Resources

Special Programs

Our school offers a host of services to help your student get the support they need to thrive in school and beyond.
Below is a list of specific services, providers, and contact information.

Contents

Identification of English Learners (EL) Manager

Feyi Obamehinti

Identification of Section 504 Manager

Kristy Decker-Baird

Identification of Dyslexia Manager

Debbie Kraus

Updated Dyslexia HandBook


Identification of Homeless Coordinator

Marina Dugan

The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, reauthorized in January 2002 as Title X, Part C, of the No Child Left Behind Act, is the primary piece of federal legislation dealing with the education of children and youth in homeless situations. Its key themes are school access and stability, support for educational success, and child-centered decision-making.


Parents Rights

If your family lives in any of the following situations:

  • In a shelter
  • In a motel or campground due to the lack of an alternative adequate accommodation
  • In a car, park, abandoned building, or bus or train station
  • Doubled up with other people due to loss of housing or economic hardship

Your school-age children may qualify for certain rights and protections under federal McKinney-Vento Act. Your eligible children have the right to:

  • Receive a free, appropriate public education
  • Enroll in school immediately, even if lacking documents normally required for enrollment
  • Enroll in school and attend classes while the school gathers needed documents
  • Enroll in the local school; or continue attending their school of origin (The school they attended when permanently housed or the school in which they were last enrolled), if that is your preference.
  • If the school district believes that the school you select is not in the best interest of your children, then the district must provide you with a written explanation of its position and inform you of your right to appeal its decision.
  • Receive transportation to and from the school of origin, if you request this.
  • Receive educational services comparable to those provided to other students, according to your children’s needs.

Identification of Foster Care Coordinator

Quinnece Walker

Identification of Americans with Disabilities (ADA) Compliance Act Coordinator/Special Programs Manager

Sarah Owen
Stacy Sturges

Request for Parent/Guardian Interpreter Services or Disability Accommodations


Translation Needs


Procedural Safeguards


Annual Public Notice of Special Services & Programs

In accordance with federal and state regulations, Texas Virtual Academy at Hallsville (TVAH) will provide an annual public notice to families informing them of TVAH’s child find responsibilities, procedures involved in the identification of educational disabilities and determination of students’ service and support needs.


Child Find

The 1997 Amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act mandate that every school district in the country develop a system to identify children with disabilities, birth through age 21, residing in the district. Texas Virtual Academy at Hallsville (TVAH) strives to identify, locate, and evaluate all enrolled children who may have disabilities. Disability, as stated in IDEA, includes such conditions as hearing, visual, speech, or language impairment, specific learning disability, emotional disturbance, cognitive disability, other health or physical impairment, autism, and traumatic brain injury. The process of identifying, locating, and evaluating these children is referred to as Child Find.

As a public school, we will respond vigorously to federal and state mandates requiring the provision of a Free Appropriate Public Education regardless of a child’s disability or the severity of the disability. In order to comply with the Child Find requirements, TVAH will implement procedures to help ensure that all TVAH students with disabilities, regardless of the severity of their disability, who are in need of special education and related services—are identified, located, and evaluated —including students with disabilities who are homeless or students who are wards of the state.

Parent/Guardian permission and involvement is a vital piece in the process. Once a student has been identified as having a “suspected disability” or identified as having a disability, TVAH will ask the student or the student’s Parent/Guardian for information about the child such as:

  • How has the suspected disability or identified disability hindered the student’s learning?
  • What has been done, educationally, to intervene and correct the student’s emerging learning deficits
  • What educational or medical information relative to the suspected disability or identified disability is available to be shared with the school?

This information may be also be obtained from the student’s present or former teachers, therapists, doctors, or from other agencies that have information about the student.

All information collected will be held in strict confidence and released to others only with parental permission or as allowed by law. In keeping with this confidence, TVAH will keep a record of all persons who review confidential information. In accordance with state regulations, parents have the right to review their child’s records.

As part of the Child Find process, some services may include a complete evaluation, an individualized education program designed specifically for the child, and a referral to other agencies providing special services.


TVAH staff adheres to all portions of FERPA in regard to student educational records and personal information.


Special Education (IEP) or Service Agreements (504 Plans)

For students confirmed to present with special education needs, once the ARD Committee agrees on the IEP and the student’s educational placement, a Prior Written Notice (PWN) will sent to the parent/guardian for signature. This must be signed and returned to Texas Virtual Academy at Hallsville (TVAH). TVAH can only proceed with implementing the student’s IEP (or 504 Plan) upon receipt of the signed PWN. Some students are found to present with one or more disability, but do not meet the eligibility criteria outlined under IDEA (Special Education); however, their disability may still require TVAH to develop a 504 Service Agreement (504 Plan) to outline the special provisions a student may require for adaptations and/or accommodations in school-based instruction, facilities, and/or activities.


Special Education Grievances or Disputes

Texas Virtual Academy at Hallsville (TVAH) recognizes that despite best intentions of all parties, disagreements or miscommunications may arise between the school-based team and TVAH’s families or students. Should this situation occur, the TVAH Special Education case manager will call an Admission, Review, and Dismissal (ARD) Committee meeting where the specific details contributing to any educational concern are fully discussed and addressed as the entire team determines would consider most appropriate for the student. Collaboration is a primary focus for this type of meeting, and the TVAH Special Education Team seeks to establish and maintain the confidence of its families to always serve its students in order to maximize their educational success.

Accommodations

Dispute Resolution Options

IEP Facilitation

IEP facilitation is a voluntary process that can be utilized when all parties to an IEP meeting agree that the presence of a neutral third party would help facilitate communication and the successful drafting of the student’s IEP. This process is not necessary for most IEP meetings. Rather, it is most often utilized when there is a sense from any of the participants that the issues at the IEP meeting are creating an impasse or acrimonious climate.

Mediation

Formal Due Process


SPEDTex

The Special Education Information Center (SPEDTex) provides resources and interactive features for increasing family awareness of disabilities and special education processes, with the goal of improving partnerships between schools and families.

Important Links:

Contact information:


Identification of Gifted Talented Manager

Leigh Radichel

A gifted/talented student is a child or youth who performs at or shows the potential for performing at a remarkably high level of accomplishment when compared to others of the same age, experience, or environment and who