SPECIAL EDUCATION

As a special education team, our District strives to develop a program through the Individualized Education Plan (IEP) that will promote, in an individualized manner, success for all students being served. Our identified students may be served in the regular education classroom as well as through individual, small group, or classroom learning centers.

Programs for Children with Disabilities

Winton Woods City Schools provide an educational program for all children with disabilities ages 3 through 21. Within the Student Services Department there are four special education supervisors who coordinate and support the implementation of special education services for students with identified needs as defined by the State of Ohio.

Children entitled to special education programs and services are those with disabilities that significantly interfere with their ability to succeed in school. These include hearing impairments, visual impairments, severe or multiple impairments, learning disabilities, severe emotional disturbance, intellectual disabilities, speech or language impairment, and orthopedic or physical impairments.

If you know of a child who may have a disability and is not in school, please contact the district's Department of Student Services at 513-619-2320.

Eligibility for special education services is based on the presence of a disability that results in the child’s need for specially-designed instruction and/or related service such as speech, occupational, and/or physical school-based therapy, not on the possible benefit from the aforementioned instruction or services. During an evaluation (ETR), team members must be able to document the adverse educational impact of a child’s needs on grade level performance. For example, a student may demonstrate communication differences, delays or even impairments, without demonstrating adverse effect on educational performance. IDEA requires that determination of a disability consider how the disability affects the progress and involvement of the student in the general curriculum. Consideration by the ETR team is given to the academic, vocational, and social-emotional aspects of a child’s disability. For more information regarding disability categories and the evaluation process, parents may access the document entitled, "A Guide to Parent Rights in Special Education" which outlines those processes, as well as a family’s procedural safeguards.

Locating Children Who May Have a Disability

Each year Winton Woods City School District conducts a state required count of all children

with disabilities living in the district. Disability, in this instance, means such conditions as hearing impairments, visual impairments, speech or language impairments, learning disabilities, behavioral disabilities, or multiple disabilities, mental retardation, other health impairments, physical impairments, autism, and traumatic brain injury. If you know of a child or adolescent between the ages of birth through 21 whom you suspect may have a disability and who is not currently receiving services, Winton Woods School District wants to hear from you. Children attending or planning to attend a private school also are included in this count. All information is confidential. You may contact the district directly or contact your child’s private school and ask them to forward the information to the district. Child Find is a community-wide effort.

If you have or know of a child who may have a disability, contact the district's Department of Student Services at 513-619-2320 for more information and guidance.

Identifying Students with Disabilities

In Winton Woods, over 700 students are served by intervention specialists and tutors. An Individual Education Plan (IEP) is developed and implemented in accordance with state and federal Special Education Standards.

District Special Education Policies

Transfer Special Education Documents Policy

Evaluation Timelines and Compliance Procedures

Initial Evaluations

Timelines: All initial evaluations must be completed within sixty days.  Any exceptions to this timeline must be in accordance with Ohio Operating Standards Rule 3301-51-06 Evaluations.

Compliance Procedure: 

1. School Psychologist completes the Referral for Evaluation, Evaluation Planning Form, Prior Written Notice to Parents, and obtains Parental Consent for Evaluation. The psychologist also provides the parent with procedural safeguards information.
2. Within three days of obtaining parental consent for evaluation, the school psychologist documents the initial evaluation, referral date, and date the district received parental consent in a database that is shared with the Assistant to the Executive Director of Student Services (AEDSS), who also monitors the timelines and timely completion of evaluations.
3. Upon completion of the evaluation plan and obtaining parental consent, the parent and the district will schedule a day and time for the evaluation team meeting, to ensure that the evaluation will be completed within the required time frame.  Any agreed-upon exceptions to the sixty-day timeline must be communicated to the AEDSS and Executive Director of Student Services within three days of obtaining parental consent.
4. Scheduling Guidance - Schedule the re-evaluation team meeting no later than two weeks prior to its scheduled due date. Allow more time when there is a greater possibility of inclement weather that may require rescheduling.
5. Upon completion of the evaluation, the School Psychologist will notify the AEDSS of the eligibility determination within 24 hours, via a maintained shared database of in-progress and completed initial evaluations and re-evaluations.

