Preschool

School districts are required to provide a free appropriate public education (FAPE) to all eligible children with disabilities beginning at the age of three. Preschool aged children with disabilities are typically referred in one of the following two ways:

Transition from the IDEA Part C early intervention services (e.g. BabyNet)
Referral for evaluation made to the school district by a parent, caretaker, daycare/preschool provider, medical professional, private provider, etc

For more information about the district’s obligation to locate and identify preschoolers with disabilities, review this info below about Child Find:

Child Find is the process of identifying, locating and evaluating children, starting at age three, who may have a disability and be in need of special education and related services. The school district seeks to identify all children residing in our district who may be in need of special education services.

Children in need of special education services are children identified as having an intellectual disability, hearing impairment, visual impairment, orthopedic impairment, speech and language impairment, emotional disability, autism, traumatic brain injury, developmental delay, other health impairment, specific learning disability, or multiple disabilities.

Parents, relatives, and public and private agency employees are asked to help our district find any child who may have a disability and need special education and related services. If you are aware of a child who may have special needs pleas contact Dorchester School District Two Office of Special Services Office at 843-875-4161 to register for the clinic’s speech and developmental screenings.

If applicable please provide copies of medical, developmental, and/or evaluation records prepared by physicians and/or other agencies to aid our Child Find Team in making recommendations for your child. For further information call 843.875.4161.

Head Start

Pre-Kindergarten 4K Preschool

Dorchester School District Two offers CERDEP (Child Early Reading Development and Education Program) in each of our elementary schools. CERDEP is a four-year-old income eligibility program to promote school readiness. Qualification criteria includes the following:

Must be four years of age on or before September 1
Must meet all income eligibility guidelines
Completion of the DIAL 4 screening process

For more information regarding this program, please contact:

Donna Alexander
Early Childhood Services Program Interventionist
843.695.2989

Community Services

Special Needs Preschool Program

If your preschooler has been found eligible for special education services and demonstrates needs in any of the following areas: cognition; communication; self-help skills; motor and/or social/emotional/behavioral, the IEP team may determine that intensive services are required to meet your preschooler’s needs. Half-day special education preschool programs are located throughout the district and placement in a specific school is based on proximity to your home address.

4K Inclusion

If your preschooler has been found eligible for special education services and could work towards demonstrating readiness skills in the areas of pre-academics, communication, social, self-help skills and fine motor, the IEP team may determine that inclusive services could meet your preschooler’s needs. Inclusive classrooms include dual certified teachers, preschoolers with special needs and preschoolers who will serve as typically developing peer models. Inclusive preschool programs are located throughout the district and placement in a specific school is based on proximity to your home address.

What's New

Preschool Continuum Task Force

Dorchester School District Two has established a Preschool Continuum Task Force to include a team of diverse participants with varied backgrounds. Our team includes:

District administrators
Special education teachers
Content Interventionists
School Psychologists
Speech Pathologists
Parent
Related Service Providers
Technical Assistance Specialist, SC Partnerships for Inclusion

The Preschool Continuum Task Force desires to expand services available to all preschoolers ages 3 – 5 to include a comprehensive list of services available to include:

Services in the community and private preschools
Community based programs
Inclusive 4K programs

4K Inclusion Program - Readiness Guidelines

Parent Resources

Frequently Asked Questions

At what point should I be concerned that my preschooler may have a disability and need specialized instruction?

Although preschoolers develop at different rates, if your preschooler is showing significant delays in any of the following areas, he/she may need to be evaluated for special education services: Cognitive (thinking and learning); Language and communication (understanding and using language); Adaptive (self-help skills such as toileting, eating, and dressing); Social-emotional (behaviors such as getting along with others and expressing feelings); and/or Motor development (physical development, including delays or disorders regarding vision, hearing, and movement).

For more information regarding developmental milestones, click on the link below:

https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/actearly/milestones/index.html

How do I find out if my preschooler is eligible for special education services?

If your preschooler is 3 or 4 and is not 4K age on or before September 1, you should contact Special Services to schedule a Referral Meeting. At that meeting, the team will discuss parental concerns and determine what, if any, additional information needs to be collected in order to determine if your preschooler is a preschooler with a disability.

If your preschooler is 4K age on or before September 1, you should contact the school psychologist at your zoned neighborhood school to schedule a Referral Meeting.

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