Mifflinb= urg Area School District

Annual Notice of Special Education Services and Programs

&nb= sp;

Miff= linburg Area School District is committed to providing a free appropriate public education (FAPE) to students with disabilities. The District must annually provide notice to the public about special education services and procedures to identify, locate, and evaluate all students who may be eligible for and in = need of special education.

The District operates learning support, life skills, a= nd multiple disabilities programs, and it provides space for the Central Susquehanna Intermediate Unit to operate an elementary emotional support program and an intermediate school life skills program. Mifflinburg Area School District also maintains three speech language pathologists on staff. The District contracts with Intermediate Unit 16 for related services that students may need including occupational and physical therapy, vision and mobility services, and social work.

Mifflinburg Area School District works in collaboratio= n with the Central Susquehanna Intermediate Unit, local school districts, and agen= cies to identify appropriate placements for students who demonstrate a need for educational programs that are not offered within the boundaries of the scho= ol district. The District makes arrangements and pays the cost of transportati= on.

Identification (Child Find) Activities:<= /u>

The = Mifflinburg Area School District works in collaboration with the Cent= ral Susquehanna Intermediate Unit to identify young children who may need speci= al education services upon transition from early intervention programs to kindergarten. A parent meetin= g is scheduled in late winter of each school year to inform parents about the district’s special education services and to obtain permissions to evaluate. Evaluations are completed, and IEP meetings are conducted in the spring of the year prior to entry into kindergarten from early intervention programs.

The District conducts kindergarten screening annually = in the early spring. The elementary = principal schedules pre-registration meetings in all elementary buildings and explain= s district services. Specific dates for kindergarten screening are published in the school calendar. More details are published in notic= es sent home and in local newspapers prior to the screening activities. Speech language pathologists are members of the screening team. They also screen second graders ye= arly to locate articulation and language delays.

Building level teams meet regularly at the elementary, intermediate, middle school, and high school levels to monitor concerns abo= ut student progress, to develop intervention strategies, and to identify stude= nts who may need multidisciplinary evaluations. The teams consider a variety of academic, behavioral, speech language, and motor development information. Teachers within the district are t= rained in referral procedures. Guidance counselors, working in collaboration with their district colleagues at all levels are also important front line perso= nnel in child find procedures.

Miff= linburg Area School District has an assessment plan which specifi= es the type of evaluations that are administered at various grade levels. The analysis of assessment results= is an important child find strategy, and students may be referred to the school psychologist for additional achievement screenings.

Potential Signs of Developmental Delays and Other R= isk Factors for Disabilities

The Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) lists 13 disabilities categories. The following con= tains excerpts from the definitions:

Autism means a developmental disability significantly affecting verbal and nonverbal communication = and social interaction usually evident before the age of three.
Deaf-blindness means concomi= tant hearing and visual impairments.
Deafness= means a hearing impairment that is so severe that the child is impaire= d in processing linguistic information through hearing with or without amplification.
Emotional disturbance is a condition exhibiting one or more of the following characteristics over= a long period of time and to a marked degree that adversely affects a ch= ild’s educational performance 1). Inability to learn that cannot be explaine= d by intellectual, sensory, or health factors 2). An inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships with peers and teach= ers

3). Inappropriate types of = behavior or feelings under normal circumstances

4). A general pervasive moo= d of unhappiness or depression 5). A tendency to develop ph= ysical symptoms or fears associated with personal or school problems.

Hearing Impairment means an impairment in hearing whether permanent or fluctuating that adversely affects a child’s educational perform= ance but that is not included in the definition of deafness.
Mental Retardation means a significantly sub-average general intellectual functioning existing concurrently with deficits in adaptive behavior and manifested during = the developmental period.
Multiple Disabilities means concomitant impairments the combination of which causes such severe ed= ucational needs that they cannot be accommodated in special education programs solely for one of the impairments.
Orthopedic Impairment means a severe orthopedic impairment that adversely affects a child’ educational performance.
Other Health Impairment means having limited strength, vitality or alertness, including a heightened alertness to environmental stimuli that results in limited alertness with respect to the educational environment that = 1) is due to chronic or acute health problems 2) adversely affects a child’s educational performance.
Specific Learning Disability is a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved = in understanding or in using language, spoke or written that may manifest itself in an imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, s= pell or to do mathematical calculations.
Speech Language Impairment m= eans a communication disorder, such as stuttering, impaired articulation, lan= guage impairment, or a voice impairment that adversely affects a child’= ;s educational performance.=

12. Trauma= tic Brain Injury means an acquired injury to the brain caused by

external physical force, resulting in total or partial functional disability or psyc= hosocial impairment, or both, that adversely affects a child’ educational performance.

13. Visual Impairment including blindness means an impairment in vision that

&nb= sp; even with correction adversely affects a child’s educational performance.

Initiating an Evaluation

Parents who suspect that their child may need special education services should contact the appropriate building principal, school guidance counselor, or the Special Education Office at 966-8280 to request screening and/or evaluation. A parental request for a multidisciplinary evaluation should be made in writing. A form is available = from the building principals.

Confidentiality of Student Records:

If a screening procedure finds evidence of a possible disability and a multidisciplinary evaluation is recommended, the district = must issue a Permission to Evaluate to parents or gua= rdians. Written consent is required prior to conducting the evaluation. An evaluation report is prepared af= ter the assessments are completed. The written record of the results is called = an educational record and is maintained by the District. The record contains information th= at personally identifies a child’s name, name of parents or other family members, address, and other traceable information. The school district protects the confidentiality of personally identifiable information according to the dis= trict’s Student Records policy and FERPA (Federal Educational Rights and Privacy Ac= t).

Further information about special education is availab= le from building principals or the supervisor of special education at 966-8280= .