NOTICE OF NON-DISCRIMINATION, NOTICE OF PUBLIC NOTICE:

PUBLIC EDUCATION FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES SPECIAL EDUCATION AND SECTION 504

Applicants for admission or employment, students, parents of elementary and secondary school students, employees, sources of referral and applicants for employment, and all professional organizations that have entered into agreements with the School District of Springfield, R-12 (“District”) are hereby notified that the District does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability in admission or access to, or treatment or employment in, its programs and activities. In addition, the District provides equal access to the Boy Scouts of America and other designated youth groups.

Any person having inquiries concerning the District’s compliance with the laws and regulations implementing Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VI”), Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (“Title IX”), the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (“Section 504”), Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (“ADA”) or the Boy Scouts of America Equal Access Act, is directed to the Compliance Coordinator listed below, who oversees the District’s efforts to comply with the laws and regulations implementing the laws and regulations cited above.

The District has established grievance procedures for persons unable to resolve problems arising under the listed statutes above. The District’s Compliance Coordinator will provide information regarding those procedures upon request.

Any person who is unable to resolve a problem or grievance arising under any of the laws and regulations cited above may contact the Office of Civil Rights, Region VII, 8930 Ward Parkway, Suite 2037, Kansas City, Missouri 64114, (816) 268-0550.

All responsible public agencies are required to locate, evaluate, and identify children with disabilities who are under the jurisdiction of the agency, regardless of the severity of the disability, including children attending private schools, children who live outside the District but are attending a private school within the District, highly mobile children, such as migrant and homeless children, children who are wards of the state, and children who are suspected of having a disability and in need of special education services even though they are advancing from grade to grade.  The District assures it will provide a free appropriate public education (“FAPE”) to all eligible children with disabilities between the ages of 3 and 21 who are under its jurisdiction. Special education disabilities include autism, deaf/blindness, emotional disturbance, hearing impairment and deafness, intellectual disability, multiple disabilities, orthopedic impairment, other health impairment, specific learning disabilities, speech or language impairment, traumatic brain injury, visual impairment/blindness, and young child with a developmental delay.

The District provides the following assurance that it will provide information and referral services necessary to assist the State of Missouri in the implementation of early intervention services of infants and toddlers eligible for the Missouri First Steps program.

The District provides the following assurance that personally identifiable information collected, used, or maintained by the agency for the purposes of the identification, evaluation, placement or provision of FAPE of children with disabilities may be inspected and/or reviewed by their parents/guardians. Parents/guardians may request amendment to the educational record if the parent/guardian believes the record is inaccurate, misleading, or violates the privacy or other rights of their child. Parents/guardians have the right to file complaints with the U.S. Department of Education or the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education concerning alleged failures by the District to meet the requirements of the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (“FERPA”).

The District has developed a Local Compliance Plan for the implementation of State Regulations for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (“IDEA”). This plan contains the District’s policies and procedures regarding storage, disclosure to third parties, retention and destruction of personally identifiable information and the District’s assurance that services are provided in compliance with the General Education Provision Act (“GEPA”). This plan may be reviewed during business hours by contacting the Director of Special Services, at 1610 East Sunshine Street, Springfield, Missouri 65804, (417) 523-7500.

Under Section 504, the District, as a recipient of federal financial assistance from the United States Department of Education and as an operator of a public elementary or secondary education program and/or activity, is required to undertake to identify and locate every qualified person residing in the District who is not receiving a public education; and take appropriate steps to notify disabled personal and their parents or guardians of the District’s duty.

The District assures that it will, pursuant to Section 504, provide a free appropriate public education to each qualified disabled person in the District’s jurisdiction regardless of the nature or severity of the person’s disability. For purposes of Section 504, the provision of an appropriate education is the provision of regular or special and related aids and services that are (i) designed to meet individual educational needs of disabled persons as adequately as the needs of non-disabled persons are met and (ii) based on adherence to procedures which satisfy the requirements of Section 504 federal regulations.

This notice is provided as required by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Questions, complaints or requests for additional information regarding the ADA and Section 504 may be forwarded to the Chief Human Resources Officer, District’s Compliance Coordinator, 1359 E. St. Louis Street, Springfield, Missouri 65802, (417) 523-4647.

This notice will be provided in native languages or alternative formats, e.g. large print, Braille, as needed.