Special services at Bowling Green R1 include Special Education Services and 504 Services.

We are required to locate, evaluate and identify children with disabilities who are under the jurisdiction of our district regardless of the severity of the disability, including children attending private schools, migrant and homeless children, and children who are suspected of having a disability and in need of special education services even though they are passing from grade to grade.  This includes all children between the ages of 3 and 21 in the district.  Disabilities include:  Autism, deaf/blindness, emotional disorders, hearing impairment and deafness, intellectual disability, multiple disabilities, orthopedic impairment, other health impairments, specific learning disabilities, speech or language impairment, traumatic brain injury, visual impairment/blindness and young children with a developmental delay.  These children can be referred to us by family members and/or an outside agency.

 When special education services cannot be provided because a child does not qualify, 504 services may be warranted.  To become eligible for these services a parent or staff member must refer the student to the 504 coordinator for the district.  At that time, a meeting is held to determine whether the student has a disability that impacts a major life activity such as:  Caring for oneself, Hearing, Motor, Learning, Vision, Thinking and Concentrating, Eating, Sleeping, or Speaking and Communicating.  In order to qualify for a 504 plan a student must require accommodations in order to have equal access to school district classes or programs.  The team makes this determination when comparing the student to the average student of the same age/grade population.