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School Officials Remind Parents Of Special Education Plans

Santa Clarita Valley school officials are urging parents to seek evaluation for children who might have special education needs, if there’s a suspected need, officials said Monday.


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“Early intervention is the best prevention,” said Tracy Peyton-Perry, director of the Santa Clarita Valley Special Education Local Plan Area, or SELPA.

The SELPA is a consortium of four elementary school districts and a high school district, Peyton-Perry said. The special education district “provides services and coordination for families and students with disabilities ages 0-22 throughout the Santa Clarita Valley,” according to the consortium’s website.

“If a parent contacts the school district, then the school district has 15 days to get an assessment plan in place (to evaluate a student’s potential need),” Peyton-Perry said.

If a parent has a question about whether their child has a potential need for an independent education plan, or IEP — a personalized learning plan suited specifically to a particular need — they should contact their respective school district office.

After the evaluation is performed by the district, district officials, by law, must respond with an IEP for the student, when a need or needs are identified, Peyton-Perry said.

The five school districts of Santa Clarita Valley: Castaic Union School District; Newhall School District; Saugus Union School District; Sulphur Springs Union School District; and William S. Hart Union High School District, work in collaboration to provide special education and related services for eligible students.

From the SELPA website:
Once referred to special education, students are assessed to determine the disability and its impact on school performance to determine eligibility for special education services. Students with any of the following disabilities may be eligible for special education services: Deaf, Hard of Hearing, Blind, Partially Sighted, Orthopedic Handicap, Autism, Learning Disability, Traumatic Brain Injury, Other Health Impairment, Speech and Language Disorder, Emotional Disturbance. All assessments are followed by an Individual Education Plan (IEP) team meeting at which parents, teacher, and staff determine eligibility, specific goals, placement and objectives. Parent permission is required for all Special Education Services. To make a referral, contact your local public school office or your district office.

 

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School Officials Remind Parents Of Special Education Plans

One comment

  1. I would like to use this information in an email to parents who use our instructional services. May I send this article with the complete content out to my families?
    Peggy Cannistraci
    President
    Math Support Services

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About Perry Smith

Perry Smith is a print and broadcast journalist who has won several awards for his focused, hyperlocal community coverage in several different regions of the country. In addition to five years of experience covering the Santa Clarita Valley, Smith, a San Fernando Valley native, has worked in newspapers and news websites in Los Angeles, the Northwest, the Central Valley and the South, before coming to KHTS in 2012. To contact Smith, email him at Perry@hometownstation.com.