The East Palestine City School District is required to locate all children who may have disabilities, ages birth through 21, who reside within its boundaries.  Special Education services are available in our schools for any child identified with a disability ages 3 through 21.  If you have a child or know of a child you suspect may have a disability under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act or Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and who reside in East Palestine City school District, please call the East Palestine Department of Student Services at 330-426-5310 or contact your building principal.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is a law that makes available free appropriate public education to eligible children with disabilities throughout the nation and ensures special education and related services for those children. The IDEA governs how states and public agencies provide early intervention, special education, and related services to eligible infants, toddlers, children, and youth with disabilities.

A Guide to Parent Rights in Special Education (ohio.gov)

Home Language Usage Survey

On February 3, 2025, the Board of Education adopted the Special Education Model Policies and Procedures (Model Policies) that were released by the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce (DEW) in December 2024, and directs all staff in the district to use and comply with the Model Policies. A copy of these Model Policies can be found here. The Board further authorized the Superintendent to notify the DEW of the Board’s adoption of the Model Policies by November 30 of each school year.

The District subsequently learned that the 2024 Model Policies contain certain statements that conflict with existing State and Federal laws and/or applicable caselaw, so on April 7, 2025, the Board adopted a slightly modified version of DEW’s 2024 Model Policies that is consistent with existing State and Federal law and/or applicable caselaw; and adopted DEW’s 2024 Model Policies in their entirety except for the following sentences, which are specifically rejected in their current form and will not be implemented as written. The Board directs that the language identified below shall be considered either modified as specified, or, where indicated, deleted to ensure the District complies with applicable State and Federal laws and/or caselaw:

P. 10. Destruction of Educational Records
Original Language: “Ensures the information is destroyed at the request of the parents.”
Action: Replace sentence with “Once a parent is notified that personally identifiable information maintained by the District is no longer required to provide educational services to their child, or is not otherwise required to be maintained by the District based on State or Federal law or applicable retention schedules, the parent may request that the information be destroyed.”

P. 14. Independent Education Evaluation at Public Expense
Original Language: “An educational agency may not impose conditions or timelines related to obtaining an IEE, except for the criteria described above.”
Action: Delete this sentence in its entirety.

P. 33. Extended School Year
Original Language: “The IEP team should consider emerging skills as part of the IEP process for children who are exhibiting beginning skillsets.”
Action: Delete this sentence in its entirety.

P. 42. Services
Original Message: “Although not required, educational agencies are encouraged to provide services during short-term removals to assist children with disabilities to continue to make progress toward their IEP goals and prevent them from falling behind.”
Action: Delete this sentence in its entirety.

The Board has directed all staff in the District to use and comply with the 2024 Model Policies (as modified ). The Board also acknowledges that the 2024 Model Policies (as modified ), while comprehensive, do not include every requirement set forth in the IDEA, the regulations implementing IDEA, the Ohio Operating Standards, the Ohio Revised Code, and/or the Ohio Administrative Code, and the Board recognizes its obligation to follow these laws and regulations, as well as applicable caselaw, in the event there is a conflict between their requirements and the Board-adopted 2024 Model Policies (as modified).