Catherine George
Director of Special Services

979-764-5433
cgeorge@csisd.org

Special Education Notice

College Station ISD maintains a Child Find system for locating, evaluating, and identifying individuals from birth through age 21 who reside within the district boundaries who may have a suspected disability and may need special education supports and services. Child Find services also include locating, evaluating, and identifying individuals who are enrolled in private schools within the College Station ISD boundaries.

The district employs a staff of highly qualified special education personnel who work collaboratively with the district general education staff to address the academic, functional, and behavioral needs of students with disabilities. Special Education services are designed as an integral support to the overall district general education curricular, instructional, and assessment program to provide individualized supports and services to students meeting eligibility requirements in one or more of the following areas: autism, deaf-blindness, auditory impairment, emotional disturbance, mental retardation, multiple disabilities, orthopedic impairment, other health impairment, learning disability, speech impairment, traumatic brain injury, or visual impairment.

Students are afforded a wide range of instructional opportunities provided in the least restrictive environment and designed to meet individual student needs, as determined by the student’s Admission, Review, and Dismissal (ARD) committee. Services may occur along a continuum of placements including the general education environment, content mastery centers, special education resource classes, special education self-contained classes, or a combination thereof. Students with a medically verified need may receive special education homebound services. Students who are deaf or hard of hearing and in need of more intensive support may attend or receive services from the Regional Day School Program for the Deaf located within the Bryan Independent School District. Students who are blind or visually impaired and have needs for more intensive support may attend the Texas School for the Blind or Visually Impaired in Austin, TX.

College Station ISD Special Services provides a wide array of related services in order for the student to benefit from their special education program. Types of related services may include: counseling, transportation, physical therapy, occupational therapy, and orientation and mobility. The ARD committee determines the type and frequency of related services based upon the student’s educational need and Individualized Education Plan.

College Station ISD, through an established Child Find network, works with Early Childhood Intervention (ECI) services to collaborate on service provision for young children in need of supports and services from birth until the child’s third birthday. ECI and College Station ISD seek to provide a seamless service transition from ECI to College Station ISD early childhood services, which may include the Preschool Program for Children with Disabilities (PPCD) for young children who meet eligibility requirements under the Individuals with Disabilities Improvement Act (IDEA) of 2004.

Parents who suspect their child may have a disability are invited to contact their neighborhood school or call the College Station ISD Special Services office at 979-764-5433 for additional information.