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Click below for our Administration, Instructional, and Community Resources.

Administration

Instructional

Community

We believe that all children realize their full potential in instructional environments that acknowledge and respond to individual needs.

HCPS Department of Special Education is dedicated to providing a continuum of supports and resources that enable students to achieve their potential.

• Communication - To increase effective communication among HCPS personnel, families and community partners using a variety of strategies in order to build and sustain collaborative, productive relationships.



• Instruction - To build the capacity of HCPS personnel to provide a full continuum of effective and diverse instruction utilizing interventions, services, and supports for students with disabilities in the least restrictive environment.



• Compliance - To expand the knowledge and skills of HCPS personnel related to the processes and procedures aligned with federal, state and local guidelines in order to enhance the effective implementation of IDEA.

Special Education services for students with disabilities are based on students' Individual Education Programs (IEPs) and are designed to complement the general education curriculum. The alignment of IEP goals and benchmarks with the general education content standards supports the students' participation in the Maryland State Assessment programs. The IEP guides the implementation of modifications and accommodations utilized to enable the students to access the general education curriculum.

Special Education services are available for all students ages birth through 21, as appropriate. There is a full continuum of services to meet the needs of students with educational disabilities in the least restrictive environment. These services are provided in all the community schools. The needs of the students with the most severe disabilities may be met at John Archer School.

HCPS provides itinerant services in the following areas:

• Adaptive Physical Education
• Audiology and Hearing Services
• Community-based Instruction
• Occupational Therapy
• Physical Therapy
• Speech /Language Therapy
• Vision Services
• Transitioning Program

CHILD FIND is a special education service provided by the Harford County Public Schools to identify children who live in Harford County, from ages three through 21 years who are suspected of having an educational disability and who may be eligible for special education and related services. Children ages birth to 3 can access a variety of services to meet their individual needs through Harford County Infants and Toddlers Program.


Click here for more information about the Child Find Program All services are provided in accordance with the students' Individualized Educational Program (IEP)'s to assist the student to benefit from the specially designed instructional program.

As a condition of the reauthorized Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA 2004), Harford County Public Schools must collect, examine and report data to determine if significant disproportionality based on race and ethnicity is occurring in the State and the local educational agencies of the states.

• Requirements for Addressing
  and Reporting Disproportionality

Data is collected with respect to:

• The identification of children as children with disabilities, including the identification of children as children with disabilities in accordance with a particular impairment described in § 300.646(a) (1);
• The placement in particular educational setting of such children § 300.646(a) (2); and
• The incidence, duration, and type of disciplinary actions, including suspensions and expulsions § 300.646(a) (3).

Office of Special Education: 102 South Hickory Avenue Bel Air, MD 21014 Phone: (410) 588-5246 Directions:

Special Education Director: Ann-Marie Spakowski Email: Ann-Marie.Spakowski@hcps.org