General Information
About Special Education In Sevier County Schools

Director: Dr. Sandy Enloe

Who is Eligible for Special Education?

Children with disabilities from birth to age 21 may be eligible for special education. School-age children who are eligible usually receive special education services in the public school. Preschool children may receive services at the Trula Lawson Early Childhood Center, at a neighborhood school, at another facility (i.e. Head Start, U.T. Speech and Hearing) or at home. Students with disabilities who attend private or religiously affiliated schools also may be eligible for special education services.

Federal law, IDEA 1997 (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Amendments of 1997), defines "children with disabilities" as having any of the following types of disabilities:
 

  • Autism 
    		•
  • Orthopedic impairment 
    		•
  • Deaf-blindness 
    		•
  • Other health impairment 
    		•
  • Deafness 
    		•
  • Emotional disturbance 
    		•
  • Developmental delay (State option) 
    		•
  • Specific learning disability 
    		•
  • Hearing impairment 
    		•
  • Speech or language impairment 
    		•
  • Mental retardation 
    		•
  • Traumatic brain injury 
    		•
  • Multiple disabilities 
    		•
  • Visual impairment (including blindness). 
    		•

    What is Special Education?

    "Special education" means specially designed instruction, at no cost to the parents, to meet the unique needs of a child with a disability. Special education includes: "At no cost" means that all specially designed instruction is provided without charge, but does not preclude incidental fees which are normally charged to nondisabled students or their parents as part of the regular education program.

    How are Students Identified for Special Education Services?

    Children may be referred through the Child Find Program. "Child Find" is the term used for the process of locating, identifying, and evaluating children and youth who may be in need of special education services and programs. A referral may be made by anyone who suspects that a child may have special needs, a delay in development, or a disability. Screening and assessment must be completed prior to identifying a student as eligible for special education.

    How do I Refer a Child?

              For children who are below the age of three, call the Tennessee Early Intervention Service.

    Why Should a Child be Referred?

    Parents, family members, guardians, physicians, day care or preschool providers, teachers, or staff members from community agencies may refer a child if they have concerns about a child's difficulty:
     
  • Using words 
    		•
  • Seeing 
    		•
  • Understanding directions 
    		•
  • Sitting up or walking 
    		•
  • Being understood by others 
    		•
  • Learning. 
    		•
  • Hearing 
    		•

    Children may also be referred if there are concerns about problems at birth, general health, medical conditions, behavior, or emotional development.

    What are Identification and Assessment?

    Identification is a process used to decide if a child may have a disability and, therefore, need evaluation. Screening includes review of information provided by the parent and by the preschool or school, if the child is enrolled in one. If the Individualized Education Program (IEP) Team decides that the child may have a disability and be in need of special education, the team recommends assessments to determine eligibility and identify the child's educational needs. Additional information regarding identification, assessment, and evaluation may be obtained by calling the numbers listed above.

    Are there any Costs?

    No, the Sevier County Public School System assures full educational opportunities by providing free and appropriate educational programs and related services for students with disabilities.


     
     
     
     
     

                                   What are Related Services?

    Related services are transportation and such developmental, corrective, and other supportive services that may be required to
    assist a child with a disability to benefit from special education. A related service is recommended only when necessary for a
    child to benefit from special education. If a child does not need special education, there can be no related service.

    If a child needs related services, these must be a part of the IEP. The IEP will specify how much of each service the student is
    to receive. These services are to be provided at no cost to parents.

    Related Services include, but are not limited to:

    Audiology
    Psychological Services
    Counseling Services
    Recreation
    Early Identification and Assessment
    Rehabilitation Counseling
    Medical Services for Diagnosis and Evaluation
    School Health Services
    Occupational Therapy
    Social Work Services in Schools
    Orientation and Mobility
    Speech-Language Pathology
    Parent Counseling and Training
    Transportation
    Physical Therapy

    Audiology services include the following:

         Identification of children with hearing loss
         Determination of the range, nature, and degree of hearing loss, including referral for medical or other professional
         attention for the habilitation of hearing
         Provision of habilitative activities, such as language habilitation, auditory training, speech reading (lip-reading), hearing
         evaluation, and speech conversation
         Creation and administration of programs for prevention of hearing loss
         Counseling and guidance of students, parents, and teachers regarding hearing loss
         Determination of the student's need for group and individual amplification, selecting and fitting an appropriate aid, and
         evaluating the effectiveness of amplification.

