School districts across the state of Ohio
are participating in an effort to identify, locate, and
evaluate all children from birth through 21 years of age
who may have disabilities. Disability, in this instance,
means such conditions as hearing impairments, visual impairments,
speech or language impairments, specific learning disabilities,
emotionally disturbed, multiple disabilities, mental retardation,
other health impairments, autism, and traumatic brain injury.
Public schools have responded vigorously to federal and
state mandates requiring the provision of a free appropriate
public education regardless of a child's disability. But
before school districts can serve children, they must be
found. Many children with disabilities are not visible
because they do not function in the mainstream of the community,
such as children who are homeless and children of migrant
families. Also many unidentified children with disabilities
are preschoolers. Parents may not be aware their child
has a disability or that there are programs and services
available.
The school district will ask for information about the
child, asking such questions as: What is the problem?
What has already been done about the problem? What background
information is available? This information may be collected
in several ways including interviews, observations, screening,
and testing. This information may be obtained from parents
and the students, or from other agencies that have information
about the student. This information will be used to decide
whether the child has a disability and needs special
services.
All information collected will be held in strict confidence
and released to others only with parent permission pr
as allowed by law. For example, the school district will
send records on request to a school district or other
educational agency in which a student intents to enroll.
The parents may have a copy of those records upon request.
The school district will keep a record of all persons
who review confidential records with the exception of
authorized school employees, or other educational agency
personnel. The school will also maintain a list of those
employees who may have access to records.
The school district or the other educational agency
will inform the parents when personally identifiable
information collected, maintained, or used is no longer
need to provide educational services to the child. All
personally identifiable data will be kept for at least
five years or longer if required for audit purposes,
or otherwise required by low.
Parents and students have rights in this process. Parents
have the right to;
- Review their child's record;
- Refuse permission to release information (except
as required by, or permitted by, law to be released);
and
- Request that information they believe to be inaccurate,
misleading, or in violation of their child's privacy
or other rights be changed. The district has a process
to resolve disagreements about information information
collected.
The school district has appointed one person to make
sure that information about student is kept confidential.
Contact your school district board of education office
for this person's name.
The school district's policies and procedures for special
education are available. Contact the school district
superintendent.
The school district operates a Child Information Management
System (CIMS) that assures a practical method of identifying
which children are currently receiving special education
services and which are not. Certain data regarding children
are maintained within this system.
School districts are interested in meeting the needs of children with disabilities. If you have or know of a child who may have a disability, contact your local school for more information and help.
For any correspondences please ask Mrs. Reagan or call (216) 432-3660
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