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This page contains information for you as a parent of a student with special needs. The resources located here and on other pages throughout our website will help you navigate the maze of special education services and terminology.

Please find a procedural safeguards document, a guide to understand the procedural safeguards, parent's guide to special education, IEP information, and a document entitled "Welcoming All Students".

You will also find a document entitled "A Parent's Guide to MTSS" which should help answer some of your questions about the framework being implemented to support your child at school.

There are two documents that may assist with some of the terminology used in special education, "Education ABCs" and "Special Education Glossary".

Please feel free to peruse the rest of the website for many links to useful information. If you are not finding the information that you need, please email or call us!

Mrs. Lindsey Cookson
Phone: 814-473-3121, ext. 1182
Email - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Special Education Department: 814-473-3121, ext. 1181

Mrs. Lindsey Cookson, Director of Special Education - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Ms. Kris Glosser, School Psychologist - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 
Miss. Megan Renfrew,Speech Pathologist - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Mrs. Shelley Conner, Secretary, Special Education Department - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

354 Baker Street
Rimersburg, PA 16248
(814) 473-3121

The Union School District’s greatest strength lies in the fact that Union is a small district that provides personalized learning experiences for all of its students. We are committed to developing collaborative relationships between teachers in general and special education, related support staff, families, and community partners. Since we are a small community, our programs are reflective of our shared value for positive, productive relationships and of our commitment to the education of the whole child. Developing positive relationships is first and foremost when working with families to provide services for students with special needs. Honest communication and team collaboration are fostered, practiced, and encouraged at every level. In our pursuit to meet the educational, social, and emotional needs of students, we work closely with families to provide support and services for the issues that our students face.  Our individualized programs for students are revised and improved upon on an on-going basis, as part of our goal to recognize and respond to the change in our growing students. Our teachers’ personal investment in students is both unique and genuine.

General and special education teachers alike believe that all students learn best in an environment that teaches and expects respect for all human differences. Much of our collaboration in special education involves a coordination of efforts to maximize inclusive practices while ensuring a free and appropriate education. All students are academically challenged, inspired to grow socially and emotionally, and encouraged to develop a healthy lifestyle. Union School District supports the inclusion of all of its students in the general education environment, classroom, academic, and extracurricular activities to the extent determined appropriate by each Individualized Education Program (IEP) team.

Union School District has a strong commitment to the concept that students with disabilities be placed, to the maximum extent appropriate, in classes with non-disabled peers. Students with disabilities are entitled to appropriate aids and services in order that each student benefits from the general education experience. 

Visit the links on the left to learn more about Special Education in the Union School District..

Under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act, some school age children with disabilities who do not meet the eligibility criteria for special education services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act might nevertheless be eligible for special protections and for adaptations in and modifications to their school program or the physical environment of school buildings, grounds, vehicles, and equipment, when such adaptations or modifications are required to enable the student to access or participate meaningfully in academic or nonacademic programming or extracurricular activities. Children are entitled to such protections, adaptations, and modifications if they have a physical or mental disability that substantially limits participation in or access to an aspect of the school program or facilities, whether academic or non-academic in nature. Parents are entitled to a written plan describing the adaptations and modifications that the public school is proposing to implement for their child. This written plan is called a “service agreement” or “accommodation plan.” It is based on a pre-placement evaluation that the public school must conduct free of charge to determine whether a child has a disability and, if so, the educational needs of the child. Parents of children with disabilities and who are thought to have disabilities are entitled to receive written notice prior to implementation of any proposed evaluation, program, or placement, or prior to any change thereto. Parents who have reason to believe that their school-age child might have a disability have the right to request a pre-placement evaluation of their child at any time, even if their child is not currently attending public school. Parents who have complaints concerning the evaluation, identification, program, placement, or provision of services to a student, or any change thereto, may request an informal conference with the public school and, if that conference fails to resolve the dispute, a due process hearing. The hearing must be held before an impartial hearing officer at a time and location convenient to the parents. Parents have the right to request a free written or electronic transcript or recording of the proceedings, to present evidence and witnesses disclosed to the public school, to confront evidence and testimony presented by the public school, to review their child’s complete educational record on request before the hearing, to receive a written decision from the hearing officer, and to be represented by counsel of their choice. An appeal may be taken from the decision of the hearing officer to a court of competent jurisdiction.
Union School District does not discriminate in the operation of any of its programs, services, or facilities on the basis of race, gender, disability, creed, or national origin (including the ability to speak English). Discrimination can, under certain circumstances, include harassment on the basis of race, gender, disability, creed, or national origin by District employees, contractors, directors, or students. Any school age child who believes that he or she has been or is being subjected to any such discrimination may complain, either directly or through his or her parent or guardian, to the principal of the building where he or she attends school. If the building principal is the party whom the child or his parents or guardian believe is responsible for an act or acts of discrimination, or if the child does not attend public school, the child or his or her parents or guardian may complain to the Special Education Director at (814) 473-3121. Any member of the community, staff member, or contractor, who believes that the District has discriminated against him or her on the basis of race, gender, disability, creed, or national origin in the operation of any program, service, or facility, may complain to the Superintendent of Schools at (814) 473-6311 . Any person complaining of discrimination will be requested to submit their complaint in writing unless they are unable to do so.

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