ChildFind

If your child is a preschooler and you have concerns about your child’s development, Rapid City Area Schools offers a developmental screening. This screening is for preschool children ages 3-4. If your child turns 5 after September 1, he/she is considered to be a preschooler.  If your child turns 5 on or before September 1, he/she is Kindergarten eligible, by state law, and is not considered to be a preschooler. This screening will provide information to parents in several school-related development areas. Parents are encouraged to take advantage of this FREE service. Vision, hearing and motor coordination screening is provided, as well as information on how well your child is doing with language, learning and behavior skills. ChildFind screenings are held monthly during the academic year, and takes about an hour. Screenings by appointment only. Call the Office of the Special Services Manager 605-394-1813, for more details.

For kindergarten screening, please bring your child, your child’s certified birth certificate, immunization records, social security card, and proof of your residence to your home attendance area.  After scanning, these documents will be returned to you.  If you have not done so, please complete the online registration. If you do not have a computer, ask for assistance on the day of the screening. Parent(s)/Guardian(s) need to attend with their student(s).  Dates and times TBD for each school year. Please contact the elementary school closest to you for Kindergarten screening information for the 2024-2025 school year. Welcome to Kindergarten

If your child is in school or of school age, and you believe a disability may impair his or her educational performance, you will be provided further information so you can decide whether to formally refer your child for a special education evaluation. It doesn’t matter if your child attends a public school or a private school as long as it is in the Rapid City Area Schools attendance area.  Call your home school for more information .

Annual Parent Notification

Rapid City Area Schools is required by law to annually notify parents of students with disabilities currently in attendance of their rights under IDEA, ARSD and FERPA guidelines. This notification is done at the annual IEP meeting. The parent or eligible student has a right to 1) inspect and review the student’s educational records, 2) request the amendment of student’s education records to ensure that they are not inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise in violation of the students privacy or other rights, 3) consent to disclosure of personally identifiable information contained in the student’s education records, except to the extent that the Act and ARSD regulations authorize disclosure without content, 4)  file with the U.S. Department of Education a complaint and 5) obtain a copy of the district policy. The public may inspect documents relating to the policy, funding application, the comprehensive plan, evaluations or reports derived under funds application, the comprehensive plan, evaluations or reports derived under funds acquired from IDEA, Part B. These documents are available at the Jefferson Building, Office of Special Services, 21 St. Joseph Street, between the hours of 7:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. during the regularly scheduled school day.