nnual Public Notice of Special Education
A
Services and Programs, Services for Gifted
Students, and Services for Protected
Handicapped Students
A
ccording 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. Responsible
school districts and intermediate units are
required to conduct child find activities for
children who may be eligible for services
under section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act
of 1973, Individual with Disabilities Act (IDEA
2004), and gifted services as defined in the
PA school code.
The Greensburg Salem School District
provides a Free Appropriate Public
Education (FAPE) to children with disabilities
who need special education and related
services. FAPE is provided to students who
need specially designed instruction and
have one or more of the following physical
or mental disabilities:
Autism, Deaf-blindness, Deafness,
Emotional Disturbance, Hearing Impairment,
Intellectual Disability (ID),
Multiple Disabilities, Orthopedic Impairment,
Other Health Impairment,
Specific Learning Disability, Speech or Language
Impairment, Traumatic
Brain Injury, Visual Impairment
including Blindness
Screening
Greensburg Salem School District
(GSSD) has established and implemented
procedures to locate, identify, and evaluate
children suspected of having disabilities.
These procedures involve screening
activities which include, but are not limited
to: yearly review of group-based ability
and achievement test scores, cumulative
records, enrollment records, health records,
and report cards; hearing screening, vision
screening, motor screening; and speech and
language screening.
Early Intervention
The IDEA 2004 also requires the provision
of a Free Appropriate Public Education to
children with disabilities
between three years of age and the school
district’s age of beginners. In Pennsylvania, a
child between three
years of age and the school district’s age of
beginners who has a developmental delay
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GREENSBURG SALEM
or one or more of the physical or mental
disabilities listed in the first section may be
identified as an “eligible young child.”
Eligible young children are afforded
the rights of school age children with
disabilities, including screening, evaluation,
individualized education program planning,
and provision of appropriate programs and
services. The Pennsylvania Department
of Education is responsible for providing
programs and services to eligible young
children under Act 212 of 1990, The Early
Intervention Services System Act. The
Westmoreland Intermediate Unit (724-836-
2460) provides programs and services to
eligible young children on behalf of the
Pennsylvania Department of Education.
Except as indicated above or otherwise
announced publicly; screening activities take
place in an on-going fashion throughout
the school year. Screening is conducted
in the child’s home school unless other
arrangements are necessary.
Evaluation
When screening indicates that a child may
be a child with disabilities, the GSSD will seek
parental consent to conduct an evaluation.
“Evaluation” means procedures used in
the determination of whether a child has a
disability and the nature and extent of the
special education and related services that
the child needs. The term means procedures
used selectively with an individual child and
is not limited to tests administered to or
procedures used with all children.
In Pennsylvania, this evaluation is
conducted by a group of qualified
professionals and the parent. The
group of qualified professionals shall
include a certified school psychologist when
evaluating a child for autism, emotional
disturbance, intellectual disability, multiple
disabilities, other health impairments,
specific learning
disability, or traumatic brain injury. The
evaluation process must be completed
no later than sixty school days after the
district receives written parental consent
and must include “protection-in-evaluation
procedures,” (for example, tests and
procedures used as part of
the multidisciplinary evaluation process
may not be racially or culturally biased.)
Upon completion of the administration of
tests and the collection of other evaluation
materials, a group of qualified professionals
and the parent of the child will determine
whether the child is a child with a disability
and what the educational needs are of
the child. Information obtained from a
variety of sources, including aptitude and
achievement tests, parent input, teacher
recommendations, physical condition,
social or cultural background, and adaptive
behavior will be documented and
considered carefully. If a determination is
made that a child has a disability and needs
special education and related services an
Individualized Education Program (IEP) must
be developed for the child.
Identification Activities
Parents who think their child has a
disability may request, at any time, that the
GSSD conduct a multidisciplinary evaluation.
This request should be made in writing
to the Building Principal or the Office of
the Director of Pupil Services. If a parent
makes an oral request for a multidisciplinary
evaluation, the school district shall provide
the parent with a form for that written
request.
Parents also have the right to obtain an
independent educational evaluation, if they
disagree