Student Services

Section 504 Plan

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and its implementing regulations prohibit discrimination on the basis of disability by any program or activity that receives or benefits from federal funding. Section 504 requires that disabled students be provided with a free appropriate public education including education with non-disabled peers to the maximum extent appropriate.

Definition of Qualified Individual with a Disability Under Section 504

A person has a disability within the meaning of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 if he or she has a mental or physical impairment, has a record of such impairment, or is regarded as having such an impairment, which substantially limits one or more major life activities. An impairment that is episodic or in remission is a disability if it would substantially limit a major life activity when active.

For more information about 504 plans, please speak to your schools counselors or administration.

DUNLAP COMMUNITY UNIT SCHOOL DISTRICT #323

Program Description for English Language Learners

Enrolling students from foreign countries is a unique experience for our school district.  We are provided an opportunity to learn of other peoples, countries, and cultures from sources other than textbooks and multimedia.  These experiences give our staff and students’ opportunities to share knowledge and information with people from other lands and build friendships that otherwise would not be possible. 

Housing English Language Learners (ELL) does, however, present challenges for receiving schools.  Like all other children enrolled in our schools, their individual needs must be met.  It is the intent of the Dunlap School District to have ELL students functioning on his/her own as quickly as possible within a push-in model of support (without the assistance of special teachers).  With this in mind, the following information provides a program overview.

ENROLLMENT / WITHDRAWAL: 

All families should complete a Home Language Survey upon registering for school.  Receiving schools should contact the ESL teacher when registering students from homes where English is not the home language.  Students will then be assessed a certified staff member to determine whether they qualify for ELL services.  Parents will be sent written notification if their child qualifies for ELL services.

Any parent or legal guardian whose child has been enrolled in a program shall have the absolute right to withdraw the child from the program immediately by submitting a written notice of his or her desire to withdraw.  This written notice should be submitted to the building principal.

Students will exit the ELL program when they are able to function effectively in the content areas of their classrooms.  In keeping with Illinois State guidelines, each student’s English language proficiency will be assessed annually.  The ACCESS assessment will be the primary indicator of a student’s readiness to exit the program.  Other factors, however, may be considered for exiting the program.  These factors include a student’s level of acculturation in the school community, content area academic achievement, and results of local assessments.  The classroom teacher, ELL teacher, and building principal will collaboratively determine when a student will be exited from the program.

The ELL program is flexible in that it allows a student to re-enter the program if the need arises.  As educational concepts and vocabulary grow in complexity and quantity, the student may require ELL program services intermittently throughout the elementary school years.

ASSESSMENTS / RECORDS:

All ELL students will take part in state standardized assessments that their grade level peers are required to take.  Students may be exempt from some state testing requirements however.  Results of these assessments will be reported to parents in the same manner as other student reports are communicated. 

ELL students will also take part in an additional assessment called ACCESS.  This assessment is given in order to monitor progress toward WIDA standards.  Results of the ACCESS assessment will also be reported to parents.  The ELL teacher will be responsible for administering the ACCESS test to ELL students.  One copy of the individual test scores should be placed in the student’s cumulative file and one copy should be forwarded to the District coordinator. 

What is Response to Intervention or "RtI"?

RtI is a means of providing early intervention in the general education program.  There is often a misconception that RtI is a special education program and this is false.  In fact, schools must demonstrate evidence that early intervention has been attempted through a three tier model before consideration of special education services.  By using RtI, teachers and other school staff members are able to identify challenges to student learning, provide appropriate research based interventions, and to monitor student progress based on achievement and benchmark data.  The data obtained enables teachers to differentiate instruction in order to meet the needs of their students.

RtI uses a three tier model that utilizes increasingly more intense instruction and interventions.  All students are given Tier I support in the regular classroom.  If students do not respond to the regular curriculum they are provided with Tier II, small group assistance.  If students do not respond to the Tier II interventions they are provided with Tier III, assistance which is more intensive.  Students who do not respond to Tier II or Tier III interventions may be considered for special education services.

At Tier I classroom teachers use scientifically researched based reading and math programs in their classroom to educate all students.  Data is collected and used as a general screening process for all students and to determine effectiveness of core instructional practices.  All K-12 students are benchmarked in the fall, winter, and spring using Curriculum-Based Measurements (CBM) and Social Emotional Learning assessment.  Results of the tests are entered into the district data system.  Kindergarten students are assessed in the areas of early literacy skills and early numeracy skills.  Students in grades 1-8 are assessed in reading fluency, reading comprehension, writing and math.  High school students are screened annually using EPAS readiness exams.

At Tier II classroom teachers and RtI support staff will supplement the regular classroom instruction by providing interventions in order to increase student achievement.  Data is collected to determine the effectiveness of the intervention and to determine if an instructional change is needed.  These interventions are carried out in small groups.  Students at Tier II will be progress monitored regularly using CBM assessment probes in order to determine the effectiveness of their interventions.  Professional Learning Community teams will monitor progress of all students to determine student needs and growth. 

At Tier III, a more intensive intervention plan is created for students.  Students who have failed to respond favorably to intervention at the Tier II level may be referred to the RTI team.  A referral form is completed and submitted to the team.  The referral should be accompanied by progress monitor data from Tier II and a listing of interventions used and the duration of the interventions.  A formal meeting is conducted at the Tier III level and includes parent participation in the creation of a more intensive intervention plan.

Social Emotional Learning

A definition of Social Emotional Learning:  Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) is the process through which we learn to recognize and manage emotions, care about others, make good decisions, behave ethically and responsibly, develop positive relationships, and avoid negative behaviors. It is the process through which students enhance their ability to integrate thinking, feeling, and behaving in order to achieve important life tasks. Within the school setting, SEL can best be accomplished through a layered approach of skills lessons, infusion into the curricula and classroom practices, and an environment of safety, respect, and caring which models SEL values.

• Student-Parent Resource List Current
• IDