ISD, are referred to Early Childhood Intervention of Tarrant & Johnson County at 817-446-8000.  

Children ages 3-21, who reside within the boundaries of the Burleson ISD, are referred to the Special Education Department of BISD at 817-245-1226.

The Burleson ISD Special Education Department is now offering regularly scheduled pre-school screenings. These developmental screenings are for children ages 3-5 who are not currently enrolled in school. The following developmental areas are addressed for each child: motor, concepts, language, self-help, social development, vision, and hearing. If you have concerns about your preschooler's development, please contact: Amanda Dissinger, Special Education Compliance/Dyslexia/ Evaluation Coordinator, at (817)245-1226.

 Areas of Special Education Eligibility: 

  • Autism (AU)

  • Deaf-Blindness (DB)

  • Deaf or Hard of Hearing (DHH)

  • Developmental Delay (DD)

  • Emotional Disability (ED)

  • Intellectual Disability (ID)

  • Multiple Disabilities (MD)

  • Orthopedic Impairment (OI)

  • Other Health Impairment (OHI)

  • Specific Learning Disability (SLD)

  • Speech or Language Impairment (SI)

  • Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

  • Visual Impairment (VI)

Steps for Enrolled Students

Please contact your campus administrator to make a referral.

Steps for Non-Enrolled Students

Any family who resides in or attends a non-profit private school within Burleson ISD’s boundaries that is referring their child for a special education evaluation must complete the following steps:

Step 1: Complete the Child Find Form

Complete the Frisco ISD Child Find form. Choose the form appropriate for your student’s age, as of September 1st of the current school year.

Step 2: Evaluation

The campus evaluation team will reach out to you to schedule a meeting. The evaluation team will also schedule walk-in appointments to complete any necessary testing. Please be prepared to bring your student to a Burleson ISD facility for testing.

Step 3: Admission, Review and Dismissal Meeting

Once the evaluation has been completed, an ARD clerk will reach out to you to schedule an Admission, Review and Dismissal meeting.

Step 2: Enroll your Student

To enroll a student, make sure you have all the required documents. Documents will need to be scanned (using the scan feature on your phone or computer) and uploaded using our online enrollment system.

To enroll your student, you will need the following documents:

  1. Parent/Legal Guardian’s Government Issued Photo Identification

  2. PROOF OF RESIDENCY 

  3. If you are not a resident of BISD, please fill out a Transfer Request

    1. Under Reason For Request, please enter “access to special education program”

  4. Student’s Certified Birth Certificate (ORDER A CERTIFIED BIRTH CERTIFICATE AT TEXAS.GOV [ESPAÑOL])

  5. Student’s Immunization Record (must show child's name)

  6. Student’s Social Security Card

Child Find Contacts

Any parent/guardian who needs assistance with completing the above process can contact Amanda Dissinger, Special Education Compliance/Dyslexia/ Evaluation Coordinator, at (817)245-1226. Burleson ISD is ready, willing and able to support families and/or answer questions about the registration process.

AParentsGuidetoEarlyChildhoodInterventionandEarlyChildhoodSpecialEducation.pdf
AParentsGuidetoEarlyChildhoodInterventionandEarlyChildhoodSpecialEducation (PDF)