CONFIDENTIALITY It is district policy that parents have the right, upon written request, to review their child’ s school records and to review the district’ s record-keeping policy.

Parents will be notified in writing prior to the removal of items from their child’ s file and given the opportunity to challenge the removal of any specific document.

Documentation on special education students is maintained in a separate confidential folder. Only staff with a“ need to know” have access to these folders. A sign-in sheet giving the name of the person accessing the information, the date and the reason for reading the information must be completed.

For further information / clarification, contact Director of Pupil Services Mrs. Nicole Bezila at 412.318.1008.

GIFTED EDUCATION: SCREENING & EVALUATION PROCESS

Referral for a Gifted Multidisciplinary Evaluation shall be made when a student is suspected by teachers and / or parents of being gifted and in need of specially designed instruction. The parent must sign a Permission to Evaluate form in order for the process to begin. The school psychologist conducts a formal evaluation and this evaluation along with: information from the parents, demonstrated achievement, performance / expertise in one or more academic areas, high level thinking skills, communication skills, academic creativity and measured rate of acquisition / retention of new academic content or skills that reflect gifted ability is used to develop a Gifted Written Report( GWR).

The Gifted Multidisciplinary Team shall prepare a written report that brings together the information and findings from the evaluation. The report shall make recommendations as to whether the student is gifted and in need of specially designed instruction.

The Gifted Individualized Education Program team reviews the recommendations of the Gifted Multidisciplinary Team and determines whether the student needs specially designed instruction including enrichment and / or acceleration. If the student is determined to be gifted and in need of specially designed instruction, a Gifted Individualized Education Program( GIEP) will be developed and implemented.

A gifted student is defined as“ a student who is exceptional” under section 1371 of the School Code because the student meets the definition of mentally gifted in this section, and needs specially designed instruction beyond that required in Chapter 4 relating to academic standards and assessment. This term applies only to students who are of school-age. Provisions for gifted students are contained in Chapter 16, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Rules and Regulations, Title 22: Education. For additional information or clarification, please contact Director of Pupil Services Mrs. Nicole Bezila, 412.318.1008.

GUIDELINES FOR“ PROTECTED HANDICAPPED STUDENTS”

In compliance with state and federal law, the North Hills School District will provide to each protected handicapped student the aids, services and / or accommodations which are needed to provide equal opportunity to participate in and obtain the benefits of the school program and extracurricular activities. In order to qualify as a“ protected handicapped student,” the child must be of school age with a physical or mental disability which substantially limits or prohibits participation in, or access to, any aspect of the school program. These services and protections for“ protected handicapped students” are distinct from those applicable to eligible or exceptional students enrolled, or seeking enrollment, in special education programs. For more information on evaluation procedures and provisions of services to“ protected handicapped students,” contact Director of Pupil Services Mrs. Nicole Bezila at 412.318.1008, or write to her at the North Hills School District Administration Center, 135 Sixth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15229.

GUIDELINES FOR SCREENING, EVALUATING STUDENTS

The North Hills School District uses the following procedures for locating, identifying and evaluating specific needs of school-aged students who may require special programs or services. These procedures, required by law, are:

The district, as prescribed by Section 1402 of the School Code, routinely conducts screening of a child’ s hearing and visual acuities at certain grades or as needed. Gross motor and fine motor skills, academic skills and social and emotional skills are assessed by classroom teachers on an on-going basis.

Specific needs from all of these screening sources are noted in the child’ s official file. School records are always open and available to parents, and only to school officials who have a legitimate reason for“ need to know” information about the child.

Information from the records is released to other persons or agencies only with appropriate authorization which involves written permission by parents. Parents with concerns regarding their student may contact building principals at any time to request a screening or evaluation of their child. Communication with parents through an interpreter including sign language is available if needed.

Screening information will be used by the Support Services Teams at the elementary and secondary schools to evaluate the child’ s specific needs or to document the need for additional assessments. If it is determined that a student needs additional evaluation, parents will be asked to sign a form that permits one of the district’ s school psychologists to conduct an evaluation.

