Special Services Coordinator

Medical or mental health diagnosis does not guarantee an educational evaluation or special education services.

• Failure, low grades, lack of performance or behavioral concerns do not automatically indicate a suspected disability. Many factors contribute to a student’s performance.

• Your student’s educational team reviews all available information to determine if additional steps are needed in the school setting.

When is a School Based Evaluation Warranted?

In order for school districts to suspect a disability, a child’s educational functioning and performance must be adversely impacted. 

• A medical diagnosis does not automatically make a child eligible for special education services, nor does it automatically warrant an evaluation  for special education services, nor does it automatically warrant an evaluation for special education services. 

• ODE requires that all students receive documented interventions  for academic or behavioral needs through a Response to Intervention (RtI) process.  Data generated from interventions are considered by the team to determine if an educational disability is suspected.

• When an educational disability is suspected, the parent / legal guardian is the only person who is able to give written consent to begin an evaluation.

A School Team May Suspect an Educational Disability when:

• A student is not progressing with social emotional or behavioral supports / intervention.

• A student’s health is adversely impacting their educational performance.

• A student is not making academic progress despite being provided intensive research based interventions.

General Education Classes with Intervention Specialist Support, Inclusion Co-Teaching or Consult

Collaboration/consultation/inclusion co-teaching services focus on the general education teacher and intervention specialist working together to best meet the needs of students with disabilities. Students receive all instruction in the general education classroom. This setting also allows for individual or small group instruction within the classroom but also for short periods of time to be pulled out for more intensive instruction and intervention. All programming is individualized to meet student needs.

The Resource Room is a small group instructional setting that serves students with disabilities that require more intensive programming and supports. This setting offers a modified curriculum, following Ohio's Learning Standards Extended, which provides personalized options for students that are not offered in the general education classroom. Students are also included in the general education classroom as much as possible.

Separate Facilities are offered for Manchester students and are outside of the district. These are designed specifically for students with disabilities and are a more intensive, smaller group setting. Placement at a separate facility is an IEP team decision.

This is a highly individualized education program provided at home to a child with a disability which prevents the child from attending a regular or special program even with special education supports.

Manchester Schools offers a wide variety of Related Services to qualifying students. These may include the following:

• Aide Services
• Behavior Consultant Services (through the ESC)
• Audiology Services (through the ESC)
• Vision Specialist (through the ESC)
• Occupational Therapy
• Orientation and Mobility (through the ESC)
• Physical Therapy
• School Psychological Services
• Speech and Language Therapy
• Transpiration
• Work Study/Transition Services (through the ESC)

Child Find is the process of identifying, locating and evaluating all children from age three to twenty-one who may have a disability and be in need of special education and related services, regardless of the severity of the disability. The district seeks to identify all children in the Manchester School District who attend a public or non-public school in the district or who are homeless or wards of the state who may be in need of special education and related services.

A child with a disability is a child having a cognitive disability, hearing impairment, visual impairment, speech or language impairment, serious emotional disturbance, orthopedic impairment, autism, traumatic brain injury, other health impairment, specific learning disability, deaf-blindness, or multiple disabilities.

Parents, relatives, and concerned citizens are asked to assist the Manchester School District find any child who may have a disability and need special education and related services. If you are aware of a child who may have special needs, please notify the Secretary of Student Services at (330) 882-4133 or the Superintendent’s Assistant at (330) 882-6926 for Manchester Schools.

Manchester Local Schools has received a grant  in regard to IDEA of the Education of the Handicapped Act. The district intends to provide direct services to students through programming both in classroom units and tutoring for special need students. Any person may call 330-882-6926 during the school day to ask questions pertaining to services for all students under IDEA.

Section 504/ADA Prohibition Against Discrimination Based On Disability

Pursuant to Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 ("Section 504"), the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended ("ADA"), and the implementing regulations (collectively "Section 504/ADA"), no otherwise qualified individual with a disability shall, solely by reason of his/her disability, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance. The Board of Education does not discriminate in admission or access to, or participation or treatment in its programs or activities. As such, the Board's policies and practices will not discriminate against students with disabilities and will make accessible to qualified individuals with disabilities its facilities, programs, and activities. No discrimination will be knowingly permitted against any individual with a disability on the sole basis of that disability in any of the programs, activities, policies, and/or practices in the District.

The Board designates the following individual(s) to serve as the District's 504 Compliance Officer(s)/ADA Coordinator(s) (hereinafter referred to as the "District Compliance Officer(s)".  The Superintendent and/or Director of Curriculum are acting District Compliance Officers.

A Guide to Parent Rights in Special Education