Special Services

Parents Rights and Procedural Safeguards

Parents and guardians of children eligible for or currently receiving special education services have certain rights according to state and federal laws. For more information on parent rights in special education, a copy of the Oklahoma State Department of Education Parent Rights in Special Education: Notice of Procedural Safeguards is available on the Oklahoma State Department of Education Website.

Parent Revocation of consent for services under IDEA
The parent of a child with a disability who receives special education and/or related services under the IDEA may submit a written request to the district revoking consent for the continued provision of those services. As outlined in state and federal law, upon receipt of the written revocation request, Oklahoma Virtual Charter Academy will terminate all of the child’s special education and related services. The child will be identified as a general education student for all subsequent purposes.

Child Find

All public schools are mandated by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004 (IDEA) to identify, locate, and evaluate students who may demonstrate disabilities through the Child Find process. The intent of Child Find is to ensure all children with disabilities, ages 3-21, are located, identified, and evaluated in order to receive needed supports and services.

As public School, Oklahoma Virtual Charter Academy (OVCA) provides a Free Appropriate Public Education to children ages 3-21, including children who qualify for special education services unless the parent refuses special education services. In order for a child to receive special education services, an evaluation must be conducted to confirm the presence of a delay or disability.

OVCA provides full continuum of special education services and supports. Specialized programming is provided by certified special educators in the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) to children who meet eligibility requirements under one or more of the following disability categories, as defined by the State of Oklahoma:

Autism
Developmental Delay
Deaf-Blindness
Emotional Disturbance
Hearing Impairment, Including Deafness
Intellectual Disabilities
Multiple Disabilities
Orthopedic Impairments
Other Health Impairments
Specific Learning Disability
Speech or Language Impairment
Traumatic Brain Injury
Visual Impairment Including Blindness

If through Child Find activities, a child is identified who may need of special education services, OVCA may seek parent consent to evaluate the child. All such evaluations will be conducted in compliance with applicable federal and state law and regulations.

Parents must report that their child has an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) during the enrollment process. Please contact OVCA Special Services to report students who may be in need these specialized educational and/or related services.

Child Find Notice

Identification of Section 504

Section 504 is a part of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 that prohibits discrimination based upon disability. Section 504 is an anti-discrimination, civil rights statute that requires the needs of students with disabilities to be met as adequately as the needs of the non-disabled are met.

Section 504 Coordinator

Jill Wallace

[email protected]
1117 S Douglas Blvd, Suite F, Midwest City, OK 73130
(405) 259-9478 ext. 2058

Identification of English Language Learners (ELL)

As part of the enrollment process all parents provide home language survey answers to indicate if a child speaks another language or first learned another language to determine if the student needs to receive English language services and supports.

English Language Learner Coordinator

Katherine Young
[email protected]
1117 S Douglas Blvd, Suite F, Midwest City, OK 73130
(405) 259-9478 ext 2173

Notification of Language Assistance Services

Any parent/legal guardian who is limited in speaking, writing, or reading English may request the school to provide access to services such as interpreter and/or translated documents. To request services please email or call the ELL Coordinator, Katherine Young, at [email protected] or (405) 259-9478 ext. 2173. Katherine Young will coordinate prompt access for the parent/legal guardian to the appropriate services and/or translator service.

Asistencia de idioma

Cualquier padre que se limita al hablar, escribir o leer Inglés podrá solicitar a la escuela para proporcionar acceso a servicios tales como intérprete y / o documentos traducidos. Para solicitar los servicios envíe un correo electrónico o llamar al Coordinador de ELL, Katherine Young, en [email protected] o (405) 259-9478 ext. 2173. Katherine Young coordinará el acceso sin demora para que el padre a los servicios apropiados y / o servicio de traductor.

