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The Franklin Regional School District provides a free appropriate public education (FAPE) to exceptional students in compliance with federal, state and district policy.  To qualify as an exceptional student, the child must be of school age, in need of specially-designed instruction and meet eligibility criteria for mentally gifted and/or one or more physical or mental disabilities, as set forth in Pennsylvania State regulations in Chapter 14 and 16 of the school code. 

To identify students who may be eligible for special education, various screening activities are conducted.  Each year, the District assesses a student’s vision and hearing.  Hearing screens are conducted in grades K, 1, 2, 3, 7, and 11.  Vision screens are conducted annually for all grade levels.  Medical exams are conducted in grades K, 6, and 11.  Speech and Language screenings are ongoing for all students.  A series of standardized assessments and PSSA tests are administered at various grade levels for all Franklin Regional Students.  These tests results provide a comparison of a child’s progress with national norms and state standards.  This enables counselors, principals, and teachers to identify a child’s strength and weaknesses.

Students who are considered “at risk” are referred to the Office of Special Education for a Multidisciplinary Evaluation (MDE).  The MDE is a process to gather the information that will be used to find out if a child needs Special Education services.  When screening results suggest that a student might be in need of specially designed instruction, the District seeks parental consent to conduct a multidisciplinary evaluation. 

Parents who suspect their child is exceptional may request a multidisciplinary evaluation at any time through a written request to their child’s school counselor, principal, or directly to the Office of Special Education.