Re-evaluations

Timelines:

• For existing Winton Woods students with disabilities, the re-evaluation must be completed within three-years minus one day from the date of the existing evaluation team report.
• For new students for whom the district has not accepted the prior agency’s evaluation team report, the re-evaluation must be completed within sixty days.

Compliance Procedure:

1. The Assistant to the Executive Director of Student Services provides the school psychologist with the current list of students requiring re-evaluation.  This list shall be updated and sent to the school psychologist on a monthly basis.
2. In addition to the monthly updated re-evaluation lists, the AEDSS will also provide notification of any students with disabilities who enroll or withdraw from the district, as soon as this information is known.
3. Any students who will be due for a re-evaluation during the current school year shall be added to the re-evaluation list, and notification must be sent to the psychologist.
4. The School Psychologist and IEP case manager will coordinate timelines with regard to the scheduling of the re-evaluation, with the intention of providing convenience to the parent.  While the district shall not make a predetermination about a student’s eligibility for special education services, the district may schedule a student’s re-evaluation meeting and then tentatively plan to complete the student’s annual IEP immediately following the completion of the re-evaluation, in an effort to condense meeting time for parents and loss of instructional time for students and staff.
5. Scheduling Guidance - Schedule the re-evaluation team meeting no later than two weeks prior to its scheduled due date. Allow more time during when there is a greater possibility of inclement weather that may require rescheduling.
6. Upon completion of the evaluation, the School Psychologist will notify the AEDSS of the eligibility determination within 24 hours, via a maintained shared database of in-progress and completed initial evaluations and re-evaluations.

Waiver

Timeline: If the parent and the school district agree that a re-evaluation is not necessary, a waiver must be completed within three years minus one day of the existing evaluation team report.

Compliance Procedures:

1. A waiver is not a standard practice.
2. When it is agreed that a waiver is appropriate, the parent must sign the waiver document.
3. When the waiver is completed, the School Psychologist shall notify the AEDSS of the waiver and continued eligibility within 24 hours, via a maintained shared database of in-progress and completed initial evaluations and re-evaluations.

Enduring Adherence to Timelines

Completion of student initial evaluations and re-evaluations is within the required timelines is essential.  Therefore, several functions are in place to ensure the timely completion of all evaluations.

• School Psychologist maintains an individual database of all initial evaluations and re-evaluations, and monitors the timely completion of all evaluations.  This document is shared with the Assistant to the Director of Student Services.
• The Assistant to the Director regularly shares an updated list of required student re-evaluations.  The AEDSS also receives notification of initial evaluations and supports in monitoring the timely completion of initial evaluations and re-evaluations.
• IEP Case Manager monitors all timelines for students on their caseload.
• Special Education Supervisor reviews completed IEP’s and checks compliance dates.

Transfer Evaluation Team Reports/Accepting Evaluation Team Reports for Students Transferring to the District

Rationale:
When a new student with a disability enrolls or when a  previously enrolled student re-enrolls, the district must review the special education documents and determine whether the documents are to be accepted. The district must determine whether the documents are complete and provide necessary information to meet compliance guidelines, to understand the students disability, and to meet the students needs. The Transfer Evaluation Team Report (TETR) is the district’s documentation that it has accepted the prior educational agency’s evaluation, without modification. 

Rule:
In accordance with Ohio Operating Standard for the Education of Children with Disabilities (2024) Rule 3301-51-06 Evaluations, (D-3-b). The educational agency has thirty days from the date the prior educational agency's evaluation was received to either: accept the evaluation from the prior educational agency; or obtain consent for a reevaluation. A reevaluation under this section must be conducted within sixty days of parent consent. 

Winton Woods Procedure: 

