When properly identified learning needs are present, these needs are addressed through the problem-solving process and students may be eligible for special education services. Please contact the guidance office for information concerning the problem-solving process.
In accordance with state and federal legislation regarding the education for students with disabilities, Geneva School District offers a wide range of programs and services to eligible students aged three to twenty-two. Special education programs and services are available to students meeting qualifying conditions within the following categories:
Students are identified eligible for services under the regulations set forth by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). If a student is determined to be eligible, services will be delivered by learning behavior specialists or speech pathologists. Student may qualify for services provided by other related service providers as deemed necessary including speech and language therapists, occupational and physical therapists, school psychologists, school social workers, teachers of the visually impaired, and hearing itinerants.
Students with disabilities receive special education assistance within the learning environment determined most appropriate: within their home schools and the regular classroom environment; within special education classrooms; or within non-district facilities when alternatives to the public-school setting are needed. In accordance with the provisions of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act, Geneva School District has also developed policies and procedures designed to assure an appropriate education to eligible students.
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act is a federal law designed to protect the rights of individuals with disabilities in programs and activities that receive federal funding from the U.S. Department of Education. Geneva 304 provides a free and appropriate education for students who are eligible for a 504 plan by individually designing accommodations/modifications and or services to meet their educational needs in the same manner as their non-disabled peers.
It is important to note that students with a Section 504 plan are considered general education students.
To be eligible for services within a Section 504 plan, a student must have a mental or physical impairment that substantially limits one or more major life functions.
Additional information regarding these programs and services can be obtained by contacting your building principal. If your child receives special education services and is also Medicaid eligible, Geneva CUSD 304 can seek partial reimbursement from Medicaid for health services documented in your child’s Individualized Education Program (IEP). Medicaid reimbursement is a source of federal funds approved by Congress to help school districts maintain and improve diagnostic and therapeutic services for students.
The reimbursement process requires the school district to provide Medicaid with your child’s name, birth date and Medicaid number. Federal law requires annual notification of our intent to pursue this reimbursement opportunity.
If you object to the release of information to Medicaid for health services documented in your child’s IEP, now or at any time in the future, please state your objection in writing and forward it to the Director of Student Services, 227 N. Fourth Street, Geneva, IL, 60134. Regardless of your decision, the District must continue to provide, at no cost to you, the services listed in your child’s IEP.
This program has no impact on your child’s or your family’s current or future Medicaid benefits. Under federal law, participation in this program CANNOT: decrease lifetime coverage or any other public insurance benefit, result in the family paying for services that would otherwise be covered by Medicaid, increase your premiums or lead to discontinuation of benefits or insurance, or result in the loss of eligibility for home and community-based waivers. Your continued consent allows the district to recover a portion of the costs associated with providing health services listed in your child’s IEP.
Right to Inspect Materials
Parents have the right to inspect all instructional materials, including teachers’ manuals, films, tapes, or other supplementary materials which will be used in connection with any survey, analysis, or evaluation of their child (20 U.S.C. 1232h). These rights include:
- The right to inspect a survey created by a third party before it is administered and distributed to their student and procedures for requesting and accessing surveys distributed to students.
- Arrangements to protect student privacy with regard to surveys requesting particular personal information.
- The right to inspect any instructional material used as part of their child’s educational curriculum, and the procedures for accessing this information.
- Physical examinations or screenings that the district may administer to the student.
- The collection, disclosure, or use of personal information collected from students for the purpose of marketing or for selling that information (or otherwise providing that information to others for that purpose), and the parent's right to inspect any collection instrument used for this purpose.
Equal Educational Opportunities
According to Board Policy 7:10, equal educational and extracurricular opportunities are available for all students without regard to color, race, nationality, religion, sex, sexual orientation, ancestry, age, physical or mental disability, gender identity, status of being homeless, immigration status, order of protection status, actual or potential marital or parental status, including pregnancy. Further, the District will not knowingly enter into agreements with any entity or any individual that discriminates against students on the basis of sex or any other protected status. Any student may file a discrimination grievance by using Board policy 2:260, Uniform Grievance Procedure.
No student shall, based on sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity be denied
equal access to programs, activities, services, or benefits or be limited in the exercise of any right,
privilege, advantage, or denied equal access to educational and extracurricular programs and activities.
Any student may file a sex equity complaint by using Board policy 2:260, Uniform Grievance Procedure.
Parents’ School Visitation Rights
The School Visitation Rights Act permits employed parents who are unable to meet with educators because of a work conflict the right to an allotment of time during the school year to attend necessary educational or behavioral conferences at the school their child attends (820 ILCS 147/1 et seq.). Upon written request, employers must grant employees leave of up to eight hours per school year, not to exceed four hours in any given day, to attend their children’s classroom activities or school conferences which cannot be scheduled during non-work hours.
Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) Notice
Qualification of Teachers and Paraprofessionals
Any public school district that receives Title I funds must notify the parents of each student attending a Title I school that the parents may request, and the district will provide upon such request, information about the professional qualifications of the students’ classroom teachers, including, at a minimum, the following:
a. Whether the teacher has met state qualification and licensing criteria for the grade levels and subject areas in which the teacher provides instruction.
b. Whether the teacher is teaching under emergency or other provisional status through which state qualification or licensing criteria have been waived.
c. The baccalaureate degree major of the teacher and any other graduate certification or degree held by the teacher, and the field of discipline of the certification or degree.
d. Whether the child is provided services by paraprofessionals and, if so, their qualifications.