Special Education

• 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 prohibits discrimination on the basis of disabilities. The law states that no student with disabilities shall, solely by reason of a disability be excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance. No otherwise qualified individual with a disability in the United States, as defined in:
  • 705(20) of this title, shall, solely by reason of her or his disability, be excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance or under any program or activity conducted by any Executive agency or by the United States Postal Service. 29 U.S.C. Section 794.

Applicants for admission and employment, students, parents, employees, sources of referral of applicants for admission and employment, organizations holding professional agreements with the Petal School District are hereby notified that this District does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability in admission or access to, or treatment of, or employment in its programs and activities. Any person having inquiries concerning the District’s compliance with the regulations implementing The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) or Section 504 is directed to contact.

Katie Charleville | Director of Special Services |Petal School District Office of Special Services | 601.582.4247

NOTICE OF PARENT AND STUDENT RIGHTS IN IDENTIFICATION, EVALUATION AND PLACEMENT UNDER SECTION 504

Under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, you have a right to be informed by the school district of your rights. The purpose of this notice is to advise you of those rights. The following is a description of the rights granted by federal law to students with disabilities. The law intends to keep you fully informed concerning decisions about your child and to inform you of your rights if you disagree with any of these decisions.

If your child is determined to be a child with a disability, he/she has the following rights:

• Your child has the right to a free appropriate public education designed to meet his/her individual needs as adequately as the needs of nondisabled students are met.
• Your child must be provided an equal opportunity to participate in nonacademic and extracurricular services and activities offered by the district to the same extent as non-disabled students.
• Your child has the right to free educational services except for those fees that are imposed on nondisabled students or their parents.
• Your child has a right to placement in the least restrictive environment.
• Your child has a right to an evaluation before an initial placement and any subsequent significant change in placement.
• Testing and other evaluation procedures must conform to the requirements of Section 504 regarding test validity, proper method of administration and appropriate test selection. The district will consider information from a variety of sources in making its determinations, including, for example: aptitude and achievement tests, teacher recommendations, reports of physical condition, social and cultural background, adaptive behavior, student grades, progress reports, state-wide testing results and parent input.
• Placement decisions regarding your child must be made by a group of persons knowledgeable about your child, the meaning of the evaluation data, the placement options, the requirement that to the maximum extent appropriate, disabled children should be educated with nondisabled children and the requirement that students with disabilities must have access to comparable facilities as nondisabled students.

If your child is eligible for services under Section 504, periodic reevaluations will be conducted to determine if there has been a change in educational needs. Generally, a reevaluation will take place every three years. 

• You have the right to be notified by the district before any action regarding the identification, evaluation or placement of your child.
• You have the right to examine all relevant education records relating to the decisions regarding your child’s identification, evaluation, program and placement. You also have the right to obtain copies of education records at a reasonable cost unless the cost would deny you access to the records.
• You have the right to request amendments to your child’s record if you believe the information contained in the record is inaccurate or misleading. If the school district refuses to amend the record, you will be notified of that decision within a reasonable time and you then have a right to request a hearing.
• You have the right to an impartial hearing if you disagree with the district’s actions regarding your child’s identification, evaluation or educational placement. However, if any portion of your complaint is also part of a due process hearing under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), that part of the complaint will be set aside until the conclusion of the due process hearing.
• If an issue is raised in a Section 504 complaint that has previously been decided in a due process hearing under the IDEA involving the same parties, the due process hearing decision is binding on that issue. 
• The district shall publish its policy of nondiscrimination against persons with disabilities and shall inform parents of their rights under Section 504.

Any student who needs or is believed to need special education or related services to receive a free appropriate public education may be referred by a parent, teacher or other certified school employee to the 504 Coordinator to begin the process for identification and evaluation of the student’s individual education needs.

If the District has reason to believe that a student may have a disability and may need special education and/or related services to participate in the school’s programs, the district must first follow its procedures for a comprehensive evaluation for IDEA, including the requirement to implement the Three-Tier Intervention Process (see steps below.) If the student is found ineligible for IDEA, then the student shall be considered for eligibility under Section 504. One exception to this rule is that the student may be considered for Section 504 eligibility without going through the Three-Tier Intervention Process if chronic health problems exist (refer to sections below,) or if the school and parents agree that the student has a disability that would likely qualify the student for IDEA services and interventions would have little or no impact.  Otherwise, the school must follow the Three-Tier Process as mandated by the Mississippi State Board of Education.

