School Age

Jefferson Parish Public School System – www.jppss.k12.la.us

Response to Intervention (RTI) Cannot be Used to Delay/Deny an Evaluation for Eligibility under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)

It has come to the attention of the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) that, in some instances, local educational agencies (LEAs) may be using Response to Intervention (RTI) strategies to delay or deny a timely initial evaluation for children suspected of having a disability. States and LEAs have an obligation to ensure that evaluations of children suspected of having a disability are not delayed or denied because of implementation of an RTI strategy. See the letter from OSEP in its entirety – download

Questions and Answers on Serving Children With Disabilities Placed by Their Parents at Private Schools (April 2011).

OSERS issues this Q&A document to provide State educational agencies (SEAs), local educational agencies (LEAs), parents, advocacy organizations, and other interested parties with information regarding the requirements for serving children with disabilities placed by their parents in private schools. This Q&A document represents the Department’s current thinking on this topic. It does not create or confer any rights for or on any person. This guidance does not impose any requirements beyond those required under applicable law and regulations. – download

U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights Dear Colleage Letter on Harrassment and Bullying. The U.S. Department of Education has issued guidance to support educators in combating bullying in schools by clarifying when student bullying may violate federal education anti-discrimination laws. The guidance, which is in a Dear Colleague letter sent to schools, colleges and universities, explains educators’ legal obligations to protect students from student-on-student racial and national origin harassment, sexual and gender-based harassment and disability harassment. The complete letter from Russlynn Ali, Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, can be downloaded in PDF format.

The Dear Colleague Letter – download
The Dear Colleage Letter Harrassment and Bullying Background, Summary, and Fast Facts –download

All About Me – Did you ever wish you could find a way to introduce your child to the professionals that support him or her? This document was created by parents of children with disabilities for the purpose of providing important information to the professionals that spend time supporting their children. This booklet is easy to personalize for your individual child. Just print it out, fill it out and share with the people you feel need to know about your child. This booklet was created through a collaboration with the Mississippi PTI and Louisiana Parent Training and Information Center. Families Helping Families of Jefferson is excited to share our new, refreshed, colorful, and fun, “All About Me!” tool for families and the all new, “My Portfolio”.

The new “All About Me!” is for students between Pre-K – 5th grade. The all new “My Portfolio” has the same purpose as “All About Me!” with a more mature style, and is for pre-teens and young adults. Parents can use “My Portfolio” to assist their child in the transition from elementary to middle and/or middle to high. “My Portfolio” empowers students, parents and teachers to prepare earlier for the transition from school to the adult world.

Both documents are available in Microsoft Publisher and Adobe “Acrobat” XI Pro. In order to edit the document in Adobe “Acrobat” XI Pro, you must have the program. If you wish to use Microsoft Publisher, please contact us and we will e-mail you a copy.

There is an easy to use Getting started with Adobe “Acrobat” XI Pro guide to assist you in entering text and inserting pictures.

My Portfolio – PDF My Portfolio PDF Instructions

All About Me – PDF All About Me PDF Instructions