Students with Disabilities Incarcerated at Local Detention Center

Greenville County Schools is required to identify and provide a free appropriate public education (FAPE) pursuant to the regulations found in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to each student with a disability detained or incarcerated in a local juvenile or adult detention facility located within the county (jurisdiction).

Once the District (Group Home staff) receives student enrollment forms from personnel at the juvenile detention center (JDC), copies are made of the enrollment forms and provided to the school counselor and the Lead Teacher/LEA of the Group Home Program. The school counselor contacts via email or facsimile the student’s prior school(s) of enrollment, placing agencies, and prior district office special education personnel, and requests educational records, including special education records, using the District’s Records Request Forms (Request for School Records (In-District) Form, Request for School Records (Out-of-District) Form). Once the records are received from the student’s prior school district, the school counselor reviews the information and if the student has been identified as a student with a disability under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and has an IEP, the information is sent to the special education teacher at the JDC facility. Within three days of receiving the information from the previous district, the special education teacher will make contact with the parent to discuss the provision of comparable services. In the case of an Out-of-State transfer, a Transfer Information and Statement of Comparable Services document is completed. A copy of the Transfer Information and Statement of Comparable Services along with a Prior Written Notice (PWN) is then provided to the parent or legal guardian. An IEP meeting is held within 15 instructional days of the Statement of Comparable Services being completed to determine if the District will conduct a Special Review, Annual Review, or have a Reevaluation Review meeting based on available information. In the case of an In-State transfer, the special education teacher will complete a Special Education Support Ticket requesting an electronic Student Records Transfer (SRT). Once the SRT is complete the special education teacher will complete an Amendment (Cover Page) in Enrich AND provide a copy to the parent along with Amended IEP and Prior Written Notice. The Prior Written Notice must explain the comparable services decisions, indicate that these comparable services will be provided beginning the first day of active enrollment, and an IEP team will convene if needed within 15 instructional days of this date. Should the District find that the incarcerated student was in the evaluation process and the process was interrupted as a result of incarceration, the District would work with detention center staff, current school staff, or out of district staff to complete an evaluation. If an incarcerated student is suspected of having a disability, Child Find procedures would be followed beginning with the initiation of the Assistance Team (A-Team) process for Secondary Schools.