​Annual Public Notice of Special Education Services
State and federal special education regulations require each school district to provide notice to the community by publishing an annual public notice to parents, in newspapers or by other media, regarding the school district's identification and screening activities, the location and time of the activities, and also any evaluation activity which takes place in the West York Area School District. The district is required to provide a free appropriate public education (FAPE) to children with disabilities who are determined, through the evaluation process, to need special education and related services under IDEA and 22 Pa. School Code §14. A school age child with a disability, who is determined to be in need of special education and related services, is identified as a child with a disability eligible for special education in need of specially designed instruction. The following are disability categories under IDEA:

• Autism
• Deaf-Blindness
• Emotional Disturbance
• Hearing Impairment
• Deafness/ Hard of Hearing
• Intellectual Disability
• Multiple Disabilities
• Orthopedic Impairment
• Other Health Impairment
• Speech and Language Impairment
• Specific Learning Disability
• Traumatic Brain Injury
• Visual Impairment Including Blindness

​Confidentiality Information
The SDs, IUs and CSs maintain records concerning all children enrolled in the school, including students with disabilities. All records are maintained in the strictest confidentiality. Your consent, or consent of an eligible child who has reached the age of majority under State law, must be obtained before personally identifiable information is released, except as permitted under the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). The age of majority in Pennsylvania is 21. Each participating agency must protect the confidentiality of personally identifiable information at collection, storage, disclosure, and destruction stages. One official at each participating agency must assume responsibility for ensuring the confidentiality of any personally identifiable information. Each participating agency must maintain, for public inspection, a current listing of the names, and positions of those employees within the agency who have access to personally identifiable information.

For additional information related to student records, the parent can refer to the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).

​Consent
CHILD FIND NOTICE
West York Area School District provides the following Annual Notice to parents and guardians of West York Area School District students to describe the special education programs and services that are available, the process by which each of the school entities screens and evaluates students to determine eligibility for special education services, gifted services, or Chapter 15/504 services, and information regarding the confidentiality of student educational records.  If you would like a copy of this notice in a language other than English, please contact West York Area School District at (717)792-2796, ext. 1026. 

​Early Intervention Service
EARLY INTERVENTION
In Pennsylvania, any child between three years of age and the school district's age of beginners who has a developmental delay or one or more of the physical or mental conditions listed above is identified as an "eligible young child." Children who are less than the age of beginners and at least three years of age are considered to have a developmental delay when one of the following exists: (i) the child's score, on a developmental assessment device, on an assessment instrument which yields a score in months, indicates that the child is delayed by 25% of the child's chronological age in one or more developmental areas, as documented by test performance of 1.5 standard deviations below the mean on standardized tests. Developmental areas include cognitive, communicative, physical, social/emotional and self-help. For more information please contact the Lincoln Intermediate Unit 12.

Eligible young children are afforded the same rights under IDEA and 22 Pa. School Code §14 as school age children, in order to determine if they are eligible to receive special education services through the screening and evaluation process. Once a child is determined to be eligible to receive special education, an individualized education program (IEP) will be developed for the child.

The Pennsylvania Department of Education is responsible for providing programs and services to eligible young children under Act 212 of 1990, the Early Intervention System Act. Screening for preschool children is available through the Lincoln Intermediate Unit 12. For additional information please contact the LIU 12 at (717) 624-4616 

​Evaluation
"Evaluation" is the procedure used to determine whether a child has a disability and if the child's disability is of the nature and extent that the child would be eligible for special education and related services. Evaluation procedures used are determined on an individual basis by a Multi-disciplinary Evaluation team, which includes the parents. Parents are asked to provide permission to conduct the evaluation via a Permission to Evaluate-Consent Form. The evaluation team takes into consideration cultural issues as they determine the assessment tools that will be administered for the student. A single test or procedure cannot be the sole factor in determining that a child is eligible for special education services. The initial evaluation shall be completed and a copy of the evaluation report shall be presented to the parents no later than 60 calendar days after the agency receives written parental consent. Evaluation for the purpose of determining if a child is a child with a disability eligible for special education does not include the procedures or basic tests that are administered to all children. Parents who think their child is a child with a disability may request, at any time, that the school district conduct an evaluation to determine if the child is eligible to receive special education and related services. This request must be made in writing to the Supervisor of Special Education. If a parent makes an oral request for an evaluation to any professional school employee or administrator, the school district shall provide the parent with a Permission to Evaluate - Evaluation Request Form to complete within 10 calendar days of the oral request. 

​PASA 1% Notice
The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) requires Pennsylvania to ensure that the total number of students assessed in each subject using the Pennsylvania Alternate System of Assessment (PASA) does not exceed one percent of the total number of all students in the state assessed on the statewide assessments. Each local educational agency (LEA) must complete and submit the PASA 1.0 Percent Participation Threshold Justification to BSE if it anticipates that more than 1.0% of its students enrolled in grades 3-8 and 11 will be assessed using the PASA. If the West York Area School District anticipates exceeding the 1.0 percent threshold for PASA participation for the upcoming school year, then necessary justification information will be submitted to the Bureau of Special Education.  Further questions can be directed to the Director of Student Services.