North Hills School District uses the following procedures as required by law for locating, identifying and evaluating the specialized needs of school-age students who may require special programs or services.

Routine Assessments

Classroom teachers continually assess:

• Gross motor and fine motor skills
• Academic skills
• Social emotional skills

The district routinely conducts screening of:

• Children's hearing acuity (Grades K, 1, 2, 3 and 7)
• Visual acuity (All grade levels)
• Speech and language skills (Kindergarten and teacher referral)

If Additional Support is Needed

The child's team will make modifications to accommodate the child's learning style, behavior, physical limitations or speech problem.

• Parents/guardians will be notified if their child is receiving interventions addressing the student’s specific needs
• If a child does not make progress with intervention, parents will be asked to give written permission for a multidisciplinary evaluation (MDE).
• The evaluation will be coordinated by the district's school psychologist who will also participate in the evaluation process. 

Evaluation Record

An evaluation report will be completed with parent involvement after all assessments and data are collected. This record includes specific recommendations on how to help the child as well as whether the child is eligible for any special education program.

Parents/guardians are then invited to participate in a meeting where the results of this multidisciplinary evaluation will be reviewed and an Individual Educational Program (IEP) will be developed for those students who are eligible for special education services.

IEP

An IEP, or Individual Education Program, is a written document for each child with a disability that is developed, reviewed and revised in accordance with this section and includes:

• The child’s present levels of academic achievement and functional performance
• How the disability affects the child’s involvement and progress in the general education curriculum
• A description of benchmarks or short-term objectives for children who take alternative assessments
• A statement of measurable annual goals, including academic and functional goals designed to meet the child’s needs that result for the child’s disability to enable the child to be involved in and make progress in the general education curriculum
• A statement of the special education and related services and supplementary aids and services, based on peer-reviewed research to be provided to the child or on behalf of the child.
• An explanation of the extent, if any, to which the child will not participate with children who are non-disabled in the regular class

The IEP team is a group of individuals composed of parents/guardians of the child with a disability, one or more regular education teacher(s), one or more special education teacher(s), an LEA representative, any related service providers, and when appropriate, the child with the disability.

The IEP team can review a child's IEP periodically, but not less than annually.

At the conclusion of an IEP meeting, the child's educational placement is determined and a notice of recommended educational placement (NOREP)is issued.

Notice of Recommended Educational Placement