As
per federal and state law, it is the duty of public schools to provide
students with a “Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) in the
Least Restrictive Environment (LRE);” therefore, the Turkeyfoot Valley
Area School District (TVASD) actively strives to identify the learning
needs of its students in order to ensure that students are provided with
the education and related services with which they are entitled. In
addition, undr §300.111 Part B of The Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act (Federal Law) and PA Code § 14.121 (State Law), all school
districts are required to offer notice of Child Find policies and
procedures that are put into place in order to properly identify
students with exceptionalities related to physical, social,
emotional/behavioral, and/or cognitive factors.
TVASD
Child Find procedures begin with coordination within and among Early
Intervention programs for children ages birth through three. For
children ages three to five, Early Intervention programs and services
work in conjunction with local pre-school programs including Head Start
and the TVASD Pre-Kindergarten Program to ensure that a child's identified needs continue to be met.
TVASD
also coordinates identification measures and support services under 22
PA Code Chapter 14, IDEA, 22 PA Code Chapter 15, and/or §504 of the
Rehabilitation Act for students with exceptionalities ages five to
twenty-one. TVASD also implements formal and informal comprehensive and
ongoing screening procedures for school-aged children to include, but
not be limited to: Tests and/or procedures sampling some combination of
skills, or gaining information, in some or all of the following areas:
intellectual abilities, academic skills, perceptual-motor skills, memory
skills, social-emotional skills, self-help/adaptive skills,
communication skills, motor and sensory functioning, mental status
functioning, interest and aptitude assessments, specialty rating scales,
observations, record reviews, parent and teacher interviews, and other
information that may be available from other sources including agencies,
facilities and other professionals. TVASD utilizes these measures in
order to create a meaningful learning experience for all students based
on areas of both strength and need.
With
the consent of a parent and/or legal guardian, TVASD utilizes the
aforementioned formal and informal methods of observation, assessment,
and evaluation in order to identify exceptionalities which may include:
autism spectrum disorder(s), visual and/or hearing impairment, mental
retardation, emotional disability/emotional disturbance, physical
disability, learning disability, other health impairment, multiple
disabilities and/or gifted/talented.