Review written procedures every year with appropriate school-based personnel to ensure that school teams have awareness of services that are available to families and how to obtain them. This training offers an overview of Federal and State child find requirements as well as practical suggestions to coordinate child find activities in school districts and charter schools.

• Training for School Based Personnel

• Public communications campaign suggestions-e.g., posters, pamphlets, displays, billboards, toll free-numbers, web sites, videos, TV, radio, newspaper releases, and advertisements
• Preparation of printed materials
  • Sample infographic from Head Start
  • Early Childhood - Giraffe / Primera infancia - jirafa
  • AZ Find Brochure / AZ Buscar Folleto
  • Memo for health care providers, day care centers, and community organizations

• Screening Guidance
• Sample Screening Form
• Sample Referral Tracking Form
• Referral for Early Intervention Birth to 2 Years, 10 1/2 Months

U.S. Dept of Education, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) published the Preschool Dear Colleague Letter in 2017 to describe the least restrictive environment, placement options, data reporting, and funding requirements.

The Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center (ECTA) provides a quick overview of federal guidance regarding inclusion of children with disabilities in this one page flyer, Inclusion of Children with Disabilities in Early Childhood Programs (2019)

IDEA Regulations for Least Restrictive Environment

Arizona has had increases in the number of children who are receiving their special education services in regular early childhood programs. Some of the most recent data is described within this Chart and table of preschool environments 2016-2021. Schools have increasingly made inclusive learning a focus of their efforts over the past 6 years. More children are now included in regular early childhood classrooms, defined as a classroom in which the majority of children are non-disabled. As school districts focused on expanding funding strategies, delivery of specially designed instruction, parent engagement, and administrative leadership, more children have moved into inclusive settings.

A Local District Preschool Inclusion Self-Assessment is one tool that can help schools to identify strengths and needs regarding approaches to including children with disabilities in their preschool programs. 

IEP teams can use these guiding questions during the IEP meeting to help with identifying supports, services and appropriate environments that will be beneficial for the child: Team Decisions for Preschool Special Education Services: Guiding Questions (2014) 

To improve the tools and resources offered by states to schools and by administrators to educators, elements such as research, discussion questions, and references to regulations can help prompt discussions: Determining Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) Placements for Preschool Children with Disabilities: Reference Points and Discussion Prompts (2014)

ECTA’s 2018 update of the Preschool Inclusion Finance Toolkit 2018 contains more details and examples of funding requirements and strategies that promote early childhood inclusion.

ECTA's Early Childhood Programs Comparison Worksheet helps programs identify critical elements of programs offered across the state that can be included in Memorandums of Understanding. 

One approach to supporting inclusive programs and classrooms is to determine the costs of major operational components. The following tables provide a list of factors to consider as programs calculate the major costs of an individual classroom. The table may be modified to add indirect or other costs.

Braiding Funds: How Districts Can Create Inclusive Placement Opportunities for Young Children with Disabilities: This quick excerpt from the toolkit provides examples of the various ways in which districts and partners can braid funds to create inclusive placement options for young children.

Several professional organizations define the elements of high-quality preschool programs, and the State Education Agency offers services and supports to implement these practices. The National Association for Education of the Young Child references topics such as “Creating a Community of Learners”, and “Teaching to Support Children’s Development”.

The Division of Early Childhood, a professional organization for early childhood special education, describes recommended practices such as a focus on transitions, children’s interactions, and teaming and collaboration.

The Arizona Department of Education’s Early Childhood Unit published the 3rd edition of the Program Guidelines for High Quality Early Care and Education: Birth through Kindergarten, its recommended practices.

Each of these organizations provides information and support to ensure that all children have access to quality learning environments, an integral component for ensuring that children develop to their fullest capacity.

Grisham-Brown J, Pretti-Frontczak K, Hawkins SR, Winchell BN. Addressing Early Learning Standards for All Children Within Blended Preschool Classrooms. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education. 2009;29(3):131-142.

Green KB, Terry NP, Gallagher PA. Progress in Language and Literacy Skills Among Children With Disabilities in Inclusive Early Reading First Classrooms. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education. 2014;33(4):249-259.

Odom SL, Buysse V, Soukakou E. Inclusion for Young Children with Disabilities: A Quarter Century of Research Perspectives. Journal of Early Intervention. 2011;33(4):344-356.

Odom, S. L. Viztum, J., Wolery, R. A., Lieber, J., Sandall, S. R., Hanson, M., Beckman, P. J., Schwartz, I., & Horn, E. (2004). Preschool inclusion in the United States: A review of research from an ecological systems perspective. Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs, 4, 17-49. 

Strain, P.S. (2017). Four-Year Follow-Up of Children in the LEAP Randomized Trial: Some Planned and Accidental Findings. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education.

• Preschool children with disabilities served under the categories of Hearing Impairment, Visual Impairment, Developmental Delay, Preschool Severe Delay or Speech Language Impairment enter preschool at three years old (or as early as two years 9 months if it is in the best interest of the child) and exit when the child is five years old, or earlier if the child no longer needs special education. School Finance describes age requirements and validation for funding: the minimum age to begin Kindergarten is a child who is five years old before September 1st or five years old by January 1st with board approval. 
• While it is a parent's decision whether to accept or decline the offer of a free appropriate public education, the IEP team annually develops and recommends an individualized educational plan for the child. The plan must include how children with disabilities will have meaningful access to the State's academic content starndards for the grade in which the child is or will be enrolled. IEP goals must be aligned with grade-level content starndards for all children with disabilities. OSEP DEAR COLLEAGUE LETTER on Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) (November 16, 2015)
• IEP teams do not have authority to retain children with disabilties, please refer to school district board approved policies regarding retention of children in preschool.

Preparation of resources and engaging in activities to transition to Kindergarten benefits families if the activities occur throughout the year. Rich resources are available with examples of preparation actvities from Head Start and the Early Childhood Education unit.

• Head Start transition to Kindergarten 
• Administrator and teacher video describing transition practices
• Paving the Way to Kindergarten for Young Children with Disabilities
• Arizona's School Readiness Framework

• Parent Involvement Video Transition to Kindergarten
• Parent Information Network Transition to Kindergarten

A Guide to Itinerant Early Childhood Special Education Services

SY 2020

• Recorded Training Session 1 - Itinerant Model September 2020

• Recorded Training Session 2 - Itinerant Model October 2020

• Recorded Training Session 3 - Itinerant Model November 2020

• Itinerant Model Presented at the National Early Childhood Inclusion Institute (2017)
• Project Direct Consultation Resources
• Responsibilities of Itinerant ECSE Professionals
• Coaching and Teamwork
• IECSE Teacher FAQ's
• PIECES: Performance Indicators for Itinerant Ealry Childhood Education Sepcialists--Program Practices Assessment
• Practice Profile on Itinerant Model- a document that helps pracitioners make the model "teachable, doable, learnable, assessible".

Page revised 8/2/21