In order to be eligible for special education and related services, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires that a child have one of thirteen qualifying disabilities AND an need for specially designed instruction as a result of that disability. 

If you have concerns regarding your child's performance either academically or behaviorally, the first step should be to contact your child's campus.  Each campus has intervention programs designed to help students who experience difficulties in the classroom.  The campus counselor will be able to give you more information on each of these programs.  If your child is already participating in one of these programs and you still have concerns, you are encouraged to schedule a conference with the counselor or other campus administrator to discuss what else might be available for your child and whether or not he or she would be referred for a special education evaluation. 

As a parent, you always have the right to request that your child be evaluated for eligibility for special education and/or related services. Per the Commissioner's rules, if a request for an evaluation is submitted in writing to a district or campus administrator, a response to that request must be provided to the parent within 15 school days.  Once a request is received, the district will review all relevant data related to classroom performance, attendance, discipline, health, etc. In order to determine if an evaluation for special education is needed.  Within 15 school days of receiving the request, the district will either provide the parent an opportunity to give consent for an evaluation or if the district is not going to evaluate the child, it will provide a Prior Written Notice explaining the reasons for refusing the request.  

If Consent for Evaluation is obtained, the evaluation report must be completed within 45 school days of the written consent.  An Admission, Review and Dismissal (ARD) committee meeting must be held within 30 calendar days of the report's comp[completion in order to determine eligibility and if eligible, develop and IEP for the student. 

If your child was receiving services through Special Education in another district, he or she will be eligible for services in Dayton ISD.  When you complete the enrollment paperwork, simply indicate in the space where indicated that our child is a special education student.  If you have a copy of his most current IEP and FIE, please bring that to the campus as it will enable us to begin services immediately.  Dayton ISD will begin implementing services as comparable as possible to those he received in his previous district. If you do not have a copy of a current IEP, the district will obtain one from the previous district.  Your child will begin receiving comparable services as soon as those services can be verified from the previous district.  This can sometimes, be done over the phone, but not always. 

Special Education services are provided at all Dayton ISD campuses. Specialized programs are strategically located throughout Dayton ISD for students in need of a district class placement. These are known as district classes. If your home campus does not offer the specialized program your child needs, Dayton ISD will provide transportation to the most appropriate program to meet the child's individual needs. 

Dayton ISD needs complete records from the previous school district or program serving the student.  These records should include, but may not be limited to the current Individual Education Plan (IEP), the most recent Full and Individual Evaluation (FIE), and any other reports which will assist Dayton ISD in identifying the appropriate services for an individual student.  The parents can either bring school records from the previous school district or can let the campus know the district the child is moving from and the records will be mailed or faxed to Dayton ISD. 

The continuum of instructional options and services offered by Dayton ISD include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Itinerant services for students who need assistance in special areas such as vision, hearing or speech.
• General education classroom support (direct or indirect) which includes a variety of strategies to support integration into less restrictive environments.
• Resource services in schools for students who need special education assistance.
  • Structured Learning Class- SLC is designed for students with both significant cognitive impairments and behavioral challenges.
  • Life Skills- LS is designed for students with significant cognitive disabilities who require and alternate curriculum and help learning daily living skills.
  • Resource- Resource is designed for students who need a special ed setting for core content instruction. Typically (but not always) this is for students who require modifications not reasonable for the general education classroom.
  • General Education with support-This program is for the student who is able to work on or close to grade level, but requires the in-class support of either a special education teacher or paraprofessional. The amount of support needed varies from student to student.
  • General Education with Accommodations- This program is for the student who is able to work on or close to grade level but requires accommodations to the regular program. The amount of accommodation needed varies from student to student.
• Infant program for students birth through age 2 with hearing and/or vision impairments who can benefit from special instruction through home and/or center based services.
• Early childhood programs for students ages 3 to 5 who require early intervention.
• Hospital/Homebound program for students who are to be out of school for four or more weeks due to an accident, illness, or have a chronic illness that results in frequent absences.
• Regional Day School Program for the Deaf for students with hearing impairments who need specialized instructional and related services.
• Work training  programs for students at the high school level supervised by a vocational adjustment coordinator (VAC).
• Transition planning to prepare students to exit public school.
• Supported employment for students with significant disabilities who require assistance in order to be employed.
• Related services necessary to enable students to benefit from their special education programs. These include, but are not limited to the following:
  • Counseling
  • Special Transportation
  • Occupational therapy 
  • Adaptive equipment
  • Orientation and mobility training

Contact your school principal, counselor, or team leader. You can call the Office of Special Education at 936-367-7380 or contact one of the following staff members below.

Specialists

•  Amber Windham - Behavior Specialist
• Ashlyn Weist – Low Incidence/ Transition Specialist

Educational Diagnosticians

• Tammy Hodges
• Jamie Bowes
• Lacey Arthur
• Whitney Medrano

Licensed Specialist in School Psychology

• Bidgette McMahan Harab
•  

Speech Evaluators, Interns and Assistants

•  Brandi Raggio – Speech Languare Pthologist/ Speech Supervisor 
• Cathy Quinn – Speech Language Pathologist (Colbert, WWJH)
• Amanda Smoke – Speech Language Pathologist (ERR)
• Rebecca Noel – Speech Language Pathologist (ERR, DHS)
• Abby Williams – Speech Language Pathologist Intern (KMB)
• Arliss Moore – Speech Language Pathologist Assistant (SFA)

Clerks

• Christina Lusty – Records Clerk
• Norma Want – Bilingual Interpreter/ ARD Clerk
• Lisa Goins – Diagnostician and LSSP Clerk
• Misty Huntley – Speech Clerk(Colbert/Richter/DHS)
• Donna Richardson – Speech Clerk (SFA/KMB)

Administrative Assistant to the Director of Special Education

• Shaunna Hohn

ARD Facilitators

• Sharon Davis
• Melissa Perrin
• Amy Hoehner
• Tifany Hallum
•  Rene’ Ford

Homebound

•  Paul Jensen

Coordinators

• Bridgette Bean – Special Programs
• Cara Fitzhenery – Compliance

Director of Special Education

•  Trudie Dewey