The Montville Board of Education is committed to providing full and appropriate educational opportunities to all disabled students. The Montville schools offer a full range of special services, including but not limited to the following:

• specialized instruction;

•related services including speech, occupa-tional, and physical therapy, counseling, and psychological services;

•homebound instruction;

•evaluation in all areas related to educa-tional programming;

•ervices for preschoolers needing special education;

•ransition planning.

When services for educational needs cannot be provided within the public schools, the district contracts for services with private agencies.

Federal regulations require that all children with disabilities, birth to 21 years of age, be located, evaluated, and identified.

For children birth to three years of age, the school district is responsible to identify the child's needs. The school district provides evaluation for children birth to three. Prior to and upon comple-tion of all evalua-tions, the school district staff, parents, and other professionals meet to deter-mine which evaluations appear necessary and to discuss the results of the evaluations that have been conducted. Services are not provided to children from birth to three, but the district will work with parents to locate appropri-ate services for their child, and to transition them to school services, when appropriate.

Preschool children requiring special education servic-es or a related service are defined as "children who have attained the age of three and whose degree and type of exceptionality, based on evaluation by the PPT (Planning and Placement Team), is such that the absence of special education will impair the child's educational development to the extent that it is unlikely that the child will be able to make satisfactory educational progress when he/she attains school age."

Referrals are accepted from parents, agencies, and other individuals. For children who are ages birth to three, are of preschool age, and school age children who are not enrolled in our town schools, please contact:

Donna Maynard

Director of Special Servic-es

Office of the Superintendent

Old Colchester Road

Oakdale, CT 06370

848-1228

Parents of school age children should speak first to their child's teacher if they have concerns related to special education.