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Annual Public Notice

Annual Public Notice of Special Education Services

(This notice was published in The Patriot-News on August 31, 2023.)

Annual Public Notice of Special Education Services and Programs, Services for Gifted Students, and Services for Protected Handicapped Students

Notice to Parents

According to state and federal special education regulations, annual public notice to parents of children who reside within a school district is required regarding child find responsibilities.  School districts (SDs), intermediate units (IUs) and charter schools (CSs) are required to conduct child find activities for children who may be eligible for services via Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.  For additional information related to Section 504/Chapter 15 services, parents may refer to Section 504, Chapter 15, and the Basic Education Circular entitled Implementation of Chapter 15.  Also, school districts are required to conduct child find activities for children who may be eligible for gifted services via 22 Pa Code Chapter 16.  For additional information regarding gifted services, parents may refer to 22 PA Code Chapter 16.  If a student is both gifted and eligible for Special Education, the procedures in IDEA and Chapter 14 shall take precedence.

This notice shall inform parents throughout the school district, intermediate unit, and charter school of the child identification activities and of the procedures followed to ensure confidentiality of information pertaining to students with disabilities or eligible young children.  In addition to this public notice, each school district, intermediate unit, and charter school shall publish written information in the handbook and on the web site.  Children age three through twenty-one can be eligible for special education programs and services.  If parents believe that their child may be eligible for special education, the parent should contact the staff member identified for their school district of residence, listed at the end of this public notice.

Children age three through the age of admission to first grade are also eligible if they have developmental delays and, as a result, need Special Education and related services.  Developmental delay is defined as a child who is less than the age of beginners and at least 3 years of age and is considered to have a developmental delay when one of the following exists: (i) The child’s score, on a developmental assessment device, on an assessment instrument which yields a score in months, indicates that the child is delayed by 25% of the child’s chronological age in one or more developmental areas. (ii) The child is delayed in one or more of the developmental areas, as documented by test performance of 1.5 standard deviations below the mean on standardized tests.  Developmental areas include cognitive, communicative, physical, social/emotional and self-help.  For additional information you may contact Terry Telep, Supervisor of Preschool/Early Intervention, Capital Area Intermediate Unit #15, at ttelep@caiu.org, or at 717-732-8400, ext. 8539, or Jessica White, Supervisor of Preschool/Early Intervention, Capital Area Intermediate Unit #15, at jwhite@caiu.org, or at 717-732-8400, ext. 8781.

Evaluation Process

Each school district, intermediate unit, and charter school has a procedure in place by which parents can request an evaluation.  For information about procedures applicable to your child, contact the school that your child attends.  Telephone numbers and addresses can be found at the end of this notice.  Parents of preschool age children, age three through five, may request an evaluation in writing by addressing a letter to Terry Telep or Jessica White, Supervisors of Preschool/Early Intervention, Capital Area Intermediate Unit #15.

 

Consent

School entities cannot proceed with an evaluation, or with the initial provision of special education and related services, without the written consent of the parents.  For additional information related to consent, please refer to the Procedural Safeguards Notice which can be found at the PaTTAN website, www.Pattan.net.  Once written parental consent is obtained, the district will proceed with the evaluation process.  If the parent disagrees with the evaluation results, the parent can request an independent education evaluation at public expense. 

 

Program Development

Once the evaluation process is completed, a team of qualified professionals and parents determine whether the child is eligible.  If the child is eligible, the Individualized Education Program team meets, develops the program, and determines the educational placement.  Once the IEP team develops the program and determines the educational placement, school district staff, intermediate unit staff, and/or charter school staff will issue a Notice of Recommended Educational Placement/Prior Written Notice (NOREP/PWN).  Your written consent is required before initial services can be provided.  The parent has the right to revoke consent after initial placement.

Confidentiality of Information

The school districts, intermediate units and charter schools maintain records concerning all children enrolled in the school, including students with disabilities.  All records are maintained in the strictest confidentiality.  Your consent, or consent of an eligible child who has reached the age of majority under state law, must be obtained before personally identifiable information is released, except as permitted under the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).  The age of majority in Pennsylvania is age 21.  Each participating agency must protect the confidentiality of personally identifiable information at collection, storage, disclosure, and destruction stages.  One official at each participating agency must assume responsibility for ensuring the confidentiality of any personally identifiable information.  Each participating agency must maintain, for public inspection, a current listing of the names and positions of those employees within the agency who have access to personally identifiable information.

In accordance with 34 CFR § 300.624, please be advised of the following retention/destruction schedule for the Pennsylvania Alternate System of Assessment (PASA), Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA), and Keystone Exam related materials:

·       PSSA, Keystone Exam, and PASA test booklets will be destroyed one year after student reports are delivered for the administration associated with the test booklets.

·       PSSA and Keystone Exam answer booklets and PASA media recordings will be destroyed three years after completion of the assessment.

For additional information related to student records, parents can refer to the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).