1. Upon notification that a student with a disability has enrolled, the Assistant to the Director of Student Services shall notify the building administrator, school counselor, special education supervisor, and school psychologist that a student with a disability has enrolled, and shall provide copies of all available special education documents including the Evaluation Team Report (ETR), Individual Education Plan (IEP), and any accompanying documentation such as custody documentation, court paperwork,  or private evaluation reports.
2. The special education supervisor or school designee shall assign the student to an intervention specialist’s caseload, notifying both the Intervention Specialist and the Assistant to the Director.
3. The Intervention Specialist (IEP Case Manager), shall contact the parent and schedule a meeting of the IEP team, with the purpose of reviewing the student’s documents (IEP and ETR), accepting or not accepting the student’s evaluation team report.  The school psychologist must be notified of this meeting.
4. The school psychologist and IEP team members will review the evaluation team report prior to the TETR/TIEP meeting. Any questions or concerns regarding the Evaluation Team Report should be discussed at the TETR/TIEP meeting.  
   • If the team chooses to accept the Evaluation Team Report, the school psychologist will complete the Transfer Evaluation Team Report.   
   • If the team chooses not to accept the in-state/Ohio Evaluation Team Report, then the school psychologist will facilitate the process of a reevaluation.   
   • If the team chooses not to accept the out-of-state Evaluation Team Report, then the school psychologist will facilitate the process of an Initial Evaluation Team Report. 
   • If The district does not accept the  prior agency's Evaluation Team Report,  then the IEP cannot be accepted. 
5. If the IEP is not accepted, then the district continues to provide FAPE until the completion of the evaluation.  If the student is determined to be eligible for Special education services,  a new IEP will be written within 30 days of the eligibility determination.  If the student is determined not to be eligible,  he or she will be deemed a general education student,  and will no longer be provided special education services. 
    

Disability Categories

A multifactored evaluation process is used to determine handicapping possibilities in:

AUTISM

A developmental disability significantly affecting verbal and nonverbal communication and social interaction, generally evident before age 3 that adversely affects a child’s educational performance. Other characteristics often associated with autism are engagement in repetitive activities and stereotyped movements, resistance to environmental change or change in daily routines and unusual responses to sensory experiences. The term does not apply if a child’s educational performance is adversely affected primarily because the child has a serious emotional disturbance. A child who manifests the characteristics of autism after age three could be identified as having autism if the requirements of the first two sentences of this definition are satisfied.

COGNITIVE DISABILITY

Significantly below-average general intellectual capability that exists along with deficits in adaptive behavior (in other words, lack of ability to adapt). It is demonstrated during the child’s developmental period and negatively affects a child’s educational performance.

DEAF-BLINDNESS

Hearing and visual impairments occurring together. The combination causes such severe communication and other developmental and educational problems that the child with deaf-blindness cannot be accommodated in special education programs designed only for children with deafness or only for children with blindness.

DEAFNESS

A hearing impairment that is so severe that the child is unable to process language through hearing, with or without amplification, and the child’s educational performance is affected.

EMOTIONAL DISTURBANCE

A condition showing one or more of the following characteristics over a long period of time and to a degree that it affects a child’s educational performance, resulting in:

• An inability to learn that cannot be explained by intellectual, sensory or health factors;
• An inability to build or maintain satisfactory relationships with peers and teachers;
• Inappropriate types of behavior or feelings under normal circumstances;
• A general pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression; or
• A tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears associated with personal or school problems.

The term includes schizophrenia. The term does not apply to children who are socially maladjusted, unless it is determined that they have a serious emotional disturbance.

HEARING IMPAIRMENT

Impairment in hearing, whether permanent or fluctuating, that adversely affects a child’s educational performance, but that is not included under the definition of deafness.

MULTIPLE DISABILITIES

Impairments that occur simultaneously (such as cognitive disability-blindness and cognitive disability-orthopedic impairment), the combination of which causes such severe educational problems that they cannot be accommodated in special education programs solely for one of the impairments. The term does not include deaf-blindness.

ORTHOPEDIC IMPAIRMENT

A severe orthopedic impairment that adversely affects a child’s educational performance. The term includes impairments caused by congenital anomaly (e.g., clubfoot, absence of some member), impairments caused by disease (e.g., poliomyelitis, bone tuberculosis) and impairments from other causes (e.g., cerebral palsy, amputation and fractures or burns that cause contractures).

OTHER HEALTH IMPAIRMENT

Having limited strength, vitality, or alertness, including a heightened alertness to environmental stimuli, that results in limited alertness with respect to the educational environment, that is due to chronic or acute health problems such as asthma, attention deficit disorder or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, diabetes, epilepsy, a heart condition, hemophilia, lead poisoning, leukemia, nephritis, rheumatic fever or sickle cell anemia and Tourette syndrome; and adversely affects a child’s educational performance.

