Students with Disabilities
Services and Rights for Students with Disabilities
Students with disabilities have protections and rights under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and, when diagnosed with an educational disability that requires special education services, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Such students are protected from discrimination and entitled to a “free appropriate public education.”
All responsible public agencies are required to locate, evaluate and identify children with disabilities who are under the jurisdiction of the agency, regardless of the severity of the disability, including children attending private schools, highly mobile children, such as migrant and homeless children, and children who are suspected of having a disability and in need of special education even though they are advancing from grade to grade. The Ritenour School District, in partnership with the Special School District of St. Louis County, assures that it will provide a free, appropriate public education (FAPE) to all eligible children with disabilities between the ages of 3 and 21 under its jurisdiction. Disabilities include autism, deaf/blindness, emotional disorders, hearing impairment and deafness, mental retardation, multiple disabilities, orthopedic impairment, other health impairments, special learning disabilities, speech or language impairment, traumatic brain injury, visual impairments/blindness and any child with a developmental delay.
The Ritenour School District, in partnership with the Special School District of St. Louis County assures that it will provide information and referral services necessary to assist the State in the implementation of early intervention services for infants and toddlers eligible for the Missouri’s First Steps Program. The Ritenour School District, in partnership with the Special School District of St. Louis County, assures that personally identifiable information collected, used, or maintained by the agency for the purposes of identification, evaluation, placement or provision of FAPE of children with disabilities may be inspected and/or reviewed by their parents/guardians. Parents/guardians may request amendment to the educational record if the parent/guardian believes the record is inaccurate, misleading, or violates the privacy or other rights of their child. Parents have the right to file complaints with the U.S. Department of Education or the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education concerning alleged failures by the district to meet the requirements of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).
The Special School District of St. Louis County has developed a Local Compliance plan for implementation of State Regulations for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). This Plan contains the agency’s policies and procedures regarding storage, disclosure to third parties, retention and
destruction of personally identifiable information and the agency’s assurances that services are provided in compliance with General Education Provision (GEPA). This plan is available for public review during regular school hours on days school is in session in the Office of the Superintendent of Schools.
Local school districts in the State of Missouri are required to conduct an annual census of all children with disabilities or suspected disabilities from birth to age twenty-one (21) that reside in the district. This census must be compiled by December 1 of each year. This information is treated as confidential and must include: name of the child; parent/legal guardian’s name/address; birth date and age of the child; the child’s disability; and the services provided to the child. If you have a child with a disability or know of a child with a disability that is not attending the public school, please contact Ritenour Student Services at (314) 493-6010 or the Special School District of St. Louis County at (314) 989-8100.
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