Special Education

SPECIAL EDUCATION OFFICE PERSONNEL:

Mrs. Chelsea Bertani
Behavior Specialist-Office Location: Hempfield Area High School
Phone: 724-850-2072
Email: [email protected]

The Hempfield Area School District offers special education services to students with disabilities in a variety of service delivery options. These services are described below:

Special Education Links
Westmoreland IU 

PA Department of Education-Special Education

District Operated Programs

Types of Special Education Supports
Learning Support - Provides academic support

• Emotional Support - Provides academic as well as social, emotional and behavioral support
• Autistic Support - Provides a highly structured environment for academic, social, emotional, behavioral, and life skills support.
• Speech and Language Support - Provides support to students who have difficulty with articulation, fluency, voice or language.

Levels of Intervention

The district operates full-time, supplemental, and itinerant-level classes in a variety of settings. The designation of a classroom is dependent on the average amount of time most students spend in special education. The student’s IEP and not the type of classroom determine the amount of time a student is seen by a special education teacher.  The following indicates the level of intervention provided in the various classrooms:

• Itinerant - 80% or more in a regular education classroom (IT)
• Supplemental - 40% to  79% in a regular education classroom (SUP)
• Full-Time -  Less than 40% in a regular education classroom  (FT)

Location of Special Education Services  

• Hempfield Area High School
  Co-Teaching Academic Classes
  Learning Support Classes - Itinerant, Supplemental, and Self-contained
  Vocational Training through Central Westmoreland Career & Technology Center (CWCTC)
  Co-operative Work Experience
  Vocational Training through Goodwill Services and Work Discovery
• Harrold School
  Co-Teaching Academic Classes/Inclusion
  Learning Support Classes - Itinerant & Supplemental
  Autistic Support - Self-Contained
  Emotional Support Class 

• Wendover Middle School
  Co-Teaching Academic Classes/Inclusion
  Learning Support Classes - Itinerant & Supplemental
  Autistic Support - Self-Contained
  Emotional Support Class 

• West Hempfield Middle School
  Co-Teaching Academic Classes/Inclusion
  Learning Support Classes - Itinerant & Supplemental
  Autistic Support - Self-Contained
  Emotional Support Class 
• Fort Allen Elementary School
  Learning Support Classes - Itinerant & Supplemental
  Autistic Support - Self-Contained
  
  
• Maxwell Elementary School
  Learning Support Classes - Itinerant & Supplemental 
  
  
• Stanwood Elementary School
  Learning Support Classes - Itinerant & Supplemental
  Autistic Support  Self-Contained
• West Hempfield Elementary School
  Learning Support Classes - Itinerant, Supplemental & Self-Contained Classes 
  Emotional Support Class - Self-Contained Class 
  
  
• West Point Elementary School
  Learning Support Classes - Itinerant & Supplemental
  
  
• Westmoreland Intermediate Unit #7 Programs and Services

• Life Skills Support – for children whose greatest need is to learn functional skills that will allow them to live and work independently of their families.
• Deaf and Hard of Hearing Support – for children who require assistance with hearing problems.
• Physical Support – for children who need programs that consider their physical disabilities.
• Multi-handicapped Support – for children with more than one disability, the combination of which results in needs requiring many services and much support.
• Blind & Vision Supports - for children with limited or no vision.
• Occupational Therapy - therapy to improve fine motor skills.
• Physical Therapy- therapy to improve gross motor skills.

Approved Private Schools

1. Children’s Institute                              
2. Wesley Highlands School
3. DePaul Institute                                    
4. Pressley Ridge Day School  
5. Western PA School for the Blind   
6. Western PA School for the Deaf
7. Easter Seals

Signs Indicating That Your Child May Need Special Education Services

• Difficulty in academic subjects
• Receiving failing grades
• Repeating a grade
• Exhibition of a serious emotional disturbance over a long period of time which affects your child’s ability to learn
• Consistent problems in getting along with others
• Difficulty communicating
• Lack of interest or ability in age-appropriate activities
• Resistance to change
• Difficulty seeing or hearing that interferes with the ability to communicate
• Health problems that effect educational performance

How to Make A Referral

Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE)

The parents of a child with a disability have the right under the Federal IDEA to obtain an independent educational evaluation at public expense if the parent disagrees with an evaluation obtained by the school district. There is a limit of only one IEE at public expense each time the District conducts an evaluation with which the parents disagree.

The school district has the right to initiate a hearing to show that its evaluation is appropriate.

1. Ask the parent to put the request for an IEE in writing and to include:
   1. Child’s name
   2. Child’s school
   3. Reason for request (optional)
   4. Name of evaluator (if the parent has one)
2. Respond in writing within 10 days of receipt of the written request
   1. Provide a list of independent evaluators for parent to use, or
   2. Approve the parent’s evaluator, or
   3. Request a meeting to further discuss the request
3. Criteria for Independent Educational Evaluator
   1. The evaluator must be a Certified School Psychologist
   2. The psychologist must be independent of the family, i.e. cannot be a close friend or family member and
   3. The psychologist must be independent of the district, i.e. cannot be a current or former employee of the district.