The above process also applies to a student who transfers to the district with a current Section 504 eligibility from either out-of-state or from another school district within the state. The district has a right to conduct its own evaluation and will take steps in a timely manner to determine if the student is a student with a disability who requires the provision of reasonable accommodations that cannot be accomplished without a Section 504 Plan. A meeting will be held with the parents and district personnel to determine what accommodations are needed during the pendency of the evaluation process.

Students currently engaged in the illegal use of drugs are not eligible for services under Section 504. This exemption does not apply to alcohol and does not include students who are participating in or who have completed a supervised drug rehabilitation program and are no longer using illegal drugs. Services should be terminated if it is later revealed that the student is a current user of illegal drugs.

A school district may take disciplinary action pertaining to the use or possession of drugs or alcohol against any student with a disability who currently is engaging in the illegal use of drugs or in the use of alcohol to the same extent that such action is taken against non-disabled students. Therefore, if a student eligible under Section 504 is caught using or possessing drugs or alcohol on campus or at a school function, the school may discipline the student using the same procedures that apply to non-disabled students.

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 prohibits discrimination against students with a disability in any program receiving Federal financial assistance. No discrimination against any student with a disability will knowingly be permitted in any of the programs and activities of the District. To ensure the District’s compliance with Section 504 as it applies to students with disabilities, the following procedures have been adopted:

1. If a student claims that he/she has been subjected to discrimination based on his/her disability, in violation of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, or if the District has reason to believe that a student has a disability requiring special education or related services and the student is ineligible for services under the IDEA, a team of people who are knowledgeable of the student’s educational needs shall be convened to review and consider all pertinent information related to the suspected disability. This team should be multi-disciplinary including, where possible, the student’s teachers, parents, principal or designee and someone qualified to interpret test scores. Information such as grades, classroom documentation, comprehensive assessment data, and other relevant information should be examined. This meeting shall be convened within fifteen (15) calendar days after the district receives a written statement describing the specific discriminatory conduct or as soon after the date as practical when the district becomes aware of the student’s disability requiring special instruction or related services.
2. The team described in paragraph one above shall determine
   • (i) whether the student is disabled under § 504, and
   • (ii) whether that student, because of the disability, requires special instruction or related services. If the student meets both criteria, the team must determine what services are required to allow the student an equal opportunity to participate and progress in school and school-related activities.
3. If the student’s parents disagree with the district’s conclusion and recommendations, the parents shall be informed of their right to request an impartial hearing to decide the matter. Hearing requests shall be made in writing to Katie Charleville, Director of Special Services, within five (5) calendar days of the district’s conclusion and recommendations regarding services. The request shall give specific reasons describing the discriminatory actions by the district and why the district’s recommendations are not appropriate. The hearing request shall include a list of services requested by the parents and an explanation of why such services are appropriate, along with copies of any documents upon which the parents rely for support.
4. An impartial hearing shall be held within thirty (30) calendar days of receipt of the written request. The district shall obtain as a hearing officer an individual who is not an employee of the District and who is knowledgeable of Section 504. The district may agree with another school district to obtain the services of that district's Section 504 Coordinator to serve as the hearing officer. The parent and student may take part in the hearing and have an attorney represent them at their own expense. Counsel also may represent the district.
5. The hearing officer shall conduct the hearing to allow the parents to present evidence supporting their claim that their child has been subjected to discriminatory treatment in violation of Section 504. The district shall be allowed to present evidence supporting its position concerning the student. The district will make a tape recording of the hearing and a copy of the tape recording will be provided to the parents.
6. The impartial hearing will be conducted informally with the hearing officer directing the meeting and presentation of evidence.
7. The hearing officer shall decide within fifteen (15) calendar days after the conclusion of the hearing. The decision shall be given in writing to the district’s Section 504 Coordinator and the parents.
8. The decision made by the hearing officer shall be final, except that any party aggrieved by the findings and decision shall have the right to file a civil action concerning the issues of the due process hearing. Such action may be brought in any court of competent jurisdiction.
9. The district shall publish its policy of nondiscrimination against persons with disabilities and shall inform parents of their rights under Section 504.