Student Services

Student Services

Student Services

The North Fork Student Services Department is committed to serving our students and their families in the areas of early childhood education; special education; and related services such as speech language therapy, physical therapy, occupational therapy, psychological services, transition and special transportation.
 
We have high expectations for all children, and in accordance with the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA), ensure access to the general education curriculum in regular education classrooms, to the maximum extent possible. 

Our parents are an integral part of the special education process. We value collaboration and communication and look forward to meeting the unique needs of every child.

Child Find

In accordance with the Individual’s with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA) of 2004, the North Fork Local School District is participating in Child Find efforts to locate, evaluate, and identify all children from birth through 21 years of age with disabilities, regardless of their situations, who have significant, individual needs and require intensive interventions through special education and related services.

A disability, in this instance, means such conditions as autism, deaf/blindness, multiple disabilities, deafness/hearing impairment, orthopedic impairment, visual impairment/blindness, specific learning disabilities, preschoolers with a disability, emotional disturbance, cognitive disabilities, speech and language impairments, orthopedic and other health impairments or traumatic brain injury.

Although many school aged disabled children are identified and currently being served by the district, preschool children ages 3-5, with disabilities may be unidentified because parents may not be aware that programs and services are now available through the public school. Community members can help us with this important effort. If you know of a child in our district with a disability that is not presently attending school or receiving services from another agency, please contact the North Fork Local School District Student Services Department at 740-892-2106.

How to Make a Referral

Parent-teacher communication is essential to your child’s success and is valued in our district. Begin by expressing your concerns with your child’s teacher. In most cases, those concerns will be shared with the school’s Response to Intervention Team and a plan will be created to include: how data will be collected and how that data will determine which targeted interventions should be used.

Below is information taken directly from Procedures and Guidance for Ohio Educational Agencies serving Children with Disabilities, which can be found at

Special Education section of ODE's website

Request and referral for initial evaluation

Either parents of a child or a public agency may initiate a request for an initial evaluation. If the school district, after reviewing all relevant information about the child, agrees that an evaluation is necessary to determine if the child is a child with a disability, the district should obtain parental consent. The school district should promptly request parental consent to evaluate a child if the child has not made adequate progress when provided with high quality interventions or when these interventions require a level of intensity that can be provided only with special education and related services.

All parental requests for evaluation for a suspected disability should be considered very seriously, and as a first step, it is typically helpful for district personnel to meet with the parents to gain a better understanding of their concerns for their child. In most cases, an explanation of the sequence of intervention activities (i.e., targeted interventions and individualized intensive interventions, coupled with progress monitoring-often referred to as Response to Intervention) will reassure the parents that the child’s needs are recognized and are being addressed by the school.

As explained in http://education.ohio.gov/Topics/Special-Education/Federal-and-State-Requirements/Procedures-and-Guidance/Evaluation 

in some cases the district may agree to an evaluation prior to any interventions taking place. In that instance, the district should obtain parent consent and implement an intervention during the 60-day timeline. However, if a preponderance of data from multiple sources indicates that the child would not be eligible for special education, the district should send prior written notice to the parents indicating that the district will not be conducting an evaluation. Regardless of the decision by the district, every attempt should be made to assist the parents and address the needs of the child, even if these needs do not require special education services.

For children transitioning from Help Me Grow, discussion should occur at the Preschool Transition Conference (PSTC) and there should be a review of information available to determine if the child is suspected of having a disability. If not, a Prior Written Notice to Parents PR-01 form should be provided and referral processes should be addressed.

Parent Mentor

Contact Information

Director of Student Services
      Doug Lunsford
      740-892-2106
      740-745-5982 ext 5105
 
Special Education Administrative Secretary
      Amy Cree
      740-892-3215

Important links

Upcoming Events

View All Events

Resources

© 2024. North Fork Local School District. All Rights Reserved.
School CMS Created by eSchoolView
View text-based website