Identification of Homeless

OVCA provides McKinney-Vento/Homeless assistance and support for eligible families as defined below:

A) Means individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence...; and

B) Includes—

Children and youths who are sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason; are living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camping grounds due to the lack of alternative accommodations; are living in emergency or transitional shelters; are abandoned in hospitals; or are awaiting foster care placement;
Children and youths who have a primary night time residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings;
Children and youths who are living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings; and
Migratory children who qualify as homeless for the purposes of this subtitle because the children are living in circumstances described in clauses (i) through (iii).

Children and youth are considered homeless if they fit both part A and any one of the subparts of part B of the definition above.

Homeless Liaison

Jessica Bishop, LMSW
[email protected]
1117 S Douglas Blvd, Suite F, Midwest City, OK 73130
(405) 259-9478 ext. 3383

Identification of Foster Care

Under the requirements of the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) shall identify all students in foster care, have a foster care plan developed, and collaborate with the Child Welfare Agency and Tribal Child Welfare Agencies (CWA) to implement the Title I educational stability provisions.

Foster Care Liaison

Kaylynn Watts, M.Ed.
[email protected]
1117 S Douglas Blvd, Suite F, Midwest City, OK 73130
(405) 259-9478 ext. 3341

Identification of American with Disabilities (ADA) Compliance Act

Special Programs Manager

Katherine Young
[email protected]
1117 S Douglas Blvd, Suite F, Midwest City, OK 73130
(405) 259-9478 ext. 2173

Request for Parent/Guardian Interpreter Services or Disability Accommodations

Professional interpreter services may be requested at any time for parents/guardians of students with disabilities by contacting Katherine Young at [email protected]

Additionally, if any parent/guardian has a disability or other limitation that would impact their ability to participate fully in their child’s educational planning process, OVCA would be happy to discuss accommodations that may be available in order to maximize the parent/guardian’s participation. Individuals seeking to discuss accommodations for this reason may contact Katherine Young at [email protected]

Procedural Safeguards

In accordance with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requirement that all educational agencies provide parents of students with disabilities notice containing a full explanation of procedural safeguards available under the IDEA and U.S. Department of Education regulations, review the Procedural Safeguards Notice.

Privacy & Confidentiality

To maintain privacy of students’ special education records, both within its central office and across school systems and databases, OVCA follows protocols consistent with the federal regulations associated with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). Oklahoma Virtual Charter Academy may disclose personally identifiable information from a student's education record as instructed by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). Visit the U.S. Department of Education website for an inclusive list of FERPA rights.

Accommodations

Notice of these rights is available, upon request, on audiotape, in Braille, and in languages other than English. Should you need further assistance or information regarding any of these accommodations, please contact Danielle Shaw at [email protected] or any member of your child’s OVCA team for guidance.

Translation Needs

Click https://translate.google.com/ to translate text to a language other than English.

Special Education Grievances or Disputes

OVCA recognizes that despite best intentions of all parties, disagreements or miscommunications may arise between the school-based team and OVCA families or students. Should this situation occur, the OVCA special education case manager will initiate an IEP team discussion 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 OVCA 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.

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 – A voluntary process in which both parties seek to resolve the issues involved in the concern with an unbiased, third party mediator from the OKSDE. The mediator who will write up the details of the agreement that the parties come to through the mediation conference, the agreement is signed by both parties, and thus what the document states is mandated to be implemented; This process is overall less time-consuming, less stressful, and less expensive to complete than a due process hearing (see below)

Formal Due Process

Families are not obligated to pursue the above alternatives to due process should they feel their concerns can only be resolved through a formal due process hearing. If a formal complaint against OVCA is submitted to the OKSDE at Oklahoma State Department of Education, the complaint must be written and include a statement that the LEA has violated a requirement under IDEA, Part B, the facts on which the statement is based; and the signature of the person(s) filing the complaint.

Special Education Services, Suite 412
2500 North Lincoln Boulevard
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
Phone (405) 521-3351
Fax (405) 522-3503

More information can be located here: http://sde.ok.gov/sde/idea-complaint