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The school district has a duty to locate, identify, and evaluate all resident children with exceptional education needs, regardless of the severity of their disability. The school district has a special education screening program to locate and screen all children with suspected disabilities who are residents of the district and who have not graduated from high school. The school district locates and screens children in the following groups: children below school-entry age; children entering school for the first time; children currently enrolled in public and private schools; all transfer pupils, school-age children who are eligible to attend school but who are not attending school and who are residents of the district. Upon request the school district will screen any child to determine whether a special education referral is appropriate. Such a request may be made by contacting the Executive Director of Student Services at (262) 238-8501, or by writing the Executive Director of Student Services at 5000 W. Mequon Road, Mequon, WI 53092
A parent or a physician, nurse, teacher at a state or county residential facility, psychologist, social worker, or administrator of a social agency who has reasonable cause to believe that a child brought to him or her for services is a child with a disability has a legal duty to report the child to the school district in which the child resides. Before referring the child, the person making the referral must inform the child’s parent that the referral will be made. The referral must be in writing and must include the reason why the person believes the child is a child with a disability. When the district receives the referral, after obtaining the parent’s consent, it will appoint an IEP team to evaluate the child for eligibility for special education. A referral for special education evaluation of a child residing in the school district may be sent to the Executive Director of Student Services at the school district address indicated above.
Many educational opportunities are available in the community for children with disabilities. The school district provides special education and related services for children ages 3 to 21 with cognitive disabilities, orthopedic impairments, other health impairments, autism, traumatic brain injuries, visual impairments, hearing impairments, speech and language impairments, learning impairments, and emotional disturbances. The county board provides special education and related services for children with disabilities ages birth to three.
The school district maintains pupil records containing personally identifiable information gathered during screening for each child referred for IEP evaluation. The school district maintains pupil records in the interest of students to assist in providing appropriate educational experiences. All records directly related to a student and maintained by the school district are pupil records. With limited exception, these records are confidential. Pupil records include records maintained in any way including, but not limited to, computer storage media, video and audio tape, film, microfilm, microfiche. Records maintained for personal use to a teacher and not available to others and records available only to persons involved in the psychological treatment of a child are not pupil records. The school district is to maintain, as part of the pupil records of a child with a disability, parental consents for special education evaluation; parental consents for placement in special education, any data used by IEPs to reach decisions, such as evaluation reports; the reports developed by IEP team members; individualized education programs (IEP’s); placement offers; medical prescriptions required to substantiate any health treatment services provided by the district, medical evaluations, if used to substantiate determination of a disability; and any other records required under subchapter V of Chapter 115, Wisconsin Statutes.
The school district maintains several classes of records. “Progress records” include records of grades, the courses the child has taken, the child’s attendance record, immunization records, and records of extra-curricular activities. Progress records must be maintained for at least five years after the child ceases to be enrolled. “Behavioral records” include such records as psychological tests, personality evaluations, records of conversations, any written statement relating specifically to the pupil’s behavior, tests relating specifically to achievement or measurement of ability, physical health records, and other pupil records that are not “progress records.” Behavioral records may be maintained for no longer than one year after the child graduates or otherwise ceases to be enrolled, unless the parent specifies in writing that the records may be maintained for a longer period of time.
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