Special Education

In education, 504 refers to a 504 Plan, which comes from Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. It’s a civil rights law that ensures students with disabilities receive accommodations to access education equally.

A 504 Plan is for students with disabilities who do not qualify for an Individualized Education Program (IEP) but still need support. It provides accommodations such as:

• Extended time on tests
• Preferential seating
• Modified assignments
• Assistive technology
• Behavioral supports
• Extended time on tests

Unlike an IEP, a 504 Plan does not require specialized instruction—just accommodations to help the student succeed in a general education setting.

Do You Have Concerns about Your Child's Development, Speech, and/or Language?

"Child Find" is the process of locating, identifying, and evaluating children with disabilities to ensure that they receive services to which they are entitled. Children who are suspected of having a disability can be referred for a possible evaluation at no cost to determine if they are eligible for special education services. Referrals of children with a suspected delay or disability can be made to your local education agency (school district).

Children participating in Tennessee Early Intervention System will have a transition meeting with your local education agency (school district) scheduled by the service coordinator

To make a developmental or speech/language referral with Sumner County Schools please contact the Preschool Assessment Team by completing this Referral Form, or call 615-451-6352.

If you think your child between birth and 36 months (age 0 to 3 years) may have a disability and needs an evaluation, please call Tennessee's Early Intervention System (TEIS) at 1-800-852-7157 to make a referral. TEIS will help families locate services for infants and toddlers with disabilities before the child reaches school age.

Eligibility

Early Childhood Special Education addresses individual needs within the context of developmentally appropriate early learning experiences including early literacy, math, play, and social areas. Preschool special education is a state and federally mandated program for children ages three through five who are experiencing challenges in their learning and development and meet eligibility criteria for special education and related services.

Every school district provides special education services to young children. Over 13,000 children in Tennessee receive individualized special education services each year as a part of IDEA 619 Preschool.

• Eligibility for children is determined by criteria that have been established by federal and state rules and regulations.
• Eligible children are entitled to a free and appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment.
• Each child with a disability has an Individualized Education Program, or IEP. Parents, teachers, therapists, and school administrators make up the IEP team and collaborate to write the IEP. The IEP lists the individual goals for the child and the services the child receives.
• A young child who is determined eligible for special education receives services in the least restrictive environment; children should be educated with non-disabled peers to the maximum extent appropriate. This may include a public school, Head Start, a community based child care setting, or the home as determined by the child's IEP team.
• Special education is not a place but a system of services and supports for children with disabilities.

SCS Continuum of Services

Sumner County Schools Early Learning Department provides a continuum of services to meet the developmental needs of children ages 3-5 who have been identified with a disability that has an educational impact. This continuum of services allows us to provide special education services that are individualized to each student, in their least restrictive environment.

On-Site Speech/Language Therapy

• Children with an identified speech impairment and/or language impairment may receive speech/language therapy services in small group sessions.
  • Beech Elementary
  • JW Wiseman Elementary
  • Shalom Zone
  • Westmoreland Elementary

Integrated and Developmental Pre-Kindergarten Classrooms

• Integrated classrooms are a structured teaching environment where children with special needs receive their special education services in a regular education setting with typically developing peers. Developmental classrooms are structured to provide more intensive direct special education services and are considered a special education setting. These classrooms typically have 3-4 typically developing peers who help serve as social and language role models for our students with disabilities. Special education services provided within our pre-k classrooms are tailored to the specific needs of each student, therefore the days of attendance and length of their attendance varies based on the services they are receiving.
  • Beech Elementary
  • Benny Bills Elementary
  • HB Williams Elementary
  • Howard Elementary
  • George Whitten Elementary
  • Guild Elementary
  • JW Wiseman Elementary
  • Lakeside Park Elementary
  • Millersville Elementary
  • Nannie Berry Elementary
  • Portland Gateview Elementary
  • Station Camp Elementary
  • Vena Stuart Elementary
  • Westmoreland Elementary

For additional questions, please call 615-451-6352.

Developing Gifted Potential into Performance

Philosophy

Sumner County Schools is committed to providing opportunities to nurture, challenge, and develop potential of gifted learners. We recognize that intellectually gifted students have unique needs which warrant differentiated curriculum and programming. Gifted children differ from others in learning ability; they learn faster, have wider interests, have greater capacity to learn material, and think with greater depth about what they learn. A continuum of services is designed to enhance critical, conceptual, and abstract thinking, problem-solving, and creativity within content areas.

