Special Education

Parents who suspect their child may have a disability which impacts their ability to access their education should contact their child’s counselor to discuss the process. The counselor may suggest a meeting to bring together a school based team to gather information, review records, and discuss concerns. The team then may create a plan to provide additional strategies in the area of concern along with a way to monitor progress. This process is referred to as Response to Intervention (RtI) or Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS).

Based on information from the MTSS process, the Student Focus Team may suggest further assessments to determine if the student is eligible for special
education services. Parents have a right to make a direct request for a special education referral at any time. The school team then has to consider if the data they have also suggests continuing with a special education assessment and a team decision will be made on how to proceed to best meet the students needs.

Once the team and parents agree to do an assessment for the suspected area of disability, there is a formal process that includes parent permission,
conducting assessments, and meetings to determine if the student meets the Colorado Department of Education (CDE) criteria for a specific disability area
(see Categories below).

If the criteria is met and the student is identified with a disability that impacts their ability to access their education, then an Individual Education Plan (IEP)
will be created with the IEP team which includes parents. More information about this process is described on the CDE website:

Available through the Colorado Department of Education: http://www.cde.state.co.us/cdesped/iep

Section 504 is the part of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 that guarantees specific rights in federally funded programs and activities to people who
qualify as disabled.

Section 504 states:
"No otherwise qualified individual with a disability in the United States...shall, solely by reason of her or his disability, be excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance...Section 504 is enforced by the Office for Civil Rights (OCR). OCR can be contacted by calling 303-844-5695.

The School District is responsible for the implementation of Section 504. For more information, contact the Section 504/ADA Coordinator for your District:
Naomi Lang nlang@ssk12.org.

Links to Individual Categories:

• Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)|
• Deaf-Blindness
  • Colorado Deaf-Blind Project
  • Resources
  • The Family Place
• Developmental Delay
• Hearing Impairment, Including Deafness
• Infant/Toddler with a Disability
• Intellectual Disability
• Multiple Disabilities
• Orthopedic Impairment
• Other Health Impaired
• Serious Emotional Disability
• Specific Learning Disability
  • CDE Guidelines for SLD Eligibility: https://www.cde.state.co.us/cdesped/guidelines_sld_draft_2019-02-25
• Speech or Language Impairment
• Traumatic Brain Injury
• Visual Impairment, Including Blindness

Special Education Acronyms used by CDE
Colorado Department of Education- Office of Special Education 
Disability Categories

seac website

Kristen Atwood, Director of Exceptional Student Services
Email
970-871-3164