The Black River Local Schools Department of Special Education provides services to over 200 students with disabilities. By federal and state law, school districts are required to identify children who are suspected of having a disability and then to provide a free and appropriate education (FAPE) for all children with disabilities. These services can either be provided within the district or by agreement with another school district or service provider. Currently, all but a very few students with disabilities are served within the district.
Black River’s preschool special education program includes children with disabilities ages three through five. Services, at no cost to parents, include classroom instruction, school psychology, speech/language therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and transition to school-age programs. For purposes of inclusion, typically developing children are also enrolled in the program. We also provide a public preschool classroom for students ages three through five.
School-age services, at no cost to parents, for students with disabilities ages five through twenty-one include instruction in special education classrooms and resource centers, individual/small group instruction for students who are fully mainstreamed in regular education, school psychology, speech/language therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, work study/transition, consultation and several others.
The Black River Local Schools work closely with families, agencies, and staff to determine appropriate services and supports for all students with disabilities. Students can be referred for assessment by parents, teachers, or other individual who has first-hand knowledge of the student’s educational progress. A student is eligible for special education services by qualification in one of the disability categories defined by IDEA(see link). A plan, called an Individual Education Plan (IEP) is developed by the team to clearly identify goals, services, accommodations, modifications, and other supports.
Our teachers here at Black River are very involved in every aspect of the education of students with disabilities starting from the evaluation process, IEP writing, daily learning to sharing the progress that students are making. Our intervention specialist and classroom teachers work together as a team to provide the best education for our students. If you have questions or concerns about your child’s education please contact your child’s teacher.
The Director of Student Services is Jeffery Novak and he can be reached at 419-736-2161 ext 108 or through e-mail at [email protected] . The Director of Student Services Secretary is Lorie Bowling and she can be reached at 419-736-2161 ext 406 or through e-mail at [email protected]