East Ramapo Central School District

Suspicion of a possible disability

School districts are required to identify and offer appropriate educational services to all children who may have an educational disability. If you have a child or know of a child who may have a disability and who may require special education, please submit the following information to your child's school office: the child's name and date of birth; your specific concerns about the child's learning or behavior; the name of the child's parent or guardian (if this is not in reference to your own child.)

Contact your child's teacher or School Principal

 Referral

As a parent or guardian, if you suspect that your child has a disability that is interfering with learning you may submit a written referral to the Committee on Special Education. A referral is a request to have a child individually evaluated because there is a suspicion of a possible educational disability which may require special education.

The written referral must be sent to:

The School Principal or

The Committee on Special Education   105 S. Madison Ave. Spring Valley, NY 10977

District personnel will contact you, and send you a packet of informative material about the CSE process. The district is not able to evaluate your child without your written permission.

Contact your child's School Principal or Director of OSSS

 Evaluations

The evaluations performed for your child may include a social history, reading, math and written language tests, a health assessment, psychological tests, speech/language/hearing tests, and other tests which may be necessary. Before an initial evaluation can be done, the district must have a parent's written consent. The consent is voluntary and may be withdrawn at any time prior to the completion of the evaluations. If you do not wish to consent to the evaluations, you will be invited to your child's school to discuss your objections. If you do not attend this meeting or if you continue to object, the District will determine whether a due process hearing should be held to decide whether an evaluation is necessary.

If the evaluations are done and you disagree with the results, you have the right to get an independent evaluation which the CSE/CPSE must consider when making its recommendation on your child's special education program. If you want this evaluation to be at the District's expense, you must notify the CSE/CPSE in writing. The District will determine whether a due process hearing will be necessary to defend its evaluations.

Contact your child's teacher or School Principal

Individual Education Plan (IEP)

The IEP states your child's classification, the type of program, specific special education and related services to be provided, duration of program (10 or 12 months), present levels of academic performance, any special needs for transportation, annual goals, and any special testing procedures or equipment to be used. The IEP must explain the extent, if any, to which your child will not participate in general education programs.

Your child's classification, services, and program will be reviewed once a year by a subcommittee of the CSE/CPSE. This meeting is called an Annual Review. Every 3 years a full re-evaluation will be conducted to determine if special education is still needed for your child to receive a free, appropriate public education. At any time, you may ask for a review of your child's IEP, classification, special education services and/or program by writing to the CSE/CPSE (see Referral section).

Contact your child's School Principal or Director of OSSS

Due Process Rights

If you disagree with any part of the recommendation of the IEP, you may make a written request for mediation (which will be conducted by the Center for Dispute Settlement) or an impartial hearing. Your request must state specifically what you disagree with.

If you request a hearing, the hearing must be held and a decision made within 45 days of your written request. If you are represented by an attorney at a hearing or a subsequent appeal to the State Review Office or court, and if your appeal is successful, your reasonable attorney's fees may be paid by the District.

Contact Director of OSSS or Department of Law

Transition Planning

Transition planning is a required process that is used to prepare a student with a disability to achieve his or her goals related to living, learning and earning within the community after high school graduation.  It includes planning for college, the world of work, linking to agencies and living as an adult after high school. Successful transition planning includes parents and guardians, your child and the school. It must be reviewed annually.

Your child's Special Education Administrator, school counselor or Transition Coordinator