Child Find – Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)

The Following Carbon & Lehigh School Districts & Charter Schools and Carbon Lehigh Intermediate Unit #21 Provide Special Education Services to Special Needs Children

Allentown School District
Catasauqua Area School District
East Penn School District
Jim Thorpe Area School District
Lehighton Area School District
Northern Lehigh School District
Northwestern Lehigh School District
Palmerton Area School District
Panther Valley School District
Parkland School District
Salisbury Township School District
Southern Lehigh School District
Weatherly Area School District

Whitehall-Coplay School District
Carbon Career and Technical Institute
Lehigh Career and Technical Institute
Nonpublic/Private Schools
Early Intervention
Arts Academy Charter Middle School
Arts Academy Elementary Charter School
Circle of Seasons Charter School
Executive Education Academy
Innovative Arts Academy
Lincoln Leadership Academy
Roberto Clemente Charter School
Seven Generations Charter School

The public school districts of Carbon and Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, and the Carbon-Lehigh Intermediate Unit #21 (“the Carbon/Lehigh County school entities”), provide special education and related service to resident children with disabilities who are ages three through twenty-one. The purpose of this notice is to briefly describe (1) the types of disabilities that might qualify the child for such programs and services, (2) the special education programs and related services that are available, (3) the process by which each of the Carbon/Lehigh County School entities screens and evaluates such students to determine eligibility, and (4) the special rights that pertain to such children and their parents or legal guardians. For a full detailed version of this notice, please visit www.cliu.org.

Types of Disabilities Served

Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, commonly referred to as the “IDEA,” children qualify for special education and related services if they have one or more of the following disabilities and, as a result, demonstrate a need for special education and related services:
(1) Intellectual disabilities
(2) Hearing impairments including deafness
(3) Speech or language impairments
(4) Visual impairments, including blindness
(5) Serious emotional disturbance
(6) Orthopedic impairments
(7) Autism, including pervasive developmental disorders
(8) Traumatic brain injury
(9) Other health impairment
(10) Specific learning disabilities
(11) Multiple disabilities
(12) For preschool age children, developmental delays

Programs and Services Available

(1) Regular class placement with supplementary aides and services provided as needed in that environment
(2) Regular class placement for most of the school day with itinerant service by a special education teacher either in or out of the regular classroom for 20 percent or less of the school day
(3) Regular class placement for some of the school day with supplemental instruction provided by a special education teacher for more than 20 percent, but less than 80 percent of the school day
(4) Instruction provided by a special education teacher for more than 80 percent of the school day
(5) Special education services, with or without regular classroom placement, either in an alternative public school setting or in a private school, treatment facility, hospital, detention center or prison, on a day or residential basis.

Location of Services

(1) The public school the child would attend if not disabled
(2) An alternative regular public school either in or outside
the school district of residence
(3) A special education center operated by a public school
entity
(4) An approved private school or other private facility
licensed to serve children with disabilities
(5) A residential school
(6) An approved out-of-state program
(7) The home

Types of Service Available

(1) Learning support, for students who primarily need assistance with the acquisition of academic skills
(2) Life skills support, for students who primarily need assistance with development of skills for independent living
(3) Emotional support, for students who primarily need assistance with social or emotional development
(4) Deaf or hearing impaired support, for students who primarily need assistance with compensatory skills to address deafness
(5) Blind or visually impaired support, for students who primarily need assistance with compensatory skills to address blindness,
(6) Physical support, for students who primarily require physical assistance in the learning environment
(7) Autistic support, for students who primarily need assistance in the areas affected by autism spectrum disorders
(8) Multiple disabilities support, for student who primarily need assistance in multiple areas affected by their disabilities.

Screening

All Carbon/Lehigh County School entities undertake screening activities before referring students for a multidisciplinary team evaluation. Screening activities could involve Multi-Tiered System of Supports, commonly referred to as the “MTSS,” or an alternative screening process. Regardless of the particular screening method employed, the screening process must include (1) periodic vision and hearing assessments by the school nurse as mandated by the School Code and (2) screening at reasonable intervals to determine whether all students are performing based on grade-appropriate standards in core academic subjects. If screening activities produce little or no improvement after a reasonable period of intervention or remediation, the child will then be referred for a multidisciplinary team evaluation. Parents who wish to request screening and evaluation for their child may do so by contacting the principal or counselor in their child’s school building.

Multidisciplinary Team Evaluations

Carbon/Lehigh County School entities must conduct a multidisciplinary team evaluation of every child who is thought to have a disability. The multidisciplinary team is a group of professionals who are trained in and experienced with the testing, assessment, and observation of children to determine whether they have disabilities and, if so, to identify their primary educational strengths and needs. Parents are also members of the multidisciplinary team. Carbon/Lehigh County School entities must reevaluate school-age students receiving special education services every three years and must reevaluate children with Intellectual Disability and pre-school-age children receiving special education services every two years. Parents may request a multidisciplinary team evaluation of their children at any time. They must do so in writing. Every public school has a procedure in place by which parents can request an evaluation. For information about each Carbon/Lehigh County School entity’s procedures applicable to your child, contact the elementary, middle, or high school which your child attends.

