Parkway Schools

The District, in partnership with the Special School District (SSD) of St. Louis County, assures a free, appropriate public education (FAPE) for all eligible children under its jurisdiction between the ages of three (3) and twenty-one (21) years. Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA-2004) educational disabilities include: Autism, Deaf/Blindness, Emotional Disturbance, Hearing Impairment and Deafness, Mental Retardation, Multiple Disabilities, Orthopedic Impairment, Other Health Impairments, Specific Learning Disabilities, Speech or Language Impairment, Traumatic Brain Injury, Visual Impairment/Blind, and Young Child with a Developmental Delay.

The SSD offers special education and related services (e.g., physical and occupational therapy, speech and/or language services, social work services, counseling) for students. These include evaluation, screening, and special education services for students with educational disabilities attending non-public schools. For students with and without diagnosed educational disabilities, the districts offer Homebound Instruction (for home or hospital-bound students) and applied technology/vocational programming.

Parkway is responsible for identifying, evaluating, and providing FAPE to children attending its schools with disabilities under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Parents/guardians and majority age students must be notified of decisions regarding the identification, evaluation, and/or placement of students with Section 504 disabilities and be afforded other procedural safeguards. Section 504 and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibit discrimination on the basis of disability and require accommodations for persons with disabilities, including parents and patrons, to ensure access to all programs and activities.

When concerns and documentation warrant, the school staff are to consider whether there is reason to suspect a disability and refer/evaluate a student. Parents/guardians who suspect a student has a disability may initiate the disability "identification" process by contacting the student’s school (e.g., counselor, administrator) or, for non-public school students, the SSD.

Parkway assures that personally identifiable information collected, used, or maintained by the District for the purposes of identification, evaluation, placement, or the provision of FAPE to children with disabilities may be inspected and/or reviewed by parents/guardians. Parents may request amendment to the educational record if they believe the record is inaccurate, misleading, or violates the privacy or other rights of their child. Complaints may be submitted to the U.S. Department of Education or the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) if someone feels the District is in violation of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).

The rights of students with disabilities and responsibilities of Parkway are described in a number of documents, which include the:

These and other District documents also address the storage, disclosure to third parties, retention and destruction of personally identifiable information, as well the District’s assurances that services are provided in compliance with the General Education Provision Act (GEPA). Such documents are available at the Parkway Administrative Center.

Questions, requests (i.e., assistance, information, documents), or concerns/complaints may be directed to each school's principal or SSD area coordinator or to Parkway's Special Services Department (314-415-8071). If needed, this notice will be provided in alternative language formats.