Office of Exceptional Children
Lorain City Schools is committed to providing a Free, Appropriate Public Education to all students. Lorain City Schools provides a continuum of services to support all learners. We believe, when provided with the necessary tools, all students can achieve success. Students are served based on their identified areas of need. Services in Lorain City Schools are provided in alignment with Federal IDEA requirements, Ohio’s Rules and Regulations for Gifted Children and Office of Early Learning and School Readiness. Each teacher holds the appropriate certification in the area of Special Education Mild to Moderate or Moderate to Intensive Disabilities or Gifted Intervention Specialist License or credentials.
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Students With Disabilities
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Preschool
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Gifted Students
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504 Plans
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English Language Learners
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Related Services including Speech and Language, Occupational Therapy, and Physical Therapy.
CONTACT US
SPECIAL ED SUPERVISORS
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Lorain High School
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Separate Facilities
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Admiral King Elementary
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Garfield Elementary
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Frank Jacinto Elementary
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Autism & Jon Peterson Scholarship PS-5
- General Johnnie Wilson Middle School
- Longfellow Middle School
- Southview Middle School
- Autism & Jon Peterson Scholarship 6-12
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Lorain High School
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CTE Liaison
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Helen Steiner Rice Elementary
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Palm Elementary
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Stevan Dohanos Elementary
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Washington Elementary
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St. Peters/St. Anthony
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Toni Morrison Elementary
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Hawthorne Elementary
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Larkmoor Elementary
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Murray Ridge
- Students with Disabilities
- Disability Categories
- Related Services
- Continuum of Services
- Graduation Requirements | 504 Plan
- Discipline of Students with Disabilities
- Preschool
- Preschool Special Education
- Gifted Students
- English Language Learners
- Autism and Jon Peterson Scholarship
- Enrollment
- FAQs
Students with Disabilities
Lorain City Schools is responsible for the identification of students with disabilities that reside within the Lorain City School District.This includes students attending non-public parochial schools, homeschool and/or children attending a community daycare or preschool. A child may be referred for an evaluation by a parent/guardian or school personnel. Lorain City Schools has 30 calendar days after receiving the request to respond. Should the school district not suspect a disability, a Prior Written Notice will be sent to the requesting party outlining the reasons for refusal.
If a disability is suspected the district must complete an evaluation within 60 calendar days. The school psychologist will contact the requesting party to begin the process. During this time period, the school may request information from parents, physicians, teachers, and other school personnel. Following the results of the ETR, an IEP may be developed if the team agrees that the student is eligible for Special Education Services.
EVALUATION PROCESS
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Written request for evaluation shall be sent to the building principal, special education supervisor, or school psychologist. |
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DENIAL | The school shall respond to the request in 30 calendar days. If a disability is not suspected a Prior Written Notice will be sent outlining the reasons for refusal. |
SUSPECTED | School personnel will communicate with guardian for permission to evaluate. The district has 60 days to complete the evaluation. | |
4. DETERMINATION |
A disability determination team meeting will be held within 60 calendar days. If the team suspects a disability based on the results of the evaluation, an IEP meeting will be scheduled. |
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An IEP will be developed and meeting held within 30 calendar days. The IEP team is made up of an intervention specialist, parent, general education teacher, related service providers, and district representative. |
6. REVIEW TIMELINE |
IEP | Reviewed annually
Amendment | Held anytime within the duration of the IEP.
ETR | Conducted every three years.
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For specific questions, please contact the Special Education Supervisor for your child's school. |
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KNOW YOUR RIGHTS | VISIT THIS LINK |
Disability Categories
- An inability to learn that cannot be explained by intellectual, sensory, or health factors.
- An inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships with peers and teachers.
- Inappropriate types of behavior or feelings under normal circumstances.
- A general pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression.
- A tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears associated with personal or school problems.
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Cognitive disability (mental retardation) means significantly subaverage general intellectual functioning, existing concurrently with deficits in adaptive behavior and manifested during the developmental period, that adversely affects a child’s educational performance.
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A communication disorder such as stuttering provides an example of a fluency disorder; other fluency issues include unusual word repetition and hesitant speech.
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Impaired articulation indicates impairments in which a child experiences challenges in pronouncing specific sounds.
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A language impairment can entail difficulty comprehending words properly, expressing oneself and listening to others.
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A voice impairment involves difficulty voicing words; for instance, throat issues may cause an abnormally soft voice.
