Springfield City School District is responsible for the identification of students with disabilities that reside within the District.This includes students attending non-public parochial schools, homeschool and/or children attending a community daycare or preschool. A child may be referred for an evaluation by a parent/guardian or school personnel.  Springfield City School District has 30 calendar days after receiving the request to respond.  Should the school district not suspect a disability, a Prior Written Notice will be sent to the requesting party outlining the reasons for refusal. 

If a disability is suspected the district must complete an evaluation within 60 calendar days. The school psychologist will contact the requesting party to begin the process.  During this time period, the school may request information from parents, physicians, teachers, and other school personnel. Following the results of the ETR, an IEP may be developed if the team agrees that the student is eligible for Special Education Services.

All Springfield City School District buildings provide access to a continuum of special education services. 

As much as possible, students with disabilities attend the same school that they would attend if they did not have a disability.

A student’s IEP team determines the setting in which the child will receive their special education services, with emphasis being placed on the Least Restrictive Environment (ensuring that the child is educated with non-disabled peers to the maximum extent possible).

Specially designed instruction may take place in the following settings, which is determined by the IEP team and is based on the individualized needs of the student:

• General Education Classroom : students are fully included into general grade level instruction with their same age peers.

• General Education with Co-Taught Support: students are taught by both the general education teacher with consultation, co-planning, and direct services provided by the intervention specialist as  determined by the IEP.

• Resource Room: student attends a typical school building but is taught by an intervention specialist in a separate classroom with other students with disabilities for the majority of the day. Students may be included with their non-disabled peers for a portion of the school day (i.e., lunch, recess, specials/elective classes as determined by the IEP, etc.)

• Specialized Learning Classroom (SLC): Students attend a regular school building but are taught by an Intervention Specialist.  The SLC is a learning environment that provides specialized instruction and support for students with disabilities.