Aiding Students Who Have Learning Difficulties or Who Need Special Education or Section 504 Services

If a student is experiencing learning difficulties, his or her parent may contact the individual(s) listed below to learn about the school’s overall general education referral or screening system for support services. This system links students to a variety of support options, including making a referral for a special education evaluation or for a Section 504 evaluation to determine if the student needs specific aids, accommodations, or services.  A parent may request an evaluation for special education or Section 504 services at any time. 

*PARENT REFERRAL FORM 

*Contact Person for Special Education Referrals:

The designated person to contact regarding options for a student experiencing learning difficulties or regarding a referral for evaluation for special education services is:

Contact Person:  Lisa Robinson

Email:  ldrobinson@jeffersonisd.org

Phone Number:  903-665-2461, ext. 6

*Contact Person for Section 504 Referrals:

The designated person to contact regarding options for a student experiencing learning difficulties or regarding a referral for evaluation for Section 504 services is:

Contact Person:  Jessica Clark

Email:  jdclark@jeffersonisd.org

Phone Number:  903-665-2461, ext. 6

For those students who are having difficulty in the regular classroom, all school districts and open enrollment charter schools must consider tutorial, compensatory, and other academic or behavior support services that are available to all students, including a process based on Response to Intervention (RtI). The implementation of RtI has the potential to have a positive impact on the ability of districts and charter schools to meet the needs of all struggling students.

Special Education Referrals:

If a parent makes a written request for an initial evaluation for special education services to the director of special education services or an administrative employee of the school district or open enrollment charter school, the district or charter school must respond no later than 15 school days after receiving the request. At that time, the district or charter school must give the parent a prior written notice of whether it agrees to or refuses to evaluate the student, along with a copy of the Notice of Procedural Safeguards.  If the school district or charter school agrees to evaluate the student, it must also give the parent the opportunity to give written consent for the evaluation. 

Please note that a request for a special education evaluation may be made verbally and does not need to be in writing.  Districts and charter schools must still comply with all federal prior written notice and procedural safeguard requirements and the requirements for identifying, locating, and evaluating children who are suspected of being a child with a disability and in need of special education. However, a verbal request does not require the district or charter school to respond within the 15-school-day timeline.

If the district or charter school decides to evaluate the student, it must complete the student’s initial evaluation and evaluation report no later than 45 school days from the day it receives a parent’s written consent to evaluate the student.  However, if the student is absent from school during the evaluation period for three or more school days, the evaluation period will be extended by the number of school days equal to the number of school days that the student is absent.

There is an exception to the 45-school-day timeline.  If a district or charter school receives a parent’s consent for the initial evaluation at least 35 but less than 45 school days before the last instructional day of the school year, it must complete the written report and provide a copy of the report to the parent by June 30 of that year. However, if the student is absent from school for three or more days during the evaluation period, the June 30th due date no longer applies. Instead, the general timeline of 45 school days plus extensions for absences of three or more days will apply.

Upon completing the evaluation, the district or charter school must give the parent a copy of the evaluation report at no cost.

Additional information regarding special education is available from the district or charter school in a companion document titled Parent’s Guide to the Admission, Review, and Dismissal Process. 

Section 504 Referrals: 

Each school district or charter school must have standards and procedures in place for the evaluation and placement of students in the district’s or charter school’s Section 504 program. Districts and charter schools must also implement a system of procedural safeguards that includes notice, an opportunity for a parent or guardian to examine relevant records, an impartial hearing with an opportunity for participation by the parent or guardian and representation by counsel, and a review procedure.

Additional Information:

The following websites provide information and resources for students with disabilities and their families.

• Legal Framework for the Child-Centered Special Education Process
• Partners Resource Network
• Special Education Information Center
• Texas Project First

The Government Code, Section 441.158, provides that the Texas State Library and Archives Commission shall issue records retention schedules for each type of local government, including a schedule for records common to all types of local governments. The law provides further that each schedule must state the retention period prescribed by federal or state law, rule of court, or regulation for a record for which a period is prescribed; and prescribe retention periods for all other records, which periods have the same effect as if prescribed by law after the records retention schedule is adopted as a rule of the commission.

The retention period for Special Education records is:  cessation of services plus 5 years.  All records beyond the required retention timeline will periodically, throughout the year, be reviewed and destroyed unless parent/guardian or student of legal age requests that these records be maintained.  Jefferson I.S.D. Special Education records are housed at 411 E Harrison St., Jefferson, Texas.  For more information, please contact the Special Education office at 903-665-2461, ext. 6.

Child Find is a comprehensive system, ensuring all children are educated to their maximum potential that is provided by the Jefferson Independent School District.  

The purpose of Child Find is to locate, identify, and evaluate infants, children and young adults who may have a developmental delay or disability. 

Services are provided at no cost to the family. 

If you know someone who may have a problem with learning, speech, vision, hearing, or a health or physical disability which interferes with his/her education, contact the Special Education department at 411 E. Harrison St., Jefferson, Texas, 903-665-2461, extension 6, or the Jefferson Independent School District campus closest to you.  

Notice for STAAR Retest

HB 657, which was passed into law on May 29, 2017, requires the school district to notify you of the following:

For students in grades 5 and 8, who do not perform satisfactorily on the first administration of the STAAR reading and/or math assessment, the ARD committee must meet before the second administration. 

At that time, the committee shall determine:

1. the manner in which the student will participate in an accelerated instruction program; and
2. whether the student will be promoted or retained

The committee may promote the student to the next grade level if the committee concludes that the student has made sufficient progress in the measurable annual goals contained in the student’s individualized education program.  A school district that promotes a student under this option is not required to provide additional opportunity for the student to perform satisfactorily on the assessment instrument. 

If you have any questions, please contact your campus principal or the Special Services department at 903-665-2461, extension 6.