The Ballard County School District keeps educational records in
a secure location in each school and Board office.The Ballard County School District obtains written consent from
a parent or eligible student (age 18 or who is attending a postsecondary
institution), before disclosing personally identifiable information to an
entity or individual not authorized to receive it under FERPA.
For students who have been determined eligible for Special
Education, educational records will be destroyed at the request of the parents
when they are no longer needed to provide educational programs or services. The
Ballard County School District may destroy the educational records of a child
without parent request three (3) years after they are no longer needed to
provide educational programs or services. Parents are advised that data
contained in the records may later be needed for Social Security benefits or
other purposes. The Ballard County School District may retain, for
an indefinite period of time, a record of the student’s name, address,
telephone number, grades, attendance records, classes attended, grade level
completed, and year completed.
Children eligible for Special Education include those children
with disabilities who have autism, deaf-blindness, developmental delay,
emotional-behavior disability, hearing impairment, mental disability, multiple
disabilities, orthopedic impairment, other health impairment, specific learning
disability, speech or language impairment, traumatic brain injury, or visual
impairment and who because of such an impairment need Special Education
services.
Children eligible for 504 services include those children in a
public elementary and secondary education program who have a current physical
or mental impairment that currently substantially limits some major life
activity which causes the student’s ability to access the school environment or
school activities to be substantially limited.
Children eligible for the State-Funded Preschool program include
three- and four-year-old children identified with disabilities and
four-year-old children who are at-risk, as defined by federal poverty levels up
to 160%. Preschool children eligible for special education must have an
Individual Education Plan (IEP) instead of a 504 plan to receive State-Funded
Preschool program services.
The Ballard County School District has
an ongoing Child Find system, which is designed to locate,
identify and evaluate any child residing in a home, facility, or residence
within its geographical boundaries, age three (3) to twenty-one (21) years, who
may have a disability and be in need of Special Education or 504 services. This
includes children who are not in school; those who are in public, private, or
home school; those who are highly mobile such as children who are migrant or
homeless; and those who are advancing from grade to grade, who may need but are
not receiving Special Education or 504 services.
The district’s Child Find system includes children
with disabilities attending private or home schools within the school district
boundaries that may need special education services.
The Ballard County School District will make sure any child
enrolled in its district who qualifies for Special Education or 504 services,
regardless of how severe the disability, is provided appropriate Special
Education or 504 services at no cost to the parents of the child.
Parents, relatives, public and private agency employees, and
concerned citizens are urged to help the Ballard County School District find
any child who may have a disability and need Special Education or 504 services.
The District needs to know the name and age, or date of birth of the child; the
name, address, and phone number(s) of the parents or guardian; the possible
disability; and other information to determine if Special Education or 504
services are needed.
Letters and phone calls are some of the ways the Ballard County
School District collects the information needed. The information
the school District collects will be used to contact the parents of the child
and find out if the child needs to be evaluated or referred for Special
Education or 504 services.
If you know of a child who lives within the boundaries of the
Ballard County School District, who may have a disability, and may need but is
not receiving Special Education or 504 services, please call or send the
information to:
Terri Wehmeyer, Director of Special Education/Section 504
Coordinator, Ballard County Schools; 3465 Paducah Road, Barlow, KY, 42024;
phone 270-665-8400, ext. 2101.
If you know of a child who attends a private or home school
within the boundaries of the Ballard County School District, who may have a
disability, and may need but is not receiving Special Education services,
please call or send the information to:
Director of Special Education, Ballard County Schools; 3465
Paducah Road, Barlow, KY, 42024; phone 270-665-8400, ext. 2101.
Child Find activities will continue throughout the
school year. As part of these efforts the Ballard County School District will
use screening information, student records, and basic assessment information it
collects on all children in the District to help locate those children who have
a disability and need Special Education or 504 services. Any information the
District collects through Child Find is maintained confidentially.
Written Policies and Procedures have been developed which
describe the District’s requirements regarding the confidentiality of
personally identifiable information and Child Find activities. There are copies
in the Principal’s office of each school, and in the Board of Education office.
Copies of these Policies and Procedures may be obtained by contacting:
Bob Wilson, Director of Pupil Personnel, Ballard County Schools;
3465 Paducah Road, Barlow, KY, 42024; phone 270-665-8400, ext. 2014.
The District office is open Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m.
to 4 p.m.
The Ballard County School District provides a public notice in
the native language or other mode of communication of the various populations
in the geographical boundaries of the District to the extent feasible.
If you know of someone who may need this notice translated to
another language, given orally, or delivered in some other manner or mode of
communication, please contact the Director of Pupil Personnel, the Director of
Special Education or the Section 504 Coordinator at the address or phone number
listed above.