- Physical development
- Cognitive development
- Communication development
- Social or emotional development
For further information regarding disability specific resources, please visit Ohio Department of Education and Workforce: Educational Disability Categories
Related Services
Lorain City Schools is committed to providing appropriate related services for students with disabilities. While we recognize that many students receive outside (private) therapies, services provided in the school setting are based on the educational needs of each student. If your student has an identified need for therapy services, it will be outlined in the ETR agreed upon by the team. If you suspect that your student has an educational need for therapy services and it is not listed in the ETR, please contact your student’s teacher, school psychologist, principal, or special education supervisor.
Categories of Related Services:
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Speech and Language Therapy
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Occupational Therapy
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Physical Therapy
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Orientation and Mobility
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Audiology
For further information regarding specific related services offered in Ohio’s public school systems, please visit: Ohio Department of Workforce and Education Related Services
Continuum of Services
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General Education Classroom - student is fully included into general grade level instruction with their same grade peers.
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General Education with Co-Serve Support - student is taught by both the general education teacher with consultation, co-planning, and direct services provided by the intervention specialist as determined by the IEP.
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Special Education Classroom - student attends a regular school building but is taught by an intervention specialist in a separate classroom with other students with disabilities for the majority of the day. Student may be included with their non-disabled peers for a portion of the school day (i.e., lunch, recess, specials/elective classes as determined by the IEP, etc.)
Graduation Requirements | 504 Plan
Discipline of Students with Disabilities
A student with a disability can be disciplined in accordance with the student conduct handbook, like any other student, including suspension for a period of up to ten days. For any disciplinary action that causes a student with a disability to reach a cumulative total of more than ten days of suspension or expulsion in the same academic year, the building administrator, in collaboration with the special education supervisor, must conduct a manifestation determination meeting with the IEP team within 10 days of the decision to suspend the student. All procedural safeguards regarding special education students must be followed.
Preschool
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We are a diverse family of educators who are dedicated professionals responsible for developing the curiosity of our younger learners.
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We are committed to an inclusive environment where children have a choice and a voice through a whole-child philosophy. We are committed to a play-based environment that fosters and nurtures relationships among families, staff and children.
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We promise to accept all children and families no matter their circumstances and diversity.
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Developmentally Appropriate
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Child-focused
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Play-based (exploratory, inquiry-based learning)
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Driven by family partnerships
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Promotes Language Development
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Fosters creativity and imagination
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Develops social-emotional skills
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Creates a positive learning experiences
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Improves motor skills
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Reinforces critical thinking and problem solving skills
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Highly qualified teachers
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Highly rated Step Up to Quality- Gold Status in all 10 of our elementary buildings
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All staff trained in the Science of Reading (LETRS)
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Ohio Healthy Programs designee
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Full day program
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Half day 3yr old program
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Field Trips
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Tuition Free
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Free meals
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Admiral King
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Frank Jacinto
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Garfield
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*Hawthorne
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Helen Steiner Rice
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Larkmoor
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Palm
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*Stevan Dohanos
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*Toni Morrison
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Washington
Preschool Special Education
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Operated by a public school (including community schools), educational service center, or county board of developmental disabilities;
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Taught by a general education teacher or dual-licensed teacher who meets the lead teacher qualifications for a preschool general education class according to rule 3301-37-04 of the Administrative Code;
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Includes instruction in the general education curriculum aligned to Ohio's Early Learning and Development Standards;
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(d) The lead teacher of a public school preschool general education class shall not serve as the intervention specialist of record or IEP case manager for any children with disabilities (i.e., children with IEPs), even if the individual holds appropriate licensure for those roles
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(e) A maximum of eight children with disabilities (i.e., children with IEPs) enrolled in a public school preschool general education class that is taught by a general education teacher who meets the lead qualifications outlined in paragraph (A)(1)(a)(ii) of this rule, and the class must be made up of fifty per cent or fewer children with disabilities enrolled than children without disabilities; the department may grant a waiver (on a case-by-case basis) for additional children with disabilities to be enrolled.
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Operated by a public school (including community schools), educational service center, or county board of developmental disabilities;
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Taught by a general education teacher or dual-licensed teacher who meets the lead teacher qualifications for a preschool special education class.
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50% or fewer of the students in the class are children with disabilities; and
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The lead teacher of a public school preschool integrated class may serve as the intervention specialist of record or IEP case manager for any children with disabilities (i.e., children with IEPs) enrolled in the public school preschool integrated class, if the individual holds the appropriate licensure.
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A chartered nonpublic school licensed by the Ohio department of education or a program licensed by the Ohio department of job and family services (e.g., head start or community child care program licensed by ODJFS); and
Gifted Students
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Superior cognitive ability
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Specific academic ability
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mathematics; science; reading, writing or a combination of these skills; and/or social studies.
