Child Find and Special Education Services

Child Find and Special Education Services

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. This notice is to help find these children, offer assistance to parents, and describe the parent's rights concerning the confidentiality of information that will be obtained during this process. The content of this notice has been written in English but can be translated into other languages.

This notice shall inform parents throughout the Monessen City School District of the child identification activities and of the procedures followed to ensure confidentiality of information about students with disabilities or eligible young children. Children ages 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 Mrs. Bethanne Natali, Director of Special Education/Student Services, at 724-684-3600 ext. 3115 or email at [email protected]

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Identification Activities

Identification procedures ensure that eligible students receive an appropriate educational program consisting of special education and related services that are individualized to meet student needs. These services are provided at no cost to the parents, in compliance with state and federal law, and are planned to ensure maximum educational benefit for student progress.

Various screening activities are conducted on an ongoing basis to identify students who may be eligible for special education. Screening activities may include hearing, vision, physical, and speech/language screening; and a review of group-based data (cumulative academic records, aptitude, and achievement test scores, enrollment records, and health records, as well, as parent and teacher responses to questionnaires) by the building-level Child Study or Response to Intervention Team. When screening results suggest that a student may need special education services, HTSD will, with parental consent, conduct an Evaluation.

To qualify as an eligible student, the child must be of school age, in need of specially designed instruction, and meet the eligibility criteria for one or more of the following physical or mental disabilities, as outlined in the Pennsylvania State Regulations: Specific Learning Disability, Emotionally Disturbed, Autism/Pervasive Developmental Disorder, Blindness/Visual Impairment, Deaf-blindness, Deafness, Hearing Impairment, Intellectual Disability, Multiple Disabilities, Orthopedic Impairment, Neurological Impairment, Other Health Impairment and Speech and Language Impairment. Information regarding the appropriate developmental milestone descriptors for infants and toddlers may be found at the Center for Disease Control website at www.cdc.gov or The National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities (NICHCY) website at www.parentcenterhub.org.

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Confidentiality

The school district maintains records concerning children enrolled in the school district, 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 21. Each participating agency must protect the confidentiality of personally identifiable information at collection, storage, disclosure, and destruction states. One official at each participating agency must assume responsibility for ensuring the confidentiality of any personally identifiable information.

For additional information related to student records, the parent 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 about 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:

Mrs. Bethanne Natali, Director of Special Education/Student Services

Monessen City School District

1245 State Road

Monessen, PA 15062

Phone: 724-684-3600 ext. 3115

Email: [email protected]

A parent may file a written complaint alleging that the rights described in this notice were not provided to:

Pennsylvania Department of Education, Bureau of Special Education
Division of Compliance
333 Market Street
Harrisburg, PA 17126-0333.

The Department of Education will investigate the matter and issue a report of findings and necessary corrective action within 60 days. The Department will take necessary action to ensure compliance is achieved. Complaints alleging failures of the school district about confidentiality of personally identifiable information may also be filed with:

Family Policy Compliance Office
U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Avenue SW

Washington, D.C. 20202-4605

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Services for Protected Handicapped Students - (504)

Monessen City School District is required to conduct child find activities for children who may be eligible for services via Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. For additional information related to Section 504/Chapter 15 services, the parent may refer to Section 504, Chapter 15, and the Basic Education Circular entitled Implementation of Chapter 15. Also, school districts are 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, the parent may refer to 22 PA Code Chapter 16. If a student is both gifted and eligible for Special Education, the procedures in IDEA and Chapter 14 shall take precedence.

Students who are not eligible to receive special education programs and services may qualify as protected handicapped students and, therefore, be protected by other federal and state laws intended to prevent discrimination. The school district must ensure that protected handicapped students have an equal opportunity to participate in the school program and extracurricular activities to the maximum extent appropriate for the individual student. In compliance with state and federal law, the school district will provide to each protected handicapped student, without discrimination or cost to the student or family, those related aids, services, or accommodations that are needed to provide equal opportunity to participate in and obtain the benefits of the school program and extracurricular activities, to the maximum extent appropriate to the student’s abilities. To qualify as a protected handicapped student, the child must be of school age with a physical or mental disability that substantially limits or prohibits participation in, or access to, an aspect of the school program.

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Early Intervention Identification

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 three 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, or (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 Mrs. Bethanne Natali, Director of Special Education/Student Services at 724-684-3600 ext. 3115 or email at [email protected]

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English Students with Limited English Proficiency (LEP) and English Language Learners (ELL)

The education of students whose dominant language is not English is the responsibility of every school district/charter school in Pennsylvania. English language learners must be enrolled upon presentation of a local address and proof of immunization. The school district/charter school must administer a home language survey (HLS) to all students as required by the Office for Civil Rights (OCR). The results of that survey must be retained in the student’s permanent folder. For those students whose primary language is other than English (PHLOTE), the district must also determine the student’s English language proficiency. Then, if appropriate, ESL instruction will be provided for the limited English proficient student with local/state funds.

The Monessen City School District will provide ongoing screening services. If you wish to learn more, have questions, or believe your child may need to be identified, please contact:

Mrs. Bethanne Natali, Director of Special Education/Student Services

Monessen City School District

1245 State Road

Monessen, PA 15062

Phone: 724-684-3600 ext. 3115

Email: [email protected]

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Services to Mentally Gifted Students

In compliance with state law, the Monessen City School District provides services designed to meet the unique needs of gifted students. The Monessen City School District identifies “gifted” students on a case-by-case basis based on state law and District procedures. Such students may possess superior IQ scores and meet multiple criteria indicating gifted ability. Gifted ability is not determined by IQ score alone. Additional criteria include but are not limited to indicators of classroom performance and grades, standardized test scores, and teacher ratings. If your child is suspected to need such services, you will be notified of evaluation procedures. If you believe your school-age child may qualify for gifted education services, you may contact in writing your child’s principal or Patricia Hallam, director of special education/student services, at any time to request the determination of eligibility. An evaluation is conducted with parent's permission. Please note that entitlement to gifted services includes only those rights provided by Pennsylvania law.

Mrs. Bethanne Natali, Director of Special Education/Student Services

Monessen City School District

1245 State Road

Monessen, PA 15062

Phone: 724-684-3600 ext. 3115

Email: [email protected]