SPECIFIC LEARNING DISABILITY

A disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written, that may manifest itself in an imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, write, spell or to do mathematical calculations. The term includes such conditions as perceptual disabilities, brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction, dyslexia and developmental aphasia. The term does not include children who have learning problems that are primarily the result of visual, hearing or motor abilities, of cognitive disability, of emotional disturbance or of environmental, cultural or economic disadvantage.

SPEECH OR LANGUAGE IMPAIRMENT

A communication disorder, such as stuttering, impaired articulation, language impairment or a voice impairment that adversely affects a child’s educational performance.

TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY

An injury to the brain caused by external physical force or by other medical conditions, including but not limited to stroke, anoxia, infectious disease, aneurysm, brain tumors and neurological insults resulting from medical or surgical treatments. The injury results in total or partial functional disability or psychosocial impairment, or both, that adversely affects a child’s educational performance. The term applies to open or closed head injuries, as well as to other medical conditions that result in acquired brain injuries. The injuries result in impairments in one or more areas, such as cognition; language; memory; attention; reasoning; abstract thinking; judgment; problem-solving; sensory, perceptual, and motor abilities; psychosocial behavior; physical functions; information processing; and speech. The term does not apply to brain injuries that are congenital or degenerative, or brain injuries induced by birth trauma.

VISUAL IMPAIRMENT INCLUDING BLINDNESS

Impairment in vision that, even with correction, adversely affects a child’s educational performance. The term includes both partial sight and blindness. Visual impairment for any child means:

o A visual impairment, not primarily perceptual in nature, resulting in a measured visual acuity of 20/70 or poorer in the better eye with correction; or

o A physical eye condition that affects visual functioning to the extent that special education placement, materials and/or services are required in an educational setting.

Section 504

Section 504 is part of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

The main purpose of Section 504 is to prohibit discrimination while assuring that students with disabilities have educational opportunities and benefits equal to those provided to non-disabled students. If a student is found not to be eligible under IDEA, the requirements of Section 504 may be suitable if he/she meets the Section 504 definition of a disability, which is any person who has a physical or mental impairment, which substantially limits a major life activity.

A 504 plan for students in the public schools has its origins in the Federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973. From its inception until the Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1984 (Public Law 98-221), the main thrust had been in the area of employment for individuals with disabilities. In the years since 1984, the Office for Civil Rights, charged with the enforcement of Section 504, has become pro-active in the field of education of disabled individuals. The Winton Woods City Schools 504 Plan process focuses upon the instruction issues of Section 504 (Subpart D), and not upon employment practices.

All individuals who are disabled under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) are also considered to be disabled and, therefore, protected under Section 504. However, all individuals who are considered disabled under 

Keeping on Track with Section 504 Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act is a federal anti-discrimination law intended to create a level playing field in regular education. It was not created to give unfair advantage. Accommodations must apply only to the named impairment.

A student is considered to be handicapped under 504 if he or she:

• Has a “physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more major life activities”
• Has a record of such an impairment
• Or is regarded as having such an impairment; is a handicapped individual protected by Section 504.

 

---

Autism Scholarship Program

The Autism Scholarship Program (ASP) gives the parents of children with autism who qualify for a scholarship the choice to send the child to a special education program other than the one operated by the school district of residence to receive their education and the services outlined in the child's individualized education program (IEP).

Any student who has been identified by their district as a child with autism and for whom the district has created an individualized education plan (IEP) qualifies for the Autism Scholarship program.

The student must have a current IEP from the district of residence that is finalized and all parties, including the parent, must be in agreement with the IEP.

A child is eligible to apply to participate in the program when the child turns three. For more information, please  email: autismscholarship@education.ohio.gov.

 

Jon Peterson Special Needs Scholarship Program

The Jon Peterson Special Needs Scholarship Program provides scholarships to students who are eligible to attend kindergarten through 12th grade and have an Individualized Education Program (IEP) from their district of residence. The amount of each scholarship will be based on the disability identified on the student’s IEP.

There are two application periods annually. The first application period begins in February and ends on April 15th. Scholarships awarded to this group of applicants will be for the full school year. The second application period begins in October and ends on November 15th. Scholarships awarded during this second application period will be awarded for half of the school year (January 1 through June 30). To apply for a Peterson Scholarship, parents of eligible students must first register with a participating Peterson Scholarship Provider. The provider will have the required application forms and will assist the parent in the scholarship application process. For more information, please email: peterson.scholarship@education.ohio.gov.