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Creative thinking ability
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Visual or performing arts ability.
For further information related to the Lorain City Schools Gifted Education Program, please contact Michelle Barbosa at (440) 830-4042.
SUPERIOR COGNITIVE ABILITY
Score two standard deviations above the mean minus the standard error of measurement in an intelligence test.
Perform at or above the 95th percentile on a basic or composite battery of a nationally-normed achievement test.
Attain an approved score on an above grade level standardized, nationally normed test
SPECIFIC ACADEMIC ABILITY
Perform at or above the 95th percentile at the national level on a standardized achievement test or specific ability in that field A child may be identified as gifted in more than one specific academic ability field.
CREATIVE THINKING ABILITY
Score one standard deviation above the mean minus the standard error of measurement on an intelligence test and attain a sufficient score, as established by the Department of Education, on a test of creative ability or a checklist of creative behavior.
VISUAL AND PERFORMING ARTS ABILITY
Demonstrate to a trained individual through a display of work, an audition, or other performance or exhibition, superior ability in a visual or performing arts area and attain a sufficient score, as established by the Department of Education, on a checklist of behaviors related to a specific arts area.
English Language Learners
Federal law requires Ohio schools to identify English learners, assess their English language proficiency, provide reasonable accommodations, monitor their academic progress, and implement accountability systems.
For further information related to Lorain City Schools English Language Learner program, please contact Susanne Silva 440-233-2398 or ssliva@lorainschools.org
Please contact the District Bilingual Assistant for Special Education at 440-233-2396 for further assistance in providing bilingual support.
Por favor comuniquece con la Asistente Bilingue del Departamente de Educacion Especial al 440-233-2396 si necesita asistencia adicional bilingue.
Autism and Jon Peterson Scholarship
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Lorain City Schools remains responsible for the development of the IEP. A Lorain City Schools Intervention Specialist will communicate with the team to develop the annual IEP. The Lorain City Schools IEP team will be in attendance for the annual meetings. The IEP will be written as though the student would be attending Lorain City Schools.
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The school district in which the scholarship school is located is responsible for the ETR process. Lorain City Schools may be in attendance in order to serve as part of the team.
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When a parent chooses to utilize scholarship funds, Lorain City Schools is no longer responsible to provide a Free, Appropriate, Public Education (FAPE). The scholarship school becomes responsible for the implementation or lack thereof of the current IEP.
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Parent/Guardian participation is required in the annual review and ETR process in order for the student to continue receiving scholarship funds.
Enrollment
FAQs
Q: What are my next steps if I disagree with my child’s evaluation?
A: If you disagree with your child’s evaluation, please contact the school team in writing. Ohio law also states that you have the right to request an Independent Education Evaluation. For further information, visit Disability Rights Ohio
Q: Why doesn’t my child qualify for transportation as a related service if they have an IEP?
A: Students with disabilities may qualify for transportation as a related service on their IEP if the team determines that the chid’s disability significantly limits their ability to navigate the community safely. This means that the child’s disability may interfere with their ability to communicate with appropriate safety personnel, have physical limitations which impact their ability to transport themselves to school, have emotional or cognitive limitations which may impact their ability to travel safely or communicate effectively. If you believe your child requires transportation as a related service, please contact your child’s IEP team.
Q: What accommodations is my child allowed to have on the Ohio State Tests?
A: Each child is provided accommodations according to their unique circumstances. The IEP team should collaborate to determine which allowable accommodations should be listed on the child’s IEP.
Q: What do I do if I need help understanding the IEP process or want to learn more about how to advocate for my child?
A: Consider contacting a parent mentor! The role of the parent mentor is to guide families through the special education process: including clarifying parents’ rights and responsibilities, providing information and resources to families on education laws, attending IEP meetings at the request of the parent, and building collaborative relationships between families and schools. This is a free service offered through the Lorain Educational Service Center of Lorain County. Q: My child is enrolled in Lorain City Schools, and I believe they may have a disability. What do I do?
A:Refer to Lorain City Schools Evaluation Process.
Q: My child has an IEP. I have concerns about their services. What do I do?
A:You have the right to request an IEP meeting at any time, if you do not feel that you child is receiving the appropriate support and services to make progress towards IEP goals.
Step 1: Speak with your child’s case manager or intervention specialist. If the concern is not resolved, move on to step 2.
Step 2: Ask the case manager to convene the IEP team for a meeting to address the concern. If the concern is not resolved, move on to step 3.
Step 3: Speak with your child’s building principal. If the concern is not resolved, move on to step 4.
Step 4: Speak with the special education supervisor at your child’s building.
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