Child Find

Lynchburg City Schools are committed to providing full educational opportunity to all qualified handicapped students under Section 504. A wide variety of accommodations, modifications, and services are available to children with special needs. These services are provided in the least restrictive environment and at no cost to the parents. Alternative education programs are developed to meet the specific needs of each eligible child to provide a free, appropriate public education.

Referrals are accepted from any source either within or outside the school division. A committee composed of professionals in the school division will screen all referrals to determine whether evaluation is needed. If so, the referral process will begin and testing will follow shortly.

To be found eligible for services under Section 504, children must be assessed. The assessment report shall include the child’s educational performance including instructional strengths and weaknesses. This report will also include a summary of standardized test data, attendance information and samples of classroom performance. Other information such as: medicals, psychologicals, speech/language, PT/OT, audiological, developmentals, vision reports, etc., should be utilized where appropriate and/or necessary. All of these are provided by the school division at no cost to the parent. After these have been completed, a committee will meet to determine whether the student is eligible for accommodations and/or modifications. If so, an accommodation plan will be developed with the parents help.

Definitions

• To be protected under Section 504, a student must be determined to:

1. have a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities; or
2. have a record of such an impairment; or
3. be regarded as having such an impairment.

Appropriate education under 504 is the provision of education designed to meet the individual educational needs of handicapped persons as adequately as the needs of non-handicapped persons are met.

Major life activity for the purpose of this document is to be defined as public education.

Substantially Limits is defined as those conditions, situations, or impairments that adversely affect educational performance that require modification or accommodation to the regular environment or program.

Many different types of accommodations, modifications and services are available throughout the school division. They include, but are not limited to, modification of curricular content, adaptive equipment, accommodations for accessibility and related services as speech/language therapy, physical therapy and occupational therapy services. Each program is designed to meet the student’s specific needs as identified in his accommodation plan. Each student’s progress is reviewed annually by school staff and the student’s parents.

If you suspect a child has a disability that requires intervention under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, please do not hesitate to contact the Principal of your School.

Click here for more information from the Virginia Department of Education

Child Find, Eligibility and Individualized Education Program is Lynchburg City Schools program designed to identify, locate and evaluate those children residing in Lynchburg or attending school in Lynchburg, who are age 2 to  21, inclusive, who are in need of special education and related services. These services include children who:

• Are highly mobile, such as migrant or homeless children
• Are suspected of being children with disabilities and in need of special education and related services, even though they are advancing from grade to grade
• Attend private schools located in Lynchburg, including children who are home-schooled.
• Are under 18, who are suspected of having a disability who need special education and related services and who are incarcerated in a regional or local jail in its jurisdiction for 10 or more days.
• Are wards of the state.

If you are aware of a child who may be eligible for services and is not receiving them, contact the principal of your school or the Director of Special Education at: (434) 515-5030.

Lynchburg City Schools provides for a free and appropriate public education for all children with disabilities in a variety of specially designed programs. Special Education and related services are available for persons, ages 2-21 inclusive, who have disabilities in the following areas: intellectual disability, hearing impairment (including deafness), speech or language impairment, visual impairment (including blindness), emotional disability, orthopedic impairment, autism, traumatic brain injury, other health impairment, specific learning disability, deaf-blindness, multiple disabilities and developmental delays.