GIFTED AND SPECIAL EDUCATION

SCREENING AND EVALUATION PROCEDURES

The Bradford Area School District (BASD) provides a number of screenings for students. School personnel, on an ongoing basis, asses gross motor and fine motor skills, academic skills, and social/emotional skills. Screening and evaluations are available for vision (every year), scoliosis (grade 7), speech (K, 1, 2), hearing (grades K-1-2-3-7-11, and every year for special education), and physical examination (grades K-6-11), behavior, learning or physical development concerns.

Evaluations are also provided for students thought to be gifted learners. The use of State and District standardized testing along with teacher, parent, guidance staff, and administrators' recommendations for the Gifted Support Program are utilized. A parent will be asked to sign a Permission to Evaluate form to start the evaluation process. Upon receipt of this form a multi-discipline team will meet within 45 school days to determine eligibility for the Gifted Support Program. The Permission to Evaluate form can be obtained in any of the schools or from the Student Services Office at 150 Lorana Avenue.

Results from screenings are noted within the students' official files and are open to parents. Information from the records is released to other individuals or agencies only with appropriate authorization. Parents with concerns regarding their child may contact the Principal, Teacher, and Instructional Support to discuss screening and evaluation of their child.

The screening process begins at the district level with the collection of necessary data from the parent and school personnel. The parent and school staff, who together will generate a plan to meet the student's specific needs or to document the need for further evaluation, will review screening information. At the elementary level, and middle school level referrals begin with the Instructional Support Team (IST). A parent or staff member may initiate this process by submitting a written request to the Instructional Support Teacher.

If it is determined that further evaluation is necessary, the parent will be asked to sign a Permission to Evaluate, which in turn results in a Multi Disciplinary Evaluation (MDE). This is also how the process is initiated at the secondary level since the high school does not have IST. Parents at each level may also initiate an evaluation by submitting written information to the school that supports such action. The evaluation will include information from the parent, school professionals, the school psychologist, and any other professionals that may be necessary to make a complete evaluation. All evaluation procedures will be discussed with the parent and outlined on the Permission to Evaluate.

When the evaluation is complete, the parents are invited to participate in a Multi Disciplinary Team (MDT) meeting. At that meeting an Evaluation Report (ER) will be completed. The team will review the information and formulate recommendations for the types of intervention, if any, needed to meet the student's specific needs.