This notice is only a summary of the Special Education services, evaluation and screening activities, and rights and protections pertaining to children with disabilities, children thought to be disabled, and their parents.  For more information or to request evaluation or screening of a public or private school child, contact the responsible school entity listed below.  For preschool age children, information may be obtained and screenings and evaluations may be requested by contacting the Intermediate Unit.  The addresses of these schools are as follows:

INTERMEDIATE UNIT

Capital Area Intermediate Unit #15

Andrew E. McCrea
55 Miller Street
Enola, PA  17025-1640

717-732-8400

www.caiu.org

 

Loysville Youth Development Center

Cynthia Lupold

24 Opportunity Drive
Loysville, PA  17047

717-789-5529

www.caiu.org

 

 

SCHOOL DISTRICT OFFICES                      

Big Spring School District

Dr. Abigail Leonard
45 Mt. Rock Road
Newville, PA  17241

717-776-2422

www.bigspringsd.org

Camp Hill School District

Autumn Reely
2627 Chestnut Street
Camp Hill, PA  17011

717-901-2400 x5935

www.camphillsd.k12.pa.us

 

Carlisle Area School District

Jill Condo
623 W. Penn Street
Carlisle, PA  17013

717-240-6800 x17815

www.carlisleschools.org

Central Dauphin School District

Anne Zelonis
600 Rutherford Road
Harrisburg, PA  17109

717-545-4703 x70284

www.cdschools.org

Cumberland Valley School District

Chad Pellman
6746 Carlisle Pike
Mechanicsburg, PA  1705

717-697-8261 x13336

www.cvschools.org

Derry Township School District

Kirsten Scheurich
30 E. Granada Avenue
PO Box 898
Hershey, PA  17033

717-534-2501 opt. 9

www.hershey.k12.pa.us

East Pennsboro Area School District

Janice Miller-Redd
890 Panther Parkway
Enola, PA  17025

717-732-3601

www.epasd.org

Greenwood School District

Shannon Gay
405 E. Sunbury Street
Millerstown, PA  17062

717-589-3117 x1303

www.greenwoodsd.org

Halifax Area School District

Lisa M. Slover
3940 Peters Mountain Road
Halifax, PA  17032

717-896-3416 x111

www.hasd.us

Harrisburg School District

Krystal Palmer
2900 North 6th Street
Harrisburg, PA  17110

717-703-1290

www.hbgsd.k12.pa.us

Lower Dauphin School District

Dan Berra
291 E. Main Street
Hummelstown, PA  17036-1799

717-566-5318

www.ldsd.org

Mechanicsburg Area School District

Paul Bigham
600 South Norway St., 2nd Floor
Mechanicsburg, PA  17055

717-691-4522

www.mbgsd.org

Middletown Area School District

Nicole Taylor
55 W. Water Street
Middletown, PA  17057

717-948-3300 x1007

www.raiderweb.org

Millersburg Area School District

Heather Hornung
799 Center Street
Millersburg, PA  17061-1420

717-692-2108

www.mlbgsd.k12.pa.us

Newport School District

Mary Kay Hunter
420 Fickes Lane, PO Box 9
Newport, PA  17074

717-567-2529

www.newportsd.org

Northern York County School District

David Borrell
650 S. Baltimore Street
Dillsburg, PA  17019-1035

717-432-8691 x1112

www.northernpolarbears.com 

Shippensburg Area School District

Lauren Zima-Engro
317 N. Morris Street
Shippensburg, PA  17257

717-530-2700 x1041

www.ship.k12.pa.us

South Middleton School District

Dr. Alex Smith
4 Academy Street, Suite 100
Boiling Springs, PA  17007

717-258-6484

www.smsd.us

Steelton-Highspire School District

Keri Poston
250 Reynders Ave.
Steelton, PA  17113-7645

717-704-3800 x3349

www.shsd.k12.pa.us

Susquehanna Township School District

Carrie Martin
2579 Interstate Dr.
Harrisburg, PA  17110

717-657-5100 x13005

www.hannasd.org

Susquenita School District

Denean Bressi
1725 Schoolhouse Road
Duncannon, PA  17020

717-957-6000

www.susq.k12.pa.us

Upper Dauphin Area School District

Heather Haupt
5668 State Route 209
Lykens, PA  17048

717-362-6573

www.udasd.org

West Perry School District

Paula Jones
2606 Shermans Valley Road
Elliottsburg, PA  17024-9706

717-789-3934 x5505

www.westperry.org

 

West Shore School District

Jennifer Homoki
507 Fishing Creek Road
PO Box 803
Lewisberry, PA  17070

717-938-9577
www.wssd.k12.pa.us

 

 

 

COMPREHENSIVE TECHNICAL SCHOOL

Dauphin County Technical School

Betsy Standland
6001 Locust Lane
Harrisburg, PA 17109-5631

717-652-3170 x7125

www.dcts.org

 

 

 

CHARTER SCHOOLS

Capital Area School for the Arts Charter School

Adam Shickley
150 Strawberry Square
Harrisburg, PA 17101

717-732-8450

www.casa-arts.org

Commonwealth Charter Academy

Michelle Orcutt
One Innovation Way
Harrisburg, PA 17110

717-710-3300 ext. 12175

www.ccaeducate.me

Infinity Charter School

Keri Hess
5405 Locust Lane
Harrisburg, PA  17109

717-238-1880

www.infinityschool.org

Pennsylvania STEAM Academy

Jennifer Morrison
1500 N. 3rd Street
Harrisburg, PA 17102

717-884-0950 x122

https://pasteam.org

Premier Arts and Science Charter School

Danielle Sims
500 N 17th Street
Harrisburg, PA 17103-1549

717-234-3200

www.pascs.net

Reach Cyber Charter School

Gregory C. McCurdy
750 E Park Dr, Suite 204
Harrisburg, PA 17111

717-704-8437

http://www.connectionsacademy.com/reach-cyber-school

 

Sylvan Heights Science Charter School

Susan Roth
915 S. 13th Street
Harrisburg, PA  17104

717-232-9220

www.shscs.org

 

 

The school entity or charter school will not discriminate in employment, educational programs, or activities based on race, color, national origin, age, sex, handicap, creed, marital status or because a person is a disabled veteran or a veteran of the Vietnam era.  No preschool, elementary or secondary school pupil enrolled in a school district, intermediate unit, or charter school program shall be denied equal opportunity to participate in age and program appropriate instruction or activities due to race, color, handicap, creed, national origin, marital status or financial hardship.