ASU Preparatory Academy - Family Handbook

Compliance

Nondiscrimination

ASU Prep Digital, in affiliation with Arizona State University, does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, disability, religion, sexual orientation or age in its programs, activities and enrollment or in its hiring and employment practices.

This notice is provided as required by Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, the Age Discrimination Act of 1975 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Questions, complaints, or requests for additional information regarding these laws may be forwarded to the designated compliance coordinator: ASU Preparatory Academy, Section 504 and Title IX Coordinator, 1130 E. University Drive, Suite 230, Tempe, Arizona 85281.

Child Find

ASU Prep Digital 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. In order to comply with Child Find requirements, ASU Prep Digital will implement procedures to help ensure that all ASU Prep Digital 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, ASU Prep Digital 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 also be 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, ASU Prep Digital 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.

45-Day Screening for Full-Time Arizona Students

As mandated by Arizona Administrative Code (A.A.C.) R7-2-401 (C) and (D), ASU Prep Digital is required to establish a process to ensure that any academic and/or developmental concerns of its students are not overlooked, and to determine this within the first 45 days of each child’s attendance at a new school. To comply with this mandate, your child’s teacher will screen your child on aspects of your child’s development such as language, cognition, perception and motor skills. Screening is a process of rating skill strengths and weaknesses. Should you have any questions with regard to the screening process, please feel free to contact your child’s teacher or Learning Success Coach.

McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act

At ASU Prep Digital we believe in the rights and dignity of all students. Our commitment applies to educational rights of students who are homeless or in transition. The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act is a law that requires every public school district and charter holder to designate a Homeless Liaison to ensure that homeless students are identified, immediately enrolled in school, have access to educational opportunities equal to those of their non-homeless peers, and receive assistance in evaluating and meeting other needs unique to their situation.

Under this law, homeless children and youth may include those:

In a shelter, temporary shared housing, or transitional living program

In a hotel/motel, campground, or similar situation due to lack of alternatives

At a bus station, park, car, or abandoned building

Unaccompanied Youth who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence also have rights under McKinney-Vento. According to the law the term “unaccompanied youth” includes a youth not in the physical custody of a parent or guardian.

Eligible students have the following rights under McKinney-Vento:

Enrollment in their school of origin, last school attended, current school of residency, and they can remain enrolled in their selected school until the end of the school year or for the duration of homelessness.
Transportation services if applicable in an online environment.
Dispute Resolution: At any time, if you disagree with the decisions of the school about homeless youth, you may file a complaint with the district; the district will respond; the McKinney-Vento Liaison for the school will assist the student and/or guardian with notices, dispute forms, and other needed information.

If you or anyone you know may qualify for McKinney-Vento services, please visit the school resources page on our website: https://www.asuprepdigital.org/resources/

Section 504 Compliance and Grievance Procedure

It is the policy of ASU Prep Digital not to discriminate on the basis of disability. ASU Prep Digital has adopted an internal grievance procedure providing for prompt and equitable resolution of complaints alleging any action prohibited by Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services regulations implementing the Act. Section 504 prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance. The law and regulations may be examined in the office of Janet Holt, Section 504 Compliance Coordinator, 480-727-6215.

Any person who believes she or he has been subjected to discrimination on the basis of disability may file a grievance under this procedure. It is against the law for ASU Prep Digital to retaliate against anyone who files a grievance or cooperates in the investigation of a grievance.

Procedure:

Grievances must be submitted to the Section 504 Coordinator within 30 days of the date that the person filing the grievance becomes aware of the alleged discriminatory action.
A complaint must be in writing, containing the name and address of the person filing it. The complaint must state the problem or action alleged to be discriminatory and the remedy or relief sought.
The Section 504 Coordinator (or her/his designee) shall conduct an investigation of the complaint. This investigation may be informal, but it must be thorough, affording all interested persons an opportunity to submit evidence relevant to the complaint.
The Section 504 Coordinator will maintain the files and records of ASU Prep Digital relating to such grievances.
The Section 504 Coordinator will issue a written decision on the grievance no later than 30 days after its filing.
The person filing the grievance may appeal the decision of the Section 504 Coordinator by writing to the Chief Executive Officer within 15 days of receiving the Section 504 Coordinator’s decision. The Chief Executive Officer shall issue a written decision in response to the appeal no later than 30 days after its filing.
The availability and use of this grievance procedure does not prevent a person from filing a complaint of discrimination on the basis of disability with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights.

ASU Prep Digital will make appropriate arrangements to ensure that disabled persons are provided other accommodations, if needed, to participate in this grievance process. Such arrangements may include, but are not limited to, providing interpreters for the deaf, providing taped cassettes of material for the blind, or assuring a barrier-free location for the proceedings. The Section 504 Coordinator will be responsible for such arrangements.

Section 508 Compliance

ASU Prep Digital strives to ensure our website information and courses are available to all, regardless of abilities. In 1998, Congress amended the Rehabilitation Act to require Federal agencies to make their electronic and information technology accessible to people with disabilities. Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act as amended, 29 U.S.C. Section 794d, requires that Federal agencies’ electronic and information technology is accessible to people with disabilities.

ASU Prep Digital courses are 508 compliant and conform to Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 Level A and AA. Client-side supports allow for the additional personalization of accessibility supports based on the individual’s tools and experience with access. Many components of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 can be enhanced by client-side supports, to include a live assistant. ASU Prep continues to be committed to making their courses and content available to persons with various accessibility needs. If you have difficulty accessing any portion of this site or would like additional information on our 508 initiative, please email your SPED case manager.

Parents’ Right to Know Notice

We are pleased to notify you that in accordance with the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) you have the right to request information regarding the professional qualifications of your child’s teacher. Specifically, you may request the following:

Whether the teacher has met State qualification and licensing criteria for the grade levels and subject areas in which the teacher provides instruction.
Whether the teacher is teaching under emergency or substitute status.
The baccalaureate degree major of the teacher and any other graduate certification or degree held by the teacher, and the field of discipline of the certification or degree.
Whether the child is provided services by instructional assistants or learning facilitators and, if so, their qualifications.

Please contact the school office if you would like to request this information.

Student Records (FERPA)

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a federal law that protects the privacy of student educational records. FERPA affords parents and students over eighteen (18) years of age (eligible students) certain rights. They are:

The right to inspect and review the student’s education records within forty-five (45) dates from the day the school administrator receives a written request for access.
The right to request the amendment of the student’s education records that the parent or eligible student believes is inaccurate or misleading. Parents/guardians should write to the school administrator, clearly identifying the part of the record they want changed, and specifying why it is inaccurate or misleading.
The right to consent to disclosures of personally identifiable information contained in the student’s education records, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent. One exception that permits disclosure without consent is disclosure to the school officials with legitimate educational interests to review educational records in order to fulfill professional responsibility.
Visit the FERPA website to read the full FERPA annual notification of rights and additional options.