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Office of the Director of Student Services

Special Education Services Parents have the right to seek a free and appropriate public education for their eligible disabled child (ages 0-21 years) as defined under Federal Law (IDEA-B, Part B and Part C) and State laws and regulations. If you have a child who is receiving special education services, the district will maintain certain records on your child which are confidential. Any record or report which identifies your child by name will be treated as confidential information. These records are available to parents upon request at your individual school. Referrals for Special Education can only be made with parents' knowledge and permission. Orleans Southwest Supervisory Union offers special education with related services, in addition to speech and language therapy. An early childhood program serving disabled and "at risk" preschoolers is offered at the Essential Early Education programs while infants and toddlers with significant developmental delays are served by the Family Infant Toddler program out of the Lamoille Family Center.

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 Section 504 is a civil rights statute, which was enacted to eliminate discrimination on the basis of disabilities in any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance. Criteria for services: An individual with disabilities is one who: 1. has a physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more major life activities; 2. has a record of such an impairment; or 3. is regarded as having such an impairment. For any student that is an individual with disabilities, a public school must provide a free appropriate public education to the student. A school must provide a regular or special education and related aids and services that are designed to meet the individual educational needs of disabled persons as adequately as the needs of nondisabled persons are met&ldots;. (34C.F.R. 104.33) Each school has a 504 Team and procedure in place. The building principal and/or the Director of Student Services can provide more information upon request.

Child Find In our capacity as public schools. The districts of the Orleans Southwest Supervisory Union are required to locate, identify and evaluate any student ages birth to 22 who may require special education and related services in order to access and benefit from public education. The Federal special education regulations define a child with a disability, as a child having mental retardation, a hearing impairment including deafness, emotional disturbance, an orthopedic impairment, autism, traumatic brain injury, a health impairment, a specific learning disability, deaf-blindness, or multiple disabilities, and who require specialized instruction and related services. If you live in Craftsbury, Greensboro, Hardwick, Stannard, Wolcott or Woodbury and know of a child who might have a disability, please contact Joanne M. LeBlanc, Director of Student Services, at 472-6063.

Parental Rights in Special Education You can download a complete copy of the Parental Rights in Special Education publication at the Vermont Department of Educations website. You will need to have Adobe Reader in order to view this file.

Contact the Student Services Office Phone: (802) 472-6063 Mail: PO Box 338; Hardwick, VT 05843 Email: Joanne Leblanc: Director of Student Services Jacky Graves: Student Services Administrative Assistant Please send web page comments to jgraves@ossu.org. ©2006 Orleans Southwest Supervisory Union. All Rights Reserved.