Special Education Plan

Williams Valley School District

Annual Public Notice of Special Education Services and Programs, Services for Gifted Students, and Services for Protected Handicapped Students

Notice to Parents

According to state and federal special education regulations, annual public notice to parents of children who reside within a school district is required regarding child find responsibilities.  Williams Valley School District must conduct child find activities for children eligible for services via Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. For additional information related to Section 504/Chapter 15 services, parents may refer to Section 504, Chapter 15, found on Williams Valley’s Special Education Department’s Important Notices site, and the Basic Education Circular entitled Implementation of Chapter 15. Also, the school district is required to conduct child find activities for children who may be eligible for gifted services via 22 Pa Code Chapter 16 . For additional information regarding gifted services, parents may refer to 22 PA Code Chapter 16, found on Williams Valley’s Special Education Department’s Important Notices site. If a student is both gifted and eligible for Special Education, the procedures in IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act) and Chapter 14 shall take precedence.

This notice shall inform parents throughout the school district, intermediate unit, and charter school of the child identification activities and of the procedures followed to ensure confidentiality of information pertaining to students with disabilities or eligible young children. In addition to this public notice, the district will publish written information in the handbook and on the web site. Children aged three through twenty-one can be eligible for special education programs and services. If parents believe that their child may be eligible for special education, the parent should contact Joellyse Hartz, Student Services Director via [email protected] or at 717-647-2167.

If the district identifies your child as possibly in need of such services, you will be notified of procedures, individualized services and programs available for children who are determined to need specially designed instruction due to the following conditions per IDEA.

 

Autism

Deaf/Blindness

Deafness

Emotional Disturbance

Hearing Impaired

Intellectual Disability

Multiple Disabilities

Orthopedic Impairment

Other Health Impairments

Traumatic Brain Injury

Visual Impairment

Specific Learning Disability

Speech and Language Impairment

 

If you believe your school-age child may need a special education screening or evaluation, services are available at no cost, upon written request.  You may request screening and evaluation at any time. Requests for evaluation and screening are made to any building principal, school psychologist or the Director of Student Services.

 

Children aged three through the age of admission to first grade are also eligible if they have developmental delays and, as a result, need Special Education and related services. Developmental delay is defined as a child who is less than the age of beginners and at least 3 years of age and is considered to have a developmental delay when one of the following exists: (i) The child’s score, on a developmental assessment device, on an assessment instrument which yields a score in months, indicates that the child is delayed by 25% of the child’s chronological age in one or more developmental areas. (ii) The child is delayed in one or more of the developmental areas, as documented by test performance of 1.5 standard deviations below the mean on standardized tests. Developmental areas include cognitive, communicative, physical, social/emotional and self-help. For additional information you may contact the Schuylkill Intermediate Unit 29 Early Intervention Services (iu29.org) by calling 570-621-9131 x1222 or 570-621-2700. 

Evaluation Process

Williams Valley School District has a procedure in place by which parents can request an evaluation. For information about procedures applicable to your child, contact Joellyse Hartz, Student Services Director at [email protected] or at 717-647-2167.

Consent

Williams Valley School District cannot proceed with an evaluation, or with the initial provision of special education and related services, without the written and signed consent of the parents. For additional information related to consent, please refer to the Procedural Safeguards Notice which can be found at the PaTTAN (Pennsylvania Training and Technical Assistance Network) website, www.Pattan.net, and in the Procedural Safeguards packet found on Williams Valley’s Special Education Department’s Family Resources site. Once written and signed parental consent is obtained, the district will proceed with the evaluation process. If the parent disagrees with the evaluation results, the parent can request an independent education evaluation at public expense.

Program Development

Once the evaluation process is completed, a team of qualified professionals and parents determine whether the child is eligible.  If the child is eligible, the Individualized Education Program team meets, develops the program, and determines the educational placement.  Once the IEP (Individualized Education Program) team develops the program and determines the educational placement, the district will issue a Notice of Recommended Educational Placement/Prior Written Notice (NOREP/PWN). Your written and signed consent is required before initial services can be provided. The parent has the right to revoke consent after initial placement.

Confidentiality of Information:

Williams Valley School District maintains records concerning all children enrolled in the school, including students with disabilities. All records are maintained in the strictest confidentiality. Your consent, or consent of an eligible child who has reached the age of majority under state law, must be obtained before personally identifiable information is released, except as permitted under the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). The age of majority in Pennsylvania is age 21. The district must protect the confidentiality of personally identifiable information at collection, storage, disclosure, and destruction stages. The special education office assumes responsibility for ensuring the confidentiality of any personally identifiable information. The district must maintain, for public inspection, a current listing of the names and positions of those employees within the agency who have access to personally identifiable information.

For additional information related to student records, parents can refer to the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).

This notice is only a summary of the Special Education services, evaluation and screening activities, and rights and protections pertaining to children with disabilities, children thought to be disabled, and their parents. For more information or to request evaluation or screening of a public or private school child, contact Joellyse Hartz, Student Services Director at [email protected] or at 717-647-2167.

For preschool age children, information may be obtained, and screenings and evaluations may be requested by contacting Preschool/Early Intervention Resource Center (Schuylkill County), 2335 West End Avenue, Pottsville, PA 17901 570-391-5211 (Dauphin County) 701 Bosler Avenue, Suite C, Lemoyne, PA 17043 717-210-3334.

Williams Valley School District will not discriminate in employment, educational programs, or activities based on race, color, national origin, age, sex, handicap, creed, marital status or because a person is a disabled veteran or a veteran of the Vietnam era. No preschool, elementary or secondary school pupil enrolled in the district shall be denied equal opportunity to participate in age and program appropriate instruction or activities due to race, color, handicap, creed, national origin, marital status, or financial hardship.