The term "Special Education" is defined by the specially designed instruction developed to meet the unique needs of a student with a disability.
It is Milan Special School District's vision to provide all students who receive special education services with a high quality educational experience that promotes their independence and individual success. It is our mission to design and deliver quality supports to students, educators, families, and the community for the success of students with disabilities. The faculty and staff take the opportunity to do meaningful work for children, which encourages hope, support, joy, passion, and lifelong learning. The work of the Office of Special Education is conducted with care, integrity, fairness, patience, and respect for everyone.
Students with disabilities are those students evaluated and found eligible for Special Education services as having:
- Specific Learning Disability
- Autism
- Intellectual Disability
- Traumatic Brain Injury
- Hearing Impairment
- Multiple Disabilities
- Other Health Impairment
- Orthopedic Impairment
- Visual Impairment
- Speech impairment
- Language Impairment
- Developmental Delay
- Emotional Disturbance
Milan Special School District Child Find
Every parent wants their child to grow up healthy and happy.
But how does a parent know?
What is Child Find? The purpose of Child Find is to identify, locate, and evaluate children and youth ages 3-22 years of age who are suspected of having or have a diagnosed disability or developmental delay, in order to provide appropriate Special Education services under the law. This may also include children who are gifted (having high intellectual functioning).
A referral can be made by a parent or by any person concerned about a child.
The purpose of Child Find is to identify, locate, and evaluate children and youth ages 3-22 years of age who are suspected of having or have a diagnosed disability or development delay, in order to provide appropriate Special Education services under the laws. This would include funds under IDEA (individual with Disabilities Education Act) and IDEA ARRA (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act). A referral can be made by a parent or by any person concerned about a child.
When should a child be referred to Child Find?
-A health or medical disorder that interferes with development and/or learning.
-A child seems to have difficulty seeing or hearing.
-A child’s speech is not understood by family or friends.
-A child appears to have social, emotional, or behavioral difficulties that affect his/her ability to learn or interact with others.
-A child seems to have difficulty understanding directions like others that are his/her age.
-A child has a diagnosed progressive or degenerative condition that will eventually impair or impede the child’s ability to learn.
- A child is unusually eager to learn, a creative thinker, shows unusual empathy for people and concern for social issues.
Screenings are held throughout the year. A screening is to see if your child is developing and learning the way they should be at their age. Screenings use a variety of tests and observations to find possible problems in the following areas: hearing, vision, speech, language, self-help, social skills, and moving and using muscles. Based on the screening results, the team members from the school can refer your child for further evaluations if he/she sees that more thorough testing is needed. The evaluation may show that your child needs Special Education services. That is instruction designed to meet the unique needs of individual students with disabilities. A student must be evaluated and identified as having a disability to be eligible for Special Education services.
Gifted Child Find
Intellectual Giftedness is found throughout diverse populations and crosses all economic and cultural boundaries. In order to identify all children with high intellectual potential, school personnel and parents are encouraged to help in this identification process. Each school has a team of professionals who help identify children who may need assistance in the classroom. This may include students with high academic achievement, creative thinking, and intelligence. In Tennessee, each district is required to conduct a system-wide grade level Gifted screening in at least one elementary grade. In the Milan Special School District, a grade level screening is conducted in the fourth (4th) grade at Milan Elementary School and in the seventh (7th) grade at Milan Middle School. A school screening team includes a current 4th or 7th grade classroom teacher, the Gifted Coordinator, school psychologist, lead Special Education teacher, and a school administrator. The purpose of the team is to idenitfy a pool of candidates for individual screenings and to review students who are determined to be at-risk. They may determine that no individual screenings are necessary. Identification can also occur at any grade level regardless of the screening year.
If you are concerned about the development of your child, please call us to set up a screening appointment.
Developmental screenings are provided to your child at NO cost to you.
If your child is between the ages of birth– 3 and you suspect you child has a disability,
please call TEIS (Tennessee Early Intervention Services) (731) 881-7114.
Dana Carey, Supervisor of Special Programs
(731)686-0844
careyd@milanssd.org
Joyce Kilzer, Administrative Assistant - Special Programs
(731) 686-0844, Extension 2025
kilzerj@milanssd.org
It is the policy of the Milan Special School District not to discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability or genetic information in its educational programs, activities, and employment policies.
