The North Hills School District uses the following procedures for locating, identifying and evaluating specific needs of school-aged students who may require special programs or services. These procedures, required by law, are:
The district, as prescribed by Section 1402 of the School Code, routinely conducts screening of a child’s hearing and visual acuities at certain grades or as needed. Gross motor and fine motor skills, academic skills and social and emotional skills are assessed by classroom teachers on an on-going basis.
Specific needs from all of these screening sources are noted in the child’s official file. School records are always open and available to parents, and only to school officials who have a legitimate reason for “need to know” information about the child.
Information from the records is released to other persons or agencies only with appropriate authorization which involves written permission by parents. Parents with concerns regarding their student may contact building principals at any time to request a screening or evaluation of their child. Communication with parents through an interpreter including sign language is available if needed.
Screening information will be used by the Support Services Teams at the elementary and secondary schools to evaluate the child’s specific needs or to document the need for additional assessments. If it is determined that a student needs additional evaluation, parents will be asked to sign a form that permits one of the district’s school psychologists to conduct an evaluation.
Following the completion of the multidisciplinary team evaluation, an Evaluation Report is compiled with parent involvement and includes specific recommendations for the types of intervention necessary to meet the child’s individual needs. Parents are invited to participate in a meeting where the results of the multidisciplinary evaluation will be discussed. An Individualized Education Program (IEP) will be developed for eligible students.
Parents are presented with a Notice of Recommended Educational Placement (NOREP) which outlines the programs, services and location of services. If parents disagree with the program being recommended, the issue may be addressed at a pre-hearing conference, a mediation, or at an impartial due process hearing.
Information about early intervention services and programs, parental rights, mediation or due process procedures, specific special education services, district programs, and the district’s educational records policy are available upon request from the building principal.
Parents with children between the ages of 3 and 5 have a right to an evaluation to determine eligibility for early intervention services. Early Intervention services are available to all eligible young children beginning at age 3 through a program offered by the Allegheny Intermediate Unit. Parents who believe their child needs to be evaluated for eligibility may contact Discovery Assessment Referral Tracking (DART) at 412-394-5736, or Director of Pupil Services Dr. Nicole Bezila at 412-318-1008.