Last modified: June 28, 2023

Special Education Services Referral Information

Referral

If you live in Provo and have concerns about your child’s development, you may refer your child to Provo City School District for free evaluation for Special Education services.

For early childhood services (ages 3-5), evaluation is done through Sunrise Preschool located at 87 N. 700 E. Provo, UT 84606. If your child is younger than 2 years & 9 months, contact the Provo Early Intervention Program (PEIP) at (801) 852-4525. If your child is Kindergarten age or older, contact your neighborhood school.

1. To initiate the referral process, parent(s) or legal guardian(s) will need to fill out the Provo City School District Child and Family Background Information form available on the school website or at the preschool.
   • English Referral Form (Ages 2-3)
   • English Referral Form (Ages 4-5)
   • Spanish Referral Form (Ages 2-3)
   • Spanish Referral Form (Ages 4-5)
   • Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Form
   • *Please complete the Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Form if your child is exposed to another language other than English either entirely or partially. A Spanish version of this form is included in the Spanish Referral Forms.
2. Submit the completed form to the preschool by emailing sunrisepreschool@provo.edu or by bringing it to the front office. Office hours are Monday – Thursday 8:00am – 3:00pm and Friday 8:00am – 12:00pm.
3. After the form is completed and submitted to the preschool, someone will be in contact with you to schedule a testing appointment. Testing takes place on Friday mornings at 9:00 am and 10:45 am.

If you have any questions or difficulties with the referral process, please contact Ondy Wagner at ondylynw@provo.edu.

Assessment and Eligibility for Special Education Programs

1. For the testing appointment, please make arrangements to come without other children.
2. Assessments generally take 1 ½ to 2  hours to complete and may include: Motor, Adaptive/Self-Help, Social/Emotional, Cognitive, Sensory, Behavior, and Language/Articulation areas, depending on areas of concern.
3. When testing is completed, time will be given to gather additional information about your child. If more information is needed, we may invite your child to come into one of our preschool observation classes to observe how the areas of concern impact your child’s education.
4. When the team has all of the information needed to determine eligibility (within 45 school days), a Special Education teacher will contact you to set up an Eligibility Meeting to review evaluation results. During this meeting, your child’s eligibility for Special Education will be determined. This is done based on eligibility criteria for one of 13 Special Education classifications listed below.

Classifications

• Autism
• Deaf/blindness
• Developmental Delay
• Emotional Disturbance
• Hearing Impairment/Deafness
• Intellectual Disability
• Multiple Disabilities
• Orthopedic Impairment
• Other Health Impairment
• Specific Learning Disabilities
• Speech Language Impairment
• Traumatic Brain Injury
• Visual Impairment

Your child must have a disability that adversely impacts his/her education AND he/she must require specialized instruction to qualify for Special Education services.

If your child requires Special Education services, an Individual Education Program (IEP) will be developed as a team within 30 calendar days of the eligibility meeting. Services will begin after the IEP has been created and your child has been registered through Provo City School District.

For more information about you and your child’s rights during the evaluation process and while receiving special education services, refer to the Procedural Safeguards packet (for Spanish click here).

Special Education Program Details

Special Education services follow the Provo City School District calendar, August through May.

• Extended School Year (ESY) services are provided during the summer for students who have difficulty maintaining what they have learned. The decision for ESY is based on IEP data.
• If a child only requires articulation services, he/she may be placed at the neighborhood elementary school for weekly services. Other possible placements for services include Head Start, Title 1 Preschool (the year before Kindergarten), and Sunrise Preschool. Placement decision is based on student need and team decision.
• Sunrise Preschool has a range of placement options in different classes. Class sessions are 2 ½ hours, AM or PM, 1-4 days a week depending on student need.