Special Education

If interventions required to promote student progress are ongoing, intensive, and specialized, the team may suspect that the student has a disability as defined by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and conduct a multi-factored evaluation to determine whether there are educational needs which require special education supports and services.

The results of this evaluation are presented in an Evaluation Team Report (ETR), and the eligibility determination is made by the team, which includes the parents. Students may be found eligible under the following federally defined disability categories (category definitions can be found in the Ohio Department of Education document “Whose Idea Is This”): 

•  Autism
•  Intellectual Disability
•  Deaf-Blindness
•  Deafness
•  Developmental Delay (preschool only)
•  Emotional Disturbance
•  Hearing Impairment
•  Multiple Disabilities
•  Orthopedic Impairment
•  Other Health Impairment
•  Specific Learning Disability
•  Speech or Language Impairment
•  Traumatic Brain Injury
•  Visual Impairment Including blindness

If the student is found to be eligible for special education services then an Individualized Education Program (IEP) is developed, which sets goals/objectives for educational needs revealed by the ETR.  Services to support progress toward these goals are determined and are guaranteed by the IEP.   An Intervention Specialist will be assigned to oversee the implementation of the IEP.   Your student’s intervention specialist will be a great resource to you in understanding your student’s needs and progress. They coordinate services and accommodations across your student’s school day.   

The IEP also documents necessary accommodations, how the student will participate in state and district testing, and necessary transition services for students with disabilities who are 14 years old or more. The IEP is reviewed at least annually to revise goals and services.  An IEP meeting may be called at any time to review the IEP.

Ohio Disability Resource Guide

* Please note, the Guide is not endorsed by Mason City Schools, but we encourage families to use the link at their own discretion.

Twice-exceptional (2E) students are those who have learning disabilities AND who are gifted in superior cognitive ability, specific academic ability (reading/writing, math, science, and/or social studies), creative thinking ability, and/or ability in the visual and performing arts.  Inconsistencies in a student’s abilities may be an indicator of twice-exceptionality. Identifying twice-exceptional students can be challenging because their areas of giftedness may compensate for their learning disabilities, and conversely, their disabilities may mask their giftedness. ODE's Twice Exceptional Guide lists characteristics of students who are twice-exceptional and describes strategies and interventions for addressing learning disabilities while building on areas of strength.

Please reach out to us if you believe your child may need additional services. 

Procedural Safeguards from the Ohio Department of Education

The Mason City School District is committed to using a team-based approach to ensure that each learner is emotionally and physically safe, supported and empowered to pursue worthy challenges. We believe that EACH learner can attain rigorous learning outcomes when given the opportunity and appropriate support. While many of our learners thrive in our learning environments, we know that there is always more we can do to ensure EACH learner reaches their full potential. In some cases, a student may require more formal interventions and support.

 Mason City Schools Section 504 Policies & Procedural Safeguards