I. Child Find

The Northern Tioga School District ensures ongoing efforts will be made to identify, locate, and evaluate school-aged children who reside within the district and have a confirmed or suspected disability in accordance with federal regulations and state standards.

II.  Procedural Safeguards

The Northern Tioga School District ensures that each child with a disability and his/her parent are provided with safeguards, as required by law, throughout the identification, evaluation, and placement process, and the provision of a free appropriate public education to the child.

III.  Evaluation

The Northern Tioga School District provides a comprehensive multidisciplinary evaluation for children with disabilities by ensuring that: children are assessed in their native language or other mode of communication; tests are used for their validated purposes; children are evaluated in all areas related to their suspected disability; testing is conducted by a multidisciplinary team; testing materials and procedures are not racially or culturally biased; tests are administered by trained personnel qualified in accordance with all federal regulations and state standards; and, tests are administered in conformance with the instructions provided by the producer.

IV.  Individualized Education Program

The Northern Tioga School District ensures that an individualized education program (IEP) will be developed for each child with a disability that is found to be eligible for special education.  The IEP shall be developed to meet the needs of the child.  The IEP shall be reviewed and revised as often as necessary, but at least annually.

V.  Least Restrictive Environment

The Northern Tioga School District ensures that the education of children with disabilities occurs in the least restrictive environment.  Special education programs and services shall be appropriate and designed to meet the unique needs of each child with a disability.  To the maximum extent appropriate, children with disabilities shall be educated with children who do not have disabilities.  Special classes, separate schooling, or other removal of children with disabilities from the regular education environment, shall occur only when the nature or severity of the disability is such that an education in regular classes with the use supplemental aides and services cannot be achieved satisfactorily.

VI.  Confidentiality of Data

The Northern Tioga School District, in accordance with section 444 of GEPA, ensures the protection of the confidentiality of any personally identifiable data, information, and records collected or maintained by the school district and LEA, pursuant to Part B of the section 444 GEPA Act, and consistent with 300.611 through 300.627 of the Pennsylvania school code.

The transmittal of student records: (1) An agency reporting a crime committed by a child with a disability must ensure that copies of the special education and disciplinary records of the child are transmitted for consideration by the appropriate authorities to whom the agency reports the crime.  (2) An agency reporting a crime under this section may transmit copies of the childs’s special education and disciplinary records only to the extent that the transmission is permitted by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.