Revised June, 2019
CHARTER HIGH SCHOOL FOR ARCHITECTURE + DESIGN
ANNUAL PUBLIC NOTICE OF SPECIAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS AND SERVICES, AND SERVICES FOR PROTECTED HANDICAPPED STUDENTS AND GIFTED STUDENTS
Special Education Programs and Services
CHAD provides a free, appropriate, public education (FAPE) to students who are determined to be eligible for special education and related services under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and corresponding federal and state regulations. An eligible student must be of school age, in need of specially-designed instruction, and meet eligibility criteria for one or more of the following disabilities: Autism, Deaf-Blindness, Deafness, Emotional Disturbance, Hearing Impairment, Intellectual Disability, Multiple Disabilities, Orthopedic Impairment, Other Health Impairment, Specific Learning Disability, Speech or Language Impairment, Traumatic Brain Injury, or Visual Impairment including Blindness. For additional information regarding the signs of developmental delays or other disabilities, please contact CHAD’s Special Education Coordinator or any person listed in this notice.
Evaluation Process
Scheduled annually and occurring on an ongoing basis, CHAD engages in identification (“Child Find”) activities to ensure that eligible students receive an appropriate educational program consisting of special education and related services, individualized to meet their educational needs. At no cost to the parents, these services are provided in compliance with state and federal laws, and are reasonably calculated to yield meaningful educational benefit and student progress. If screening activities indicate that a student may have disability to qualify for special education, CHAD will recommend evaluation of the student to determine eligibility. Regardless of screening activities, parents/guardians who suspect that their student is eligible for special education services may request an evaluation at any time, through a written request to the Special Education Coordinator or any person listed in this notice.
Consent
CHAD cannot proceed with an evaluation or with the initial provision of special education and related services without the written consent of the student’s parent/guardian. For additional information related to consent, please refer to the Procedural Safeguards Notice which can be found at the PaTTAN website, www.pattan.net. Once written parental consent is obtained, CHAD will proceed with the evaluation process.
Program Development and Placement
Once the evaluation is completed, an individualized education program (IEP) is developed if the student is determined to be eligible by a team consisting of his or her parents/guardians, at least one regular education teacher, a special education teacher, and a representative of CHAD, based upon the results and recommendations in the evaluation.
The IEP team also determines the eligible student’s educational placement. To the maximum extent appropriate, students with disabilities are educated with students who are not disabled, in “the least restrictive environment.” Special classes, alternative schooling or other removal of students with disabilities occurs when the student’s IEP team has determined that the nature or severity of the disability is such that education in general education classes, even with supplementary aids and services, cannot be achieved satisfactorily.
CHAD provides a continuum of placements that provide itinerant, supplemental or full-time special education services and related supports, at no cost to the student or family.
Notice of Recommended Educational Placement/Prior Written Notice (NOREP/PWN)
CHAD will issue a Notice of Recommended Educational Placement/Prior Written Notice (NOREP/PWN) to an eligible student’s parent/guardian before initial services can be provided. The parent/guardian has the right to revoke consent after initial placement. CHAD also must issue NOREP/PWN whenever it proposes to change the identification, evaluation, educational program or placement of a student, or whenever it refuses to initiate or make a change in the identification, evaluation, educational program or placement requested by a parent/guardian.
Student Services
Special education services are provided according to the educational needs of the student, not necessarily the category of disability. Depending upon the student’s disability and needs, types of services which are available at CHAD include, but are not limited to: (1) learning support; (2) life skills support; (3) emotional support; (4) deaf or hearing impaired support; (5) blind or visually impaired support; (6) physical support; (7) autistic support; and (8) multiple disabilities support.
Related services designed to enable the student to participate in or access his or her program of special education may include, but are not limited to: speech and language therapy, transportation, occupational therapy, physical therapy, school health services, audiologist services, vision services, counseling, or training. A student also may be eligible for extended school year services, if such need is determined by his or her IEP team.
Services for Protected Handicapped Students
Students who are ineligible for special education services may qualify as protected handicapped students under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and companion federal and state regulations, which are intended to prevent discrimination. In order to qualify as a protected handicapped student, he or she must have a physical or mental disability that substantially limits or prohibits participation in or access to an aspect of the school program.
CHAD will ensure that FAPE is received by each protected handicapped student, without discrimination or cost to the student or family, by developing a Section 504 Service Plan to provide those related aids, services or accommodations which are needed to provide equal opportunity to participate in and obtain the benefits of the school program and extracurricular activities, to the maximum extent appropriate to the student’s abilities.
For additional information on the evaluation procedures and provision of services to protected handicapped students, parents/guardians should contact the Special Education Coordinator or any person listed in this notice.
Services for Mentally Gifted Students
CHAD offers special education services, in the form of acceleration or enrichment, to students who are identified as mentally gifted by a gifted multidisciplinary team (GMDT). A student is considered mentally gifted when his or her cognitive ability or other factors, as determined by a GMDT evaluation, indicate that he or she has outstanding intellectual ability, the development of which requires special programs and services not ordinarily available in the general education program.
While CHAD engages in screening activities during regular classroom instruction, and uses the data generated to determine whether a GMDT evaluation is warranted, parents/guardians may request gifted screening or a GMDT evaluation at any time, in writing to the Special Education Coordinator or any person listed in this notice.
Equal Opportunity in Educational Programs and Activities
CHAD will not discriminate in educational programs or activities based on race, color, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, handicap, creed, marital status or disability. No student enrolled at CHAD will be denied equal opportunity to participate in age and program-appropriate instruction or activities for any reason prohibited by federal or state law.
Contact
If a parent/guardian wishes to learn more, or believes that his or her student may need to be identified, the parent/guardian is encouraged to contact:
Dr. Harold Brady – Interim Chief Executive Officer
Amber Fisher-Brown – Assistant Principal
Charter High School for Architecture + Design
105 South 7th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19106
215-351-2900
Mode of Communication
The content of this notice has been written in straightforward, simple language. If a person does not understand any of this notice, he or she should contact any person listed above or the Special Education Coordinator. CHAD will arrange for an interpreter for parents/guardians with limited English proficiency. If a parent is deaf or blind or has no written language, CHAD will arrange for communication of this notice in the mode normally used by the parent (e.g., sign language, Braille, or oral communication).