The Department of Special Education serves students of the Jackson County School District with diverse learning needs and abilites through a continuum of services in the least restrictive environmnent in partnership with parents, teachers, and administrators.
IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act): Entitles every student to a Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) in the least restrictive environment (LRE) through their local school district from age 3 to age 21. To ensure a FAPE, a team of professionals from the local educational agency meet with the student's parents to identify the student's unique educational needs, to develop annual goals for the student, and to determine the placement, program modification, testing accommodations, counseling, and other special services to meet the student needs. An Individualized Educational Program (IEP) is developed and implemented to address the student needs and meets the guildelines of federal and state educational agencies. The following are disabilities identified under IDEA:
Autism
Specific Learning Disability
Intellectual Disablity
Other Health Impairments
Emotional Disablities
Hearing Impairments
Visual Impairments
Tramatic Brain Injury
Deaf-Blindness
Developmental Delays
Speech-Language Impairments
Multiple Disablities
Orthopedic Impairments
Students who meet state criteria for identification with one of the above listed disabilities may be eligible to have an Individualized Education Program (IEP) developed. The purpose of an IEP is to provide specialized instruction to bridge academic and functional gaps in learning between students with disabilities and same aged peers.
Gwendolyn Stallworth Director of Special Education P.O. Box 5069 4700 Colonel Vickrey Road Vancleave, MS 39565 (228) 826-0152 (228) 826-4009 (Fax) Gwendolyn.Stallworth@jcsd.ms