Resources

Special Services

Volunteer State Virtual Academy offers robust special education services to support students and meet their needs, empowering them to thrive in school and beyond. With high-quality, personalized learning and the help of teachers and support staff, students with special needs can achieve their academic goals, find their confidence, and pave a path to success.

VSVA Special Services

Volunteer State Virtual Academy (VSVA) complies with all federal and state education laws. The following information and resources are available for parents to know their legal rights and VSVA school policies and procedures.


Special Education

Amanda Winn

Academic Administrator of Special Programs


Request for Parent/Guardian Interpreter Services or Disability Accommodations


Procedural Safeguards


Annual Public Notice of Special Services & Programs

In accordance with federal and state regulations, VSVA will provide an annual public notice to families informing them of VSVA’s child find responsibilities, procedures involved in the identification of educational disabilities and determination of students’ service and support needs. Families are encouraged to review the following information that describes these regulations. Information regarding VSVA’s internal practices to comply with these will be available in the VSVA’s Special Programs Manuals and Handbooks.


Child Find

VSVA strives to identify, locate, and evaluate all enrolled children who may have disabilities. Disability, as stated in IDEA, includes such conditions as hearing, visual, speech, or language impairment, specific learning disability, emotional disturbance, cognitive disability, other health or physical impairment, autism, and traumatic brain injury. The process of identifying, locating, and evaluating these children is referred to as Child Find. As a public school, we will respond vigorously to federal and state mandates requiring the provision of a Free Appropriate Public Education regardless of a child’s disability or the severity of the disability. To comply with the Child Find requirements, VSVA will implement procedures to help ensure that all VSVA students with disabilities, regardless of the severity of their disability, who are in need of special education and related services—are identified, located, and evaluated—including students with disabilities who are homeless or students who are wards of the state. Parent/guardian permission and involvement is a vital piece in the process. Once a student has been identified as having a “suspected disability” or identified as having a disability, VSVA will ask the student or the student’s parent/guardian for information about the child such as:

  • How has the suspected disability or identified disability hindered the student’s learning?
  • What has been done, educationally, to intervene and correct the student’s emerging learning deficits?
  • What educational or medical information relative to the suspected disability or identified disability is available to be shared with the school?

This information may be also obtained from the student’s present or former teachers, therapists, doctors, or from other agencies that have information about the student. All information collected will be held in strict confidence and released to others only with parental permission or as allowed by law. In keeping with this confidence, VSVA will keep a record of all persons who review confidential information. In accordance with state regulations, parents have the right to review their child’s records. As part of the Child Find process, some services may include a complete evaluation, an individualized education program designed specifically for the child, and a referral to other agencies providing special services.


Consent


Special Education (IEP) or Service Agreements (504 Plans)

For students confirmed to present with special education needs, once the IEP team agrees on the IEP and the student’s educational placement, a Prior Written Notice (PWN) will be sent to the parent/guardian for signature. This must be signed and returned to VSVA. VSVA can only proceed with implementing the student’s IEP (or 504 Plan) upon receipt of the signed PWN. Some students are found to present with one or more disability, but do not meet the eligibility criteria outlined under IDEA (special education); however, their disability may still require VSVA to develop a 504 Service Agreement (504 Plan) to outline the special provisions a student may require for adaptations and/or accommodations in school-based instruction, facilities, and/or activities.


Privacy and Confidentiality


Accommodations


Special Education Grievances or Disputes

VSVA recognizes that despite best intentions of all parties, disagreements or miscommunications may arise between the school-based team and VSVA families or students. Should this situation occur, the VSVA special education case manager will initiate an IEP team discussion where the specific details contributing to any educational concern are fully discussed and addressed as the entire team determines would consider most appropriate for the student. Collaboration is a primary focus for this type of meeting, and the VSVA Special Education Team seeks to establish and maintain the confidence of its families to always serve its students to maximize their educational success.


Dispute Resolution Options

  • IEP Facilitation – IEP facilitation is a voluntary process that can be utilized when all parties to an IEP meeting agree that the presence of a neutral third party would help facilitate communication and the successful drafting of the student’s IEP. This process is not necessary for most IEP meetings. Rather, it is most often utilized when there is a sense from any of the participants that the issues at the IEP meeting are creating an impasse or acrimonious climate
  • Mediation – A voluntary process in which both parties seek to resolve the issues involved in the concern with an unbiased, third-party mediator from the Tennessee Department of Education. The mediator will write up the details of the agreement that the parties come to through the mediation conference, both parties will sign the agreement, and thus what the document states is mandated to be implemented; This process is overall less time-consuming, less stressful, and less expensive to complete than a due process hearing (see below).

Formal Due Process

Families are NOT obligated to pursue the above alternatives to due process should they feel that their concerns can only be resolved through a formal due process hearing. If a formal complaint against VSVAHS is submitted to the Tennessee Department of Education.


English Language Learners

Identification of English Language Learner Coordinators

Amanda Winn

Academic Administrator of Special Programs

Request for Parent/Guardian Interpreter Services or Disability Accommodations

Formal Due Process


Foster

Identification of Foster Care Coordinator/Title IX Coordinator/Migrant Liaison

Amanda Winn

Academic Administrator of Special Programs


McKinney-Vento

Identification of Homeless Liaison

Amanda Winn

Academic Administrator of Special Programs


Migrant

Identification of Foster Care Coordinator/Title IX Coordinator/Migrant Liaison

Amanda Winn

Academic Administrator of Special Programs