Student Support Services

Parents' right to know notice

We are pleased to notify you that in accordance with the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), you have the right to request information regarding the professional qualifications of your child’s teacher. Specifically, you may request the following:

• Whether the teacher has met State qualification and licensing criteria for the grade levels and subject areas in which the teacher provides instruction.
• Whether the teacher is teaching under emergency or substitute status.
• The baccalaureate degree major of the teacher and any other graduate certification or degree held by the teacher, and the field of discipline of the certification or degree.
• Whether the child is provided services by paraprofessionals and, if so, their qualifications.

Please contact the front office of your campus if you would like to request this information.

Public notice of educational rights for homeless children and youth

Services to the Homeless Population Children who are determined homeless are provided with certain rights in schools that ensure an equal opportunity for education. The term “homeless children and youth” means individuals who lack a fixed regular and adequate nighttime residence (A); and (B) includes—(i) children and youths who are sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason; are living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camping grounds due to the lack of alternative accommodations; are living in emergency or transitional shelters; are abandoned in hospitals; or are awaiting foster care placement; (ii) children and youths who have a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings; (iii) children and youths who are living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings; and (iv) migratory children who qualify as homeless for the purposes of this subtitle because the children are living in circumstances described in clauses (i) through (iii). The McKinney Vento Homeless Assistance Act (Subtitle B—Education for Homeless Children and Youth), reauthorized in 2015, ensures educational rights and protections for children and youth experiencing homelessness. McKinney-Vento Regulations All students are required to fill out a McKinney-Vento form upon enrollment. If your living arrangement is both temporary and the result of economic hardship, you may qualify for services under the McKinney-Vento Act. The purpose of this law is to provide academic stability for students of families in transition. You may want to talk with our Homeless Education Liaison if your family’s temporary living arrangement is one of the following:

• You are living with friends or relatives, or moving from place to place because you cannot currently afford your own housing.
• You are living in a shelter or a motel.
• You are living in housing without water or electricity.
• You are living in a place not considered traditional housing, such as a car or a campground. A student may also qualify as an “unaccompanied youth” if he or she is living with someone who is not a parent or guardian, or if he or she is moving from place to place without parent or guardian. Children who qualify under McKinney-Vento have the right to attend the school they were attending when their family was forced to move to a temporary address because of economic hardship, even if that school is in another school district. The choice must be a reasonable one that is in the best interest of the children involved.
• Contact the Homeless Education Liaison if you are not sure.
• Stay in this school for the duration of the school year if their families are forced to move to another temporary address because of economic hardship.
• Receive assistance with transportation to attend school while they are in temporary housing
• Start school immediately while people at the school help families obtain school and immunization records or other documents necessary for enrollment.
• Enroll in school without having a permanent address
• Participate in the same programs and services that other students participate in.
• Receive any applicable Title I services.

Special education services

While it is our belief that most Special Education needs can be met by the inclusion of the student in the general education classroom, students will be provided appropriate instruction as determined by the Individualized Education Program (IEP) Team.

All student support services at ASU Preparatory Academy will be provided in accordance with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

When the student’s teacher and/or parent suspects a disability, the pre-referral process will be initiated. If the pre-referral process leads to the need for evaluation, the parent will be informed in writing before an evaluation takes place.

After a student has been evaluated, a multidisciplinary evaluation team (MET) meeting will be conducted to determine the student’s eligibility for special education services. Team members include the classroom teacher, school psychologist, special education case manager, school representative, parents and any involved related service providers. Based upon results of this meeting and evaluation, an IEP meeting may be scheduled and an IEP may be developed by the team, which includes the parents and student when appropriate. Our primary goal of services is to fully include students with special needs.

In compliance with IDEA 2004, ASU Preparatory Academy is notifying parents of the availability of special education services for students aged 3 years through 21 years old. Procedural safeguards are on our website (English Version, Spanish Version) or are available upon request. To access services, contact the school site.

For more information about special education services, contact your school site or the Director of Special Education, Melinda Weible at mweible1@asu.edu or call 480-965-8015.

Child find

In compliance with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) 2004, ASU Preparatory Academy will conduct child find activities for children birth through 21 years old.

The following are the procedures: Pre-referral, Child Find and Identification

1. Review school records (from prior schools and school of current enrollment).
2. Complete a 45-day screening for school-aged children.
3. Document interventions attempted for school-aged children prior to referring for an evaluation.
4. Refer children suspected of having a disability age birth to three years to Arizona Early Intervention Program.
5. Provide information to parent(s) in writing.
6. If appropriate, refer the child for evaluation and/or other appropriate services. Charter schools identify, locate, and evaluate all children with disabilities within their population served who are in need of special education and related services. For more information, contact your school site.

45-day screening

As mandated by Arizona Administrative Code (A.A.C.) R7-2-401 (C) and (D), ASU Preparatory Academy is required to establish a process to ensure that any academic and/or developmental concerns of its students are not overlooked and to determine this within the first 45 days of each child’s attendance at a new school. To comply with this mandate, your child’s classroom teacher will screen your child on aspects of your child’s development such as language, cognition, perception, and motor skills. Screening is a process of rating skill strengths and weaknesses.

Should you have any questions with regard to the screening process, please feel free to contact your child’s teacher or school office.

Section 504 compliance

In compliance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, no otherwise qualified individual with disabilities, shall solely by reason of his or her disability, be excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity at ASU Preparatory Academy. The law also requires that facilities be readily accessible for use by individuals with disabilities. ASU Preparatory Academy intends to comply with the requirement of this law. Questions concerning the law may be addressed with your school site principal.

Any person who believes she or he has been subjected to discrimination on the basis of disability may file a grievance under this procedure. It is against the law for ASU Preparatory Academy to retaliate against anyone who files a grievance or cooperates in the investigation of a grievance. An outline of grievance procedures is available at each school on request. Questions concerning the law may be addressed with your school site principal.

Principals serve as Section 504 liaisons at the school sites.

Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a federal law that protects the privacy of student educational records. FERPA affords parents and students over eighteen (18) years of age (eligible students) certain rights. They are:

• The right to inspect and review the student’s education records within forty-five (45) dates of the day the school administrator receives a written request for access.
• The right to request the amendment of the student’s education records that the parent or eligible student believes is inaccurate or misleading. Parents/guardians should write to the school administrator, clearly identifying the part of the record they want changed, and specify why it is inaccurate or misleading.
• The right to consent to disclosures of personally identifiable information contained in the student’s education records, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent. One exception that permits disclosure without consent is disclosure to the school officials with legitimate educational interests to review educational records in order to fulfill professional responsibility.

Discipline

Suspension/expulsion of students with disabilities

Students placed in special education programs will be expected to abide by the rules of conduct established for all students. When misconduct occurs, procedures for such suspensions and expulsions shall meet the requirements and regulations of I.D.E.A. and state statutes.