Alabama Child Find: What Schools Are Legally Required to Do

Your child is struggling — failing tests, melting down, refusing schoolwork, or falling further behind every semester. The school keeps saying it's a behavioral problem, a motivation issue, or that they need more time to see how interventions go. What many parents don't realize is that while this delay is happening, the school may be violating a federal and state obligation called Child Find.

Under Alabama Administrative Code 290-8-9-.01, every public school district has a continuous, affirmative duty to locate, identify, and evaluate children who are suspected of having a disability — from birth through age 21. This isn't optional. It doesn't require you to have a diagnosis first. And it can't be indefinitely postponed by an MTSS process.

What Child Find Requires

The Child Find obligation is active and ongoing. It covers:

• Students already enrolled in public school
• Students in private schools and religious schools within the district's geographic boundaries
• Students being homeschooled
• Children not yet school-age who may have developmental delays

The obligation kicks in when there is reason to suspect a disability is adversely affecting the child's education or development. That threshold is low by design. A school doesn't need certainty — suspicion is enough to trigger the obligation to act.

Critically, Alabama's Child Find requirement applies even if your child is passing academically. A student with a significant emotional disability, a processing disorder, or a physical health impairment that limits stamina may pass most classes while still qualifying for special education. Grades alone are not a valid reason to deny an evaluation referral.

How Alabama's MTSS Framework Intersects — and Where It Goes Wrong

Alabama implements a Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) framework called "Alabama Ascending." Schools use Problem-Solving Teams (PSTs) to deliver evidence-based interventions in general education before — or alongside — special education referrals. This can be a useful early support structure.

The problem arises when MTSS is used as a gatekeeper rather than a support system. Under AAC 290-8-9-.01, MTSS data can inform an evaluation, but the process cannot be used to arbitrarily delay or deny a formal referral when a disability is suspected. Once an IEP team receives a referral, it must promptly review existing data to determine whether a formal evaluation is warranted.

If you've been in MTSS tiers for six months or more — or if you've made repeated verbal concerns that haven't prompted action — submit a formal written evaluation request. A written request starts the clock on Alabama's 60-calendar-day evaluation timeline. MTSS cannot pause that clock.

How to Trigger Child Find: Make Your Request in Writing

The most effective step you can take is to put your evaluation request in writing. Address it to both the school principal and the special education coordinator. Your letter should:

• State explicitly that you are requesting a comprehensive initial evaluation for special education services under IDEA and Alabama Administrative Code 290-8-9
• List the specific areas of concern: academic performance, behavior, social skills, functional abilities, physical health — whatever applies
• Reference any existing documentation: medical diagnoses, private evaluations, therapist notes, or prior school records
• Ask the school to confirm receipt in writing and provide you with a copy of the Procedural Safeguards notice

From the date the school receives your written consent for evaluation, Alabama law allows 60 calendar days to complete the evaluation — not school days. The clock runs through school breaks and summer vacation. After evaluation, the eligibility committee has 30 additional calendar days to convene and determine eligibility.

When the School Refuses to Evaluate

If the district decides not to evaluate after receiving your written request, it must provide Prior Written Notice (PWN) — a formal written document explaining why it refused, what evidence it reviewed, and what alternatives were considered. A refusal without a PWN is itself a procedural violation.

You have several options if evaluation is refused:

Request the PWN in writing if you haven't received it. Schools sometimes refuse evaluation verbally or through vague emails without issuing the required formal notice.

File a state complaint with ALSDE. A state complaint is the right tool when a district fails to meet a clear procedural obligation — like refusing to evaluate despite documented academic or functional struggles. The ALSDE has 60 calendar days to investigate and issue a decision. Mail your complaint to: State Superintendent of Education, Attention: Special Education Services, P.O. Box 302101, Montgomery, AL 36130-2101.

Request mediation. The ALSDE provides free mediation through a roster of qualified mediators. Mediation is voluntary and confidential, and any agreement reached is legally binding.

Contact ADAP. The Alabama Disabilities Advocacy Program, run through the University of Alabama School of Law, is the state's federally mandated Protection and Advocacy agency. While they triage cases and can't accept every referral immediately, they can provide guidance on Child Find violations.

Private School and Homeschool Nuance

If your child attends a private school or is homeschooled, your Child Find rights are more limited but still exist. The district must locate and evaluate eligible children in private settings. However, if your child is found eligible, they would receive a "services plan" rather than a full IEP — and IDEA's full protections, including the right to FAPE, generally don't apply to parentally placed private school students. Before acting on this, understand the difference between your rights within the public system versus outside it.

This is one of the key tensions the Alabama IEP & 504 Advocacy Playbook addresses directly — including the evaluation request templates, timelines, and state complaint guide that give you a concrete next step when the school stalls.

The Bottom Line on Child Find

If you suspect your child has a disability that is affecting their education, the school's obligation to act is not contingent on your ability to prove it — or on how long MTSS has been running. Write the request. Start the clock. The 60-day evaluation timeline is one of the strongest procedural tools parents have, and it only activates when you put your request in writing.

Don't wait for the school to identify the problem. That's the whole point of Child Find — but it works a lot better when you know how to invoke it.

See more United States guides →