The Ocean Springs School District is committed to identifying and serving students with disabilities by:
1. FREE APPROPRIATE PUBLIC EDUCATION – The Ocean Springs School District provides free appropriate public educational programming for students ages three through twenty, with disabilities who, by reason thereof, need special education and related services as defined by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Amendments of 1997, Part B (IDEA) and state regulations regarding free appropriate public education (FAPE). Provision of a FAPE will continue for a student with a disability through the school year in which a student reaches age twenty-one (21) if the student was enrolled in the public agency and was twenty (20) at the beginning of the school year.
2. FULL EDUCATION OPPORTUNITY GOAL – The Ocean Springs School District is committed to serving students with disabilities and hereby sets a goal of providing full educational opportunities to all students with disabilities through twenty-one years by the year 2005. The opportunities will be provided in accordance with applicable state and federal laws and court decisions. At this time, Mississippi law does not allow public schools to provide educational opportunities to students with disabilities over the age of twenty-one.
3. CHILD FIND - Each year the Ocean Springs School District will conduct a Child Find campaign to identify, locate, and evaluate children residing in the district’s jurisdiction who are suspected of having a disability and may be in need of special education and related services. These requirements apply to:
- Highly mobile children with disabilities, and
- Children who are suspected of having a disability and may be in need of special education, even though they are advancing from grade to grade.
4. EVALUATION AND DETERMINATION OF ELIGIBILITY – It is the policy of the Ocean Springs School District that all testing and evaluation materials and procedures used by personnel for assessment and placement will be, to the maximum extent possible, selected, and administered so as not to be racially or culturally discriminatory; this will ensure that no child will be misclassified, misplaced, or unnecessarily labeled as having a disability because of the inappropriate selection, administration, or interpretation of materials or procedures. The district will conduct a full and individual initial evaluation in accordance with procedures outlined in the Mississippi Department of Education policies and procedures regarding children with disabilities under the IDEA 97 before the initial provision of special education and related services to a child with a disability. A reevaluation will be conducted of each child with a disability in accordance with the above mentioned state policies.
5. INDIVIDUALIZED EDUCATION PLAN (IEP) – The Ocean Springs School District will develop or
revise, whichever is appropriate, and implement an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) for each student with a disability. The plan will be reviewed periodically but not less than annually. Educational placement decisions will be determined by the IEP Committee.
6. LEAST RESTRICTIVE ENVIRONMENT – The Ocean Springs School District will, to the maximum extent appropriate, educate students with disabilities with students having no disabilities in their age group. The removal of the students with disabilities from the regular educational environment will occur only when the nature or severity of the disability is such that education in regular classes with supplementary aids and services cannot be achieved satisfactorily. A continuum of alternative placements, based on the individual students’ Individualized Education Plan (IEPs), will be provided to students with disabilities in the district. Placement of the student will be determined at least on an annual basis and will be as close to the student’s home as possible. This does not mean that, if there is only one child in a school who needs the services of a teacher in a self-contained class, this will be provided on a one-to-one basis when there are several other students with the same need in a nearby school. These students will be brought together to be provided appropriate services. In selecting the least restrictive environment for each student, consideration is given to the potentially harmful effect on the student or the quality of services needed. If a student with a disability can function socially, emotionally, and mentally with nondisabled students of a similar chronological age, he/she will be given that opportunity in accord with his/her IEP. Equal opportunities for participation to the maximum extent appropriate in a variety of nonacademic and extracurricular services must be available to children with disabilities.
7. PROCEDURAL SAFEGUARDS/DUE PROCESS – The Ocean Springs School District will ensure those students with disabilities and their parents are guaranteed due process with respect to the provision of a free appropriate public education.
Mediation services may be accessed when a parent and the district disagree on matters pertaining to the identification, evaluation, educational placement, and/or the provision of a free appropriate public education.
8. CONFIDENTIALITY – The Ocean Springs School District will protect the confidentiality of any personally identifiable data, information, and records collected or maintained relative to students with disabilities as required under IDEA and the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).
9. PARTICIPATION OF PRIVATE SCHOOL CHILDREN NOT PLACED OR REFERRED BY A PUBLIC AGENCY – A Service Plan will be developed and implemented for each private school child with a disability who has been designated to receive special education and related services in accordance with procedures outlined by the MDE State Plan.
10. PLACEMENT IN PRIVATE SCHOOLS – A child with a disability will not be placed for educational purposes in a private school by the Ocean Springs School District unless that private school can provide a free appropriate public education for that child in the least restrictive environment.
11. COMPREHENSIVE SYSTEM OF PERSONNEL DEVELOPMENT (CSPD) – The Ocean Springs School District will, upon receipt of information relative to the in-service to be provided as part of the CSPD, continue to select the in-service activities which are needed by district personnel and provide an opportunity for these personnel to participate.
12. PUBLIC CONTROL OF FUNDS – The control of funds provided under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Amendments of 1997, Part B and Preschool funds; and title of property derived therefrom, shall be in this agency for the uses and purposes provided in this title, and this agency will administer such property and funds and apply them only for the purposes for which they were granted.
13. INFORMATION REPORTS - The Ocean Springs School District will make appropriate reports relative to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Amendments of 1997, Part B and Preschool funds as outlined in state and federal regulations. The district will keep such records as are required and will afford access thereto as the State Department of Education may find necessary to assure their correctness and to verify any parts of such records.
14. COMPARABLE SERVICES – State and local expenditures for the special education program supported by IDEA funds will be comparable to expenditures for any similar program that may be supported from other sources.
15. NON-SUPPLANTING – Federal funds expended from this project will be used to pay only the excess costs directly attributable to the education of students with disabilities and will be used to supplement local and state funds; furthermore, IDEA funds will not be used to supplant state and local funds for any particular cost. If state/local funds are available to pay for the education of nondisabled children, ages birth through five, funds equal to the amount expended per nondisabled child will be made available to children with disabilities in that age range before Preschool Grant funds are used. If no state/local funds are available for this particular age group, Preschool Grant funds may be used to pay for all of the costs directly attributable to the education of these children.
16. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION – Parents of students with disabilities will be involved in the development of the Ocean Springs School District’s plan for appropriate services to students with disabilities.
17. OTHER
A. The Ocean Springs School District will, when implementing this program or project, coordinate its activities under the State Plan with such programs conducted by other agencies in its area.
B. The Ocean Springs School District will adhere to the provisions under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 2000d et seq., which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin in programs and activities receiving Federal financial assistance.
C. The Ocean Springs School District will adhere to the provisions under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, 29 U.S.C. 794, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of handicap in programs and activities receiving Federal financial assistance.
D. The Ocean Springs School District will adhere to the provisions under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, as amended, 20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq., which prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender in education programs and activities receiving Federal financial assistance.
E. The Ocean Springs School District will adhere to the provisions under The Age Discrimination Act of 1975, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 6101 et seq., which prohibits discrimination on the basis of age in programs or activities receiving Federal financial assistance.
F. The Ocean Springs School District will insure that all equipment previously purchased using IDEA or Preschool Grant funds is on a district inventory and is being utilized in the provision of special education services.
G. The Ocean Springs School District will adhere to the applicable provisions of the Education Department General Administrative Regulations (EDGAR): 34 CFR Parts 74, 76, and 77.
ADOPTED: 03/19/1985
REVISED: 04/12/1988
01/16/2001