ECUCS – Exceptional Children
ECU Community School
Exceptional Children
Here are resources for the services that the ECU Community School provides for students with disabilities. If you have any additional questions, contact Dr. Malinda Pennington, Exceptional Children’s Services Director at penningtonma18@ecu.edu or 252-737-5600.
Child Find
What is Project Child Find?
An effort coordinated by your local school system and the Exceptional Children Division, State Department of Public Instruction, to:
- Locate and identify children and youth ages birth through 21 with disabilities who are in need of special education and related services.
- Inform parents and/or guardians of the services available from their local school system and other state and community agencies.
Who Are the Children?
Children and youth who have been diagnosed or are suspected to have intellectual, physical, or emotional disabilities and are unable to benefit from a regular school program without special assistance.
What Help is Available?
- A complete evaluation and, if appropriate,
- An Individualized Education Program for children with a disability beginning at age three,
- An Individual Family Service Plan for each child with a disability birth through 2, or
- A referral to other agencies when needed.
For further information regarding Child Find or if you suspect your student may have a disability and need special education and/or related services, please contact Dr. Malinda Pennington, Exceptional Children’s Services Director at penningtonma18@ecu.edu or 252-737-5600.
Parent Rights & Responsibilities in Special Education: NC Notice of Procedural Safeguards
This handbook is designed to support families with the understanding of the rights and responsibilities specific to the special education process. Acronyms and terms often used in special education and resources can be found in the appendices.
If, at any time, you suspect your student may have a disability and is in need of special education and/or related services, you may request an evaluation by contacting your student’s school principal, teacher or Exceptional Children’s Services Director.
North Carolina Department of Public Instruction Exceptional Children Division
The mission of the Exceptional Children Division is to ensure that students with disabilities develop intellectually, physically, emotionally, and vocationally through the provision of an appropriate individualized program in the least restrictive environment.
Multi-Tiered System of Support for Families
What is NC MTSS?
Family engagement within an MTSS is defined as the active and meaningful partnerships that educators build and maintain with students’ families for the purpose of supporting student learning. It embodies the idea that all parties are equally invested in the student’s educational experience and all parties bring knowledge and skills of equal value to the table to work together.
What is “support”?
NC schools that are implementing an MTSS may talk about support for students. To further define that support, NC organizes these supports around the instruction, the curriculum, and the environment.
New to ECU Community School?
If you are new to the ECU Community School and have questions about special education, please visit our parent resources webpage or contact Dr. Malinda Pennington, Exceptional Children’s Services Director at penningtonma18@ecu.edu or 252-737-5600.
In order to make your student’s transition into ECUCS go smoothly, it is very important to provide your student’s new school copies of the following information during registration:
- Most recent psychoeducational report, eligibility, evaluation and/or reevaluation report;
- Current individualized education program (IEP); and
- Contact information for your student’s previous school and school district.
These items will support a successful transition between your student’s old and new school and will ensure that appropriate services and supports are made available.
What to Expect
For out of state students:
Once you have shared your student’s special education records, school staff will invite you to a meeting to discuss comparable services, or services similar to or the same as, provided on your student’s most recent IEP. During the meeting, school staff will also describe the initial eligibility process that occurs when students move out of state and the timeline in which an initial North Carolina (NC) IEP will be developed.
For in state students but new to ECUCS:
School staff will begin implementing your student’s current NC on their first day of school. An invitation to review and revise your student’s IEP may be scheduled. The purpose of the meeting will be to discuss your student’s transition to a new school and to determine if any adjustments to the services and supports currently being provided are needed.
Dispute Resolution
From time to time, disagreements between families and schools may occur regarding the development and implementation of a student’s individualized education program (IEP). It is highly recommended that the following steps be considered in order to resolve differences quickly.
Local Exceptional Children Contact
Dr. Malinda Pennington, EC Director
252-737-5600