In compliance with Federal and State laws, the El Dorado Springs R-II School District is required to notify the public of its Special Education Services to handicapped children in our district. The law guarantees handicapped children the right to a free and appropriate education. Parents have the right to expect their handicapped children to be evaluated and placed in an appropriate program if necessary. If parents disagree with the placement or evaluation results, they have the right to ask for a due process hearing. Parents are permitted to review their child’s records. A copy of Procedural Safeguards Notice, Part B Of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is available for pick up in the Special Education office or on our school website.

The El Dorado Springs R-II School provides the following programs in Special Education: cognitive impairments, learning disabilities, speech or language, visually handicapped, deaf, hard of hearing, deaf and blind, seriously emotionally disturbed, orthopedically handicapped, health impaired, autism, multi-handicapped, traumatic brain injury, and Early Childhood Special Education. Homebound instruction its provided to students who because of the nature of their handicapping condition cannot attend school safely and adequately.

Early Childhood Special Education is a program of individually developed instruction for children who have been identified as educationally handicapped. The Special Education program may include specific therapies for each child’s educational program. Children from the ages of 3 to 5 years old who have significant developmental delays in cognitive/adaptive behavior, speech, language, fine motor, gross motor, or social-emotional behavior may be eligible. Children may be referred for evaluation by parents, teachers, or medical personnel. The evaluation will be completed by a multidisciplinary team.

Individual differences of handicapped children require special intervention techniques. The nature and degree of intensity determine the type of Special Education program necessary to insure the child’s success at school. Our Special Education Services are developed to meet these special needs; therefore, each student has an Individualized Educational Plan written to provide the appropriate education. Some handicapped students will remain in regular classes with support, others will attend one or more periods of specialized instruction with qualified special education teachers, and some will be served in full-time programs. Services are also provided for severely handicapped students in appropriate placements which are not restricted to the public school.

The El Dorado Springs R-II School conducts periodic screenings to identify possible problems which may interfere with the student’s educational success. The schedule is as follows:

Academic: (career vocational and pre-academic/developmental for early childhood); Preschool (0-5 years) upon referral; Kindergarten screenings (5-6 years); Spring – 2nd through 6th, 8th and 10th, Fall – 9th; National schedule – 11th, 12th, and K through 12th.

Speech/Language: Preschool (0-5 years) upon referral; Kindergarten and 2nd grade screening, new and referred students.

Social/Emotional/Behavioral: K-12th grades on a continuous basis.

Vision: Preschool (0-5 years) upon referral; Kindergarten screening and roundup; 1st, 3rd, 6th, 9th grades; new and referred students.

Hearing: Annually Kindergarten, 2nd, new students, and referrals.

Health/Motor: Preschool (0-5 years); Kindergarten enrollment (5-6 years); continual Kindergarten through 12th grade.

The screening is done by teachers, trained personnel in our local school district. The Lions Club assists with the vision screenings. Most screening is done through observation and testing.

Each year in keeping with the federal and state guidelines, the El Dorado Springs R-II School will take a census of handicapped children under the age of 21 residing in our district or whose parents live in our district. The census will include the child’s name, the parent/guardian’s name, address, birth date of the child, and the age of the child. This information will be sent to the State Department of Education. Parents have the right to view any collected data regarding their child and may give consent for access to such information to an unauthorized person through written notice.

A copy of the district’s compliance plan is available at the main office for public inspection. Notices of services are published frequently throughout the school year and information regarding referral and services disseminated to a variety of agencies in our school district.

Our district also provides special programs for children meeting the criteria for gifted education. This program provides a challenging curriculum for academically gifted children in grades K through 8.

If you have any questions or concerns about the El Dorado Springs R-II School’s Special Education  programs, please call Shana Newman, Director of Special Education, at 876-3112, Ext. 234

Special Education Director: Shana Newman

Special Education Administrative Assistant: Courtney Bland

Special Education Staff: Dana Abercrombie, Special Education Teacher; Melanie Byrd, Occupational Therapist; Peggy Carter, Speech Implimenter; Nancy Coffer, Special Eduaction Teacher; Kim Cox, Special Education Teacher; Katy Finegan, Special Education Teacher; Jordan Highley, Special Education Teacher; Angie Johnson, Special Education Teacher; Gabriel Kinnett, Physical Therapist; Michelle Leonard, Speech Implimenter; Eddie Long, Special Education Teacher; Melanie Martin, Special Education Teacher; Debbie McDonald, Speech Implementer; Ashley McKinney, Speech Pathologist; Christy McKinney, Special Education Teacher; Chelsey Nissley, Special Education Teacher; Susan Payne, Speech Implementer

Special Education Support Staff: Candice Bland, Paraprofessional;  Rylie Bradley, Paraprofessional; Tiffany Daniels, Paraprofessional; Autumn Gerster, Paraprofessional;  Melissa McGhee, Paraprofessional; Kathy Newman, Paraprofessional; Linda Perrodin, Paraprofessional; Terri Schaaf, Paraprofessional; Melisa Smith, Paraprofessional; Matt Stauffer, Paraprofessional; Monica Stoll, Paraprofessional, LPN and Michelle Swager, Paraprofessional.