Special Education/504’s/MTSS
Special Education
The Special Education Department works in collaboration with teachers, parents and administrators to ensure that students with disabilities receive the appropriate instruction in an inclusive environment and support they need to achieve. Special education and related services are offered throughout the district to students aged three to twenty-one.
Section 504
Section 504 is a part of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 that prohibits discrimination based upon one’s disability. Section 504 is an anti-discrimination, civil rights statute that requires the needs of students with disabilities to be met as adequately as the needs of the non-disabled are met. Please
29
contact your school’s social worker for questions about 504 plans. The school will work with the guardian and student to assure full compliance with IEP's, 504’s, BIPS (behavior intervention plans).
Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS)
If there are students who have academic, social or behavior concerns, a teacher is encouraged to make a referral to MTSS (multi-tiered systems of support). A team will meet with the teacher to discuss the student’s strengths and challenges to develop an intervention plan. The teacher is then responsible for implementing the intervention plan with fidelity and collecting data. The team will then meet 4-6 weeks later to check the progress of the student. The intervention plan can continue or be modified. At that point it is possible that the student may be referred for testing with parent approval.
Midtown Mental Health Services
Additional counseling services are offered through a contracted agency called Midtown. Parents can request through their student’s teacher or make direct contact with Midtown for their student to be seen by a Midtown Counselor. Teachers will submit a referral form to the school counselor or social worker to begin the process.