Mission

Our mission is to guide gifted learners to realize and utilize their potential.

Vision

Our vision is to meet the needs of gifted learners, all day, every day.

Services

Opportunities for gifted learners are provided in accordance with their intellectual abilities and academic aptitudes as determined by the IEP team for each individual student.

Program Goals

• To develop critical, conceptual, and abstract thinking within content areas
• To develop creative problem-solving within content areas
• To promote positive affective development

Contacts

Please contact your child’s Gifted Itinerant Teacher for more information.

Additional Resources

Karah Lewis, Consulting Teacher for Gifted Services
Pupil Services, Sumner County Schools
695 E. Main Street Gallatin, Tennessee 37066
(615) 451-5414

In education, IEP stands for Individualized Education Program. It’s a legally required document in the U.S. for students who qualify for special education services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

An IEP outlines:

• The student’s current academic performance
• Specific learning goals
• Special education services and accommodations
• How progress will be measured
• Behavioral supports
• Any additional support needed

It’s designed to ensure that students with disabilities receive the support they need to succeed in school. Let me know if you need more details!

Procedural Safeguards

Notice of Procedural Safeguards Individuals with Disabilities

Education Act Division of Special Populations and Student Support

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the federal law concerning the education of students with disabilities, requires schools to provide parents of a child with a disability with a notice containing a full explanation of the procedural safeguards available under the IDEA, U.S. Department of Education regulations, and Tennessee law and regulations. This procedural safeguards notice includes a full explanation of all of the procedural safeguards available under § 300.148 (unilateral placement at private school at public expense), §§ 300.151 through 300.153 (state complaint procedures), § 300.300 (consent), §§ 300.502 through 300.503, §§ 300.505 through 300.518, and §§ 300.530 through 300.536 (procedural safeguards in Subpart E of the Part B regulations), and §§ 300.610 through 300.625 (confidentiality of information provisions in Subpart F).

Visit TDOE Notice of Procedural Safeguards for more information.

School psychologists are experts in psychology and education who serve children in the school setting. School psychologist have three main goals in this environment:

1. Promote quality education for all children
2. Be a child advocate
3. Promote mental health in the school setting

School psychologists provide a wide array of services to students, parents, teachers, administrators, and community members. These services may include the following:

• Providing individual assessment of students to evaluate academic, intellectual, perceptual, social-emotional, and behavioral functioning
• Identifying the special needs of students and helping to plan their educational program
• Making presentations at teacher in-service trainings
• Consulting with parents, teachers, administrators, and other professionals in the community to enhance services to students
• Developing behavioral interventions and behavioral management plans for students
• Assisting with the development of crisis management plans
• Assisting teachers and administrators with compliance and procedural safeguards

School psychologists in the state of Tennessee hold Masters Degrees (MA, MS, MEd) , Educational Specialist Degrees (EdS), or Doctoral Degrees (PhD, EdD, or PsyD) in Psychology, specializing in Education. School psychologists are licensed by the State of Tennessee, Department of Education or by the State of Tennessee, Board of Healing Arts. Many school psychologists are also certified by the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP).

School psychologists adhere to the Codes of Ethics of NASP and/or the American Psychological Association (APA). The Professional Standards of the Tennessee Association of School Psychologists provides guidelines for the delivery of school psychological services within Tennessee.

If you have questions for a school psychologist, contact your child's school.

Suspecting a Disability and Seeking an Evaluation

For School-Age Children Enrolled in Sumner County Schools

If you suspect that your school-age child, currently enrolled in Sumner County Schools, may have a disability and requires an evaluation, please contact your child's teacher or the School Psychologist at their school.

For School-Age Children in Private or Home School

If you suspect that your school-age child, currently enrolled in a Private School or Home School, may have a disability and needs an evaluation, please call (615) 451-5414 to make a referral.

For Pre-Kindergarten Children (Ages 3-5)

If you suspect that your pre-kindergarten child may have a disability, click here for more information.

For Children from Birth to 3 Years Old

If you believe your child (birth to 36 months) may have a disability and requires an evaluation, please contact Tennessee’s Early Intervention System (TEIS) at 1-800-852-7157 to make a referral. TEIS helps families connect with services for infants and toddlers with disabilities before they reach school age.