Special Services

The Franklin County School District is participating in an ongoing state wide effort to identify, locate and evaluate children birth through twenty-one (birth – 21) who have a physical, mental, communicative and/or emotional disability. Early identification of children in
need of special educational experiences is most important to each child. It is the goal of this campaign to identify, locate and, if needed, evaluate all children with disabilities residing in our district. This includes children attending private schools (including home schools), highly mobile children (such as migrant and homeless children) and those children who are suspected of having a disability and who are in need of special education services even though they may be advancing grade to grade. We are requesting that personnel in your agency refer individuals twenty-one (21) years of age or younger who may have a disability to Sarah Stebbins, who is the Child Find Coordinator for our district. The Child Find Coordinator works with the local Head Start, Human Services, Health and Mental Health agencies, as well as local educational agencies (including private schools and homeschool contacts), physicians and other individuals to identify and locate children out-of-school and in-school who may be in need of special education services.

Once a referral has been received, it is the responsibility of the Child Find Coordinator to ensure that the process to determine the need for special education services is implemented correctly. District personnel, agency personnel and parents/guardians will review data that has been collected to determine the need to pursue special education eligibility. A vital part of this process is informing parents of their rights and responsibilities under current law. If a decision is made that an evaluation is needed, written parental consent will be obtained prior to the administration of any assessments. Assessment instruments and data collection will be conducted in a nondiscriminatory manner.

If the individual is determined to be in need of special education and eligible for services, parents will be contacted to provide written consent for inception of these services. An Individualized Education Plan (IEP) will be developed to outline the specific needs of the individual. This IEP is developed and revised through a process that includes the participation of parents, teacher(s) and students. All individuals receiving special education are reevaluated every three years to ensure eligibility criteria are still met and IEPs are reviewed/revised at least annually. The Franklin County School District currently offers special education services implemented by certified special education staff at each of the school sites in the district. Services are provided to students based on their unique needs as outlined in their individualized education plan.

If your child attends a private school, information regarding the child find efforts of the Franklin County School District will be shared with your school. You may contact your private school or the Franklin County School District Special Services Office for any needed clarification. If your child attends home school services, please contact the Franklin County School District Special Services Office if you require any clarification on services available to your child.

Please contact Sarah Stebbins, Child Find Coordinator, if you know of any child who may have a disability. Ms. Stebbins may be reached using the contact information listed below.

Franklin County School District
Special Services Department
Sarah Stebbins, Coordinator

Phone: (601) 384-2133 Fax: (601) 384-4915

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA 2004) recognizes thirteen separate disability categories:

Autism
Deaf-Blind
Developmental Delay
Emotional Disability
Hearing Impairment
Language/Speech
Intellectual Disability
Multiple Disability
Orthopedic Impairment
Other Health Impairment
Specific Learning Disability
Traumatic Brain Injury
Visual Impairment