Following the completion of the multidisciplinary team evaluation, an Evaluation Report is compiled with parent involvement and includes specific recommendations for the types of intervention necessary to meet the child’ s individual needs. Parents are invited to participate in a meeting where the results of the multidisciplinary evaluation will be discussed. An Individualized Education Program( IEP) will be developed for eligible students.

Parents are presented with a Notice of Recommended Educational Placement( NOREP) which outlines the programs, services and location of services. If parents disagree with the program being recommended, the issue may be addressed at a pre-hearing conference, a mediation, or at an impartial due process hearing.

Information about early intervention services and programs, parental rights, mediation or due process procedures, specific special education services, district programs, and the district’ s educational records policy are available upon request from the building principal.

Parents with children between the ages of 3 and 5 have a right to an evaluation to determine eligibility for early intervention services. Early Intervention services are available to all eligible young children beginning at age 3 through a program offered by the Allegheny Intermediate Unit. Parents who believe their child needs to be evaluated for eligibility may contact Discovery Assessment Referral Tracking( DART) at 412.394.5736, or Director of Pupil Services Mrs. Nicole Bezila at 412.318.1008.

Parents may initiate a request for screening or evaluation of their child at any time by contacting the child’ s classroom teacher or the building principal. More information about these procedures may be obtained by calling Director of Pupil Services Mrs. Nicole Bezila at 412.318.1008.

PROGRAMS FOR ELIGIBLE OR PROTECTED HANDICAPPED STUDENTS

In compliance with state and federal law, notice is hereby given by the North Hills School District that it conducts ongoing identification activities as a part of its school program for the purpose of identifying students who may be in need of special education and related services( eligible students). If your child is identified by the District as possibly in need of such services, you will be notified of applicable procedures.

Individualized services and programs are available for children who are determined to need specially designed instruction due to the following conditions:

• Autism / pervasive development disorder

• Blindness or visual impairment

• Deafness or hearing impairment

• Developmental delay

• Intellectual Disability

• Multi-handicapped

• Neurological impairment

• Other health impairments

• Physical disability

• Serious emotional disturbance

• Specific learning disability

• Speech or language impairment If you believe that your school-aged child may be in need of special education services and related programs, or young child( age 3 to school-age) may be in need of early intervention, screening and evaluation processes designed to assess the needs of the child and 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 child is enrolled in the District’ s public school program. Requests for evaluation and screening are to be made in writing to the building principal.

In compliance with state and federal law, the North Hills 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 to the maximum extent appropriate to the student’ s abilities. In order to qualify as a protected handicapped student the child 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. These services and protections for“ protected handicapped students” are distinct from those applicable to all eligible or exceptional students enrolled( or seeking enrollment) in special education programs.

For further information on the rights of parents and children, provision of services, evaluation and screening( including purpose, time and location), and rights to due process procedures, you may contact in writing any building principal.

PARENTS’ RIGHT TO KNOW

As stipulated in the No Child Left Behind Act, parents / guardians may request information regarding the professional qualifications of their child’ s classroom teacher( s). Specifically, individuals have the right to ask for the following information:

• Whether the student’ s teacher met state qualifying and licensing criteria for the grade level or subject he / she is teaching;

• Whether the teacher is teaching under emergency or other provisional status;

• The teacher’ s college major, the baccalaureate degree, and / or any advanced degrees earned by the teacher;

• Whether the child is provided services by paraprofessionals and, if so, their qualifications.

To obtain this information, please submit your request in writing to Mrs. Valerie Mengine, director of human resources, at the address listed below. Each request should include the student’ s name, his / her teachers’ names and the school he / she attends. Please be certain to include your name, address and a telephone number at which you can be contacted during the day. North Hills School District Attn. Valerie Mengine Human Resources Department 135 Sixth Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15229 menginev @ nhsd. net

100 % OF NH TEACHERS HIGHLY QUALIFIED No Child Left Behind requires that all public school teachers in core academic subjects be Highly Qualified.

A highly qualified teacher in Pennsylvania is one who:

• holds full certification;

• has at least a bachelor’ s degree;

• has completed a content area major;

• has passed a content area test; and

• has completed teacher education course work.

In 2015 – 2016, 100 percent of the teachers in the North Hills School District met or exceeded the highly qualified criteria.

NORTH HILLS SCHOOL DISTRICT NEWS

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