■ Potential Signs of Developmental Delays and
Other Risk Factors that Could Indicate a Need for
Special Education Services
Some indications that your child may be a child with a
disability who is in need of special education are:
• Exhibition of an emotional disturbance over a long
period of time which affects your child’s ability to learn;
• Consistent problems in getting along with others;
• Difficulty communicating;
• Lack of interest or ability in age-appropriate activities;
• Resistance to change;
• Difficulty seeing or hearing that interferes with the ability
to communicate;
• Health problems that affect educational performance
including attention problems;
• Difficulty performing tasks that require reading, writing,
or mathematics; and
• When, a child who is at least three years of age but
before he or she has started school as a beginner,
scores on a developmental assessment device, on an
assessment instrument which yields a score in months,
which score indicates that the child is delayed by 25
percent of the child’s chronological age in one or more
developmental areas, or if 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.
■
Section 504 – Chapter 15
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 which are needed to
provide equal opportunity to participate in and obtain the
benefits of the school program and extracurricular activities.
A protected handicapped student must be school age with
a physical or mental disability which substantially limits
or prohibits participation in or access to an aspect of the
school program. You may request screening and evaluation
for Chapter 15 services at any time, whether or not your
child is enrolled in the district’s public school program.
Requests for evaluation and screening are to be made in
writing to: Pupil Services Department, Fox Chapel Area
School District, 611 Field Club Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15238.
■
Gifted Education – Chapter 16
In compliance with state law, services designed to meet
the unique needs of gifted students are provided. Students
are identified individually based on state law and district
policy, and those students who possess superior intelligence
scores or meet multiple criteria indicating gifted ability may
receive services. If you believe that your school-age child
may be eligible for gifted services, screening and evaluation
processes designed to assess his/her eligibility are available
to you at no cost, upon written request. You may request
screening and evaluation at any time, whether or not your
26
FOX CHAPEL AREA
child is enrolled in the district’s public school program.
Requests for evaluation and screening are to be made in
writing to: Pupil Services Department, Fox Chapel Area
School District, 611 Field Club Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15238.
CONFIDENTIALITY
All information gathered about your child is subject to the
confidentiality provisions contained in federal and state law.
The district has policies and procedures in effect governing
the collection, maintenance,
destruction, and
disclosure to
third parties of
this information.
For information
about this, as well
as the rights of
confidentiality and
access to educational
records, you may
contact, in writing:
Pupil Services Department, Fox Chapel Area School
District, 611 Field Club Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15238.
PUBLIC NOTICE – STUDENT RECORDS
As a parent of a student in the Fox Chapel Area School
District, you have certain rights in regard to your child’s
school records. These rights are guaranteed by the Family
Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), 1974, and the
Pennsylvania State Board of Education
Regulations. These rights apply
whether your child is exceptional
or nonexceptional.
The district protects the
confidentiality of personally
identifiable information
regarding exceptional and
protected handicapped students
in accordance with state and
federal law and the district’s
student records policy.
You have the right to review,
inspect, or obtain a copy of your
child’s records. Records are also open to school officials
who have a legitimate educational interest in a child. You
may make a written request for copies of your child’s
records at a fee not to exceed duplicating costs. If you
believe that any information is inaccurate or misleading, you
may challenge the contents of the records. You have the
right to refuse individual consent where such permission
is needed for releasing certain student information. Should
you feel the district is not providing these rights, you may
file a complaint with the Family Policy Compliance Office
(FPCO), U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Ave.
S.W., Washington, D.C. 20202.