South Dakota Birth to Three Transition: Moving from Early Intervention to Preschool Special Education

If your child has been receiving Birth to Three services and is approaching their third birthday, the clock is ticking on one of the most disorganized transitions in the special education system. The services your child currently receives under IDEA Part C will stop. Whether equivalent services continue under Part B depends on a process that starts at least six months before that birthday — and most families aren't told this clearly until it's already late.

How the Two Systems Work Differently

South Dakota's Birth to Three program (also called early intervention) operates under IDEA Part C. Services are delivered in "natural environments" — typically your home or a childcare setting — and are guided by an Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP), not an IEP. The state lead agency for Part C in South Dakota is the Department of Education's Office of Early Childhood Services.

Once your child turns three, they fall under IDEA Part B, which is administered by the SD DOE Office of Special Education Programs and delivered through your local school district or, in many rural areas, a regional Special Education Cooperative. Instead of an IFSP, a child who qualifies for Part B services receives an IEP. The program is called Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE).

These are two entirely separate federal programs with different eligibility criteria, different service delivery models, different funding streams, and different procedures.

What the Transition Timeline Looks Like

The formal transition process is supposed to begin at your child's 30-month IFSP review — that's roughly when your child is two and a half. If your Birth to Three provider has not initiated transition planning by that point, contact them and ask specifically about the transition timeline.

At least 90 days before your child's third birthday, the following must happen:

• Your Birth to Three service coordinator must convene a transition conference with you and a representative from your local school district (the LEA) to discuss the steps and services needed for a smooth transition
• The Birth to Three program must provide written notification to your school district of the upcoming transition, with your consent
• Your service coordinator must document transition steps in the IFSP

Before your child's third birthday, the school district must:

• Complete a full and individual evaluation to determine whether your child qualifies for Part B services
• Hold an eligibility determination meeting
• If eligible, develop an IEP that is ready to be implemented on your child's third birthday

That last point is worth repeating: the IEP must be ready to implement on the birthday, not shortly after, not within a few weeks. If the school district has not completed the evaluation and developed an IEP by the time your child turns three, the transition has failed and your child is experiencing a gap in services that may constitute a FAPE violation.

Eligibility: Part C vs. Part B Criteria Differ

This is where many families get a difficult surprise. Qualifying for Birth to Three services does not automatically mean your child will qualify for preschool special education.

Under Part C, eligibility in South Dakota is based on a developmental delay in one or more areas (cognitive, physical, communication, social-emotional, or adaptive behavior) or a diagnosed condition that has a high probability of resulting in a developmental delay.

Under Part B, a three-year-old must meet one of South Dakota's 13 recognized disability categories under ARSD 24:05:24.01 and the IEP team must determine that the child requires specialized instruction to make progress. A child can have a documented developmental delay and still be found ineligible for Part B if the team concludes the delay does not require specially designed instruction.

The developmental delay category does remain available under Part B through age eight in South Dakota, which provides some flexibility — but it still requires an evaluation and an IEP team determination.

If your child is found ineligible for Part B, you have the right to disagree with that determination, request an Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE) at public expense, and pursue dispute resolution.

What the ECSE Program Looks Like

For children who do qualify, Early Childhood Special Education in South Dakota is typically delivered in a school-based setting — a preschool classroom, often at an elementary school — for part of the school day. Unlike Birth to Three, which comes to your home, you will generally be transporting your child to the program.

Services can include speech-language therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and structured developmental programming. The specific services are determined by the IEP team based on your child's evaluation results and present levels of performance.

In rural districts, ECSE programs are frequently delivered through Special Education Cooperatives. The North Central Special Education Cooperative, Northeast Educational Services Cooperative, and others run regional preschool programs serving multiple member districts. If you're in a frontier area, this may mean traveling to a central location.

What You Should Do Right Now

If your child is currently in Birth to Three services and approaching age three:

1. Ask your service coordinator today when the transition conference is scheduled. If your child is within six months of their birthday and no transition conference has occurred, request one in writing immediately.

2. Request the school district's evaluation in writing — don't rely on the service coordinator to make this happen automatically. Send a letter dated and directed to the special education director of your local school district requesting a full individual evaluation for preschool special education eligibility.

3. Attend the transition conference prepared. Bring your child's current IFSP, progress reports from Birth to Three providers, any medical or diagnostic records, and a list of the services your child currently receives. The school district needs this information to conduct a comprehensive evaluation.

4. Ask about the University of South Dakota Center for Disabilities. The USD LEND Developmental Clinic (1400 W. 22nd St, Sioux Falls, phone: 800-658-3080) provides free interdisciplinary evaluations for children aged six months to six years with developmental concerns. If you need an independent evaluation to support your case for Part B eligibility, this is a free resource.

5. Know that "not eligible" is not the final word. If your child is found ineligible for Part B, request the decision in writing as a Prior Written Notice, ask for the specific assessment data the team relied on, and contact South Dakota Parent Connection or Disability Rights South Dakota to discuss your options.

The South Dakota IEP & 504 Blueprint includes guidance on navigating early childhood eligibility disputes and the evaluation process — including how to use ARSD 24:05 to challenge an eligibility determination you disagree with.

A Note on the USD Center for Disabilities

For families in Sioux Falls and the surrounding region, the USD Center for Disabilities at the Sanford School of Medicine is one of the most underutilized resources in the state. Their LEND clinic provides team-based developmental evaluations — speech, occupational therapy, psychology, and medical — for free. This is especially valuable during the Part C to Part B transition when you need comprehensive evaluation data to support an IEP eligibility case. Call (800) 658-3080 or visit usd.edu to learn more.

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