The Neshoba County School District is participating in an ongoing statewide effort to identify, locate, and evaluate children birth through age 21 who are physically, mentally, communicatively and/or emotionally disabled. Early identification of children in need of special educational experiences is most important to each child. Furthermore, this information gathered from contacts with parents and other agencies will be used to help determine present and future program needs as progress is made toward the goal of providing a free appropriate public education to all disabled children.
Information which could identify an individual child will be maintained by this agency and will be provided to other agencies only in accordance with the Family Rights and Privacy Act and EHA-B. As a parent, you are guaranteed the right to inspect any such information about your child and to challenge its accuracy. Access to this information is forbidden to any unauthorized person without informed consent. If you have any questions regarding the collection, maintenance and use of this data about your child, please contact Mendy Bowen, Child Find Director for the Neshoba County School District, by calling 601-656-7328 or writing to her at the following address:
Neshoba County School District
Mendy Bowen, Special Education Director
580 East Main Street
Philadelphia, MS 39350
The Child Find Director implements child identification, location and evaluation of children birth through 21 who are disabled, regardless of the severity of their disabilities, and who are in need of special education and/or related services. The Child Find Director works with the local MAP Head Start, Child Protective Services, Health and Mental Health agencies, as well as local education agencies, and physicians, and other individuals to identify and locate children out of school and in school who may be in need of special education services.
Once a referral is made, it is the responsibility of the Child Find Director to insure that the Referral-to-Placement procedures are followed. The director works with the Teacher Support teams at each school to implement this procedure. The following activities briefly describe the procedures.
If a child is of school age, the child’s teacher and school must develop and implement research-based instructional interventions to address the learning difficulties. If the difficulties still exist after this implementation, the child is referred to a Multidisciplinary Evaluation Team for a possible evaluation.
Prior to this evaluation, a copy of Procedural Safeguards is given to parents. District personnel explain and insure that the parents understand the Procedural Safeguards.
After parental consent for testing is obtained, a nondiscriminatory evaluation is conducted, and students are evaluated in all areas related to the suspected disability by qualified personnel.
Parents are notified when a student is ruled eligible for a special education program. An Individual Educational Plan is developed for the student before the student is placed. Parents, teachers, agency representatives and students, where appropriate, participate in this process. All students receiving special education services are reassessed at least once a year, and reevaluated at least once every three years.