Special Rights and Protections of Children with Disabilities and their Parents/Legal Guardians

State and federal law affords many rights and protections to children with disabilities and their parents. A summary of those rights and protections can be found in the full detailed version of this notice, located at www.cliu.org. Interested persons may obtain a complete written summary of the rights and protections afforded by the law, together with information about free or low cost legal services and advice, by contacting their school district’s special education or student services department at the address and telephone number listed at the end of this notice.

Preschool Children with Special Needs

Children preschool age three through five, are served by the Carbon Lehigh Intermediate Unit in a variety of home and school-based settings that take into account the chronological and developmental age and primary needs of the child. As with school age programs, preschool programs must ensure that to the maximum extent appropriate, children with disabilities are educated with non-disabled peers at no cost to the parent. Parents/guardians of these children may obtain information about screening, evaluation, programs, therapy, parent involvement, and referral to community agencies by calling or writing the Carbon Lehigh Intermediate Unit, Early Intervention Services, 4210 Independence Drive, Schnecksville, Pennsylvania 18078-2580. The telephone number for the Early Intervention Program is (610) 769-4111 ext. 1256.

Nonpublic Schools/Private Schools

Duties owed to students with disabilities enrolled in private schools by their parents are limited to child find activities and a genuine offer of a Free Appropriate Program of Education (FAPE) from the school district of residence. Students unilaterally enrolled in private schools by their parents have a right to participate in services; however, no private school child with a disability is entitled to any particular service or to any amount of service. (300.455(2)) Parents/guardians of these children may obtain information by contacting the Carbon Lehigh Intermediate Unit, Non-Public/Private Schools Supervisor, 4210 Independence Drive, Schnecksville, Pennsylvania 18078-2580. The telephone number for the NonPublic/Private Schools Supervisor is (610) 769-4111 ext. 1625.

Destruction of Information Concerning Students with Disabilities Who are Receiving or Who have Received Special Education Services or Who Were Evaluated for Such Services

The public school districts of Carbon and Lehigh County, and the Carbon-Lehigh Intermediate Unit #21 are required to notify parents and guardians when personally-identifiable information concerning students with disabilities, or students who were evaluated to determine the need for special education services, is no longer needed to provide educational services to the student (“no longer educationally relevant”). The District considers certain records to be no longer educationally relevant based on the following schedule:

(1) All test protocols and other raw data used as part of an evaluation or reevaluation will be considered no longer educationally relevant at the conclusion of the school year during which the evaluation or reevaluation has occurred.
(2) All IEP progress monitoring data will be considered no longer educationally relevant as of the date on which such data are reported to parents or guardians in a progress report or at the conclusion of the school year during which such data are collected, whichever is sooner.
(3) All notes of IEP team members and draft IEPs, if any, will be considered no longer educationally relevant as of the date that the IEP to which such notes of drafts pertain is issued to the parents or guardian.
(4) All Permissions to Evaluate or Reevaluate, Invitations to IEP or Other Meetings and related documents, Evaluation or Reevaluation Reports, IEPs, Notices of Recommended Educational Placement and related documents, Complaint Investigation Reports, Mediation Agreements, and Hearing Officer Decisions will be considered no longer educationally relevant at the conclusion of the sixth year from the date on which the student graduates from High School, ceases residency in the District for reasons other than placement in a hospital or treatment facility, or attains age twenty-one, whichever is sooner. The CLIU considers the records maintained by their agency to be considered no longer educationally relevant at the conclusion of the sixth year from the date on which the student turns age 21.
(5) Parents and guardians have the right to request, in writing, that the District/IU destroy any or all records deemed no longer educationally relevant. The District/IU, at its discretion, may also destroy such records without further notice to parents, guardians, or students.

Questions regarding services for special needs children can be addressed to:

Public Schools

Allentown
Special Education Services (484) 765-4070
Catasauqua
Special Education Services (610) 264-5571 #7
East Penn
Special Education Services (610) 966-8354
Jim Thorpe
Special Education Services (570) 325-3691
Lehighton
Special Education Services (610) 377-4490
Northern Lehigh
Special Education Services (610) 767-9849
Northwestern Lehigh
Special Education Services (610) 298-8661
Palmerton
Special Education Services (610) 826-7101
Panther Valley
Special Education Services (570) 645-0386
Parkland
Special Education Services (610) 351-5559
Salisbury Township
Special Education Services (610) 797-2062
Southern Lehigh
Special Education Services (610) 282-3121
Whitehall-Coplay
Special Education Services (610) 439-1431
Carbon Career & Technical Institute
Special Education Services (570) 325-3682
Lehigh Career & Technical Institute
Special Education Services (610) 799-1326
Early Intervention
Special Education Services (610) 769-4111, ext.1256

Nonpublic/Private Schools

Arts Academy Charter Middle School
(Salisbury Township SD)
Special Education Services (610) 351-0234
Arts Academy Elementary Charter School
(Allentown SD)
Special Education Services (610) 841-4560
Circle of Seasons
(Northwestern Lehigh SD)
Special Education Services (610) 285-6267
Executive Education Academy
(Allentown SD)
Special Education Services (610) 841-7044
Innovative Arts Academy Charter School
(Catasauqua SD)
Special Education Services (610) 403-2787
Lincoln Leadership Academy
(Allentown SD)
Special Education Services (484) 860-3300
Roberto Clemente
(Allentown SD)
Special Education Services (610) 439-5181
Seven Generations
(East Penn SD)
Special Education Services (610) 421-8844

Source: Carbon Lehigh Intermediate Unit #21