    Counseling Services means services provided by qualified social workers, psychologists, guidance counselors, or other
    qualified personnel.

    Early Identification and Assessment of Disabilities in Children means the implementation of a formal process for
    identifying a disability as early as possible in a child's life.

    Medical Services means services provided by a licensed physician to determine a child's medically related disability that
    results in the child's need for special education and related services.

    Occupational Therapy services include:

         Improving, developing, or restoring functions impaired or lost through illness, injury, or deprivation
         Improving ability to perform tasks for independent functioning when functions are impaired or lost
         Preventing, through early intervention, initial or further impairment or loss of function.

    Orientation and Mobility means services provided to blind or visually impaired students by qualified personnel to enable
    those students to attain systematic orientation to and safe movement within their environments in school, home and community,
    including:

         Teaching students spatial and environmental concepts and use of information received by the senses (such as sound,
         temperature and vibrations) to establish, maintain, or regain orientation and line of travel (for example, using sound at a
         traffic light to cross the street).
         Teaching students to use the long cane, as appropriate, to supplement visual travel skills or as a tool for safely negotiating
         the environment for students with no available travel vision
         Teaching students to understand and use remaining vision and distance low vision aids, as appropriate and
         Other concepts, techniques, and tools, as determined appropriate.

    Parent Counseling and Training means assisting parents in understanding the special needs of their child and providing
    parents with information about child development.

    Physical Therapy means services provided by a qualified physical therapist or assistant.

    Psychological Services include:

         Administering psychological and educational tests and other assessment procedures
         Interpreting assessment results
         Obtaining, integrating, and interpreting information about child behavior and conditions relating to learning
         Consulting with other staff members in planning school programs to meet the special needs of children as indicated by
         psychological tests, interviews, and behavioral evaluations
         Planning and managing a program of psychological services, including psychological counseling for children and parents
         Assisting in developing positive behavior intervention strategies.

    Recreation includes:

         Assessment of leisure function
         Therapeutic recreation services
         Recreation programs in schools and community agencies
         Leisure education.
     

    Rehabilitation Counseling Services means services provided by qualified personnel in individual or group sessions that focus
    specifically on career development, employment preparation, achieving independence, and integration in the workplace and
    community of a student with a disability. The term also includes vocational rehabilitation services provided to students with
    disabilities by vocational rehabilitation programs funded under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended.

    School Health Services means services provided by a qualified school nurse or other qualified person.

    Social Work Services in Schools includes:

         Preparing a social or developmental history on a child with a disability
         Group and individual counseling with the child and family
         Working with those problems in a student's living situation (home, school, and community) that affect the child's
         adjustment in school
         Mobilizing school and community resources to enable the child to learn as effectively as possible in his or her educational
         program
         Assisting in developing positive behavior intervention strategies.

    Speech Pathology includes:

         Identification of children with speech or language impairments
         Diagnosis and appraisal of specific speech or language impairments
         Referral for medical or other professional attention necessary for the habilitation of speech or language impairments
         Provision of speech and language services for the habilitation or prevention of communicative impairments
         Counseling and guidance of parents, children, and teachers regarding speech and language impairments.

    Transportation includes:

         Travel to and from school and between schools
         Travel in and around school buildings
         Specialized equipment (such as special or adapted buses, lifts, and ramps), if required to provide special transportation
         for a child with a disability.

    Sevier County transports children with disabilities through its fleet of special education buses. Sevices are coordinated by Mrs.
    Rebecca Campbell at the Department of Special Education.  There is a trained driver and assistant on each special education
    bus. Other larger buses may be used for field trips, for Special Olympics and when needed, lift models are available for staff or
    students who use wheel chairs.

    Sevier County Public School System, Department of Special Education, as of the September 27 census, was serving 1956 students with a total of 2365 disabilities.  The Department was operating a fleet of 23 special education buses and employed approximately 250 individuals in professional and support roles.  The operating budget for the 2002-2003 school year is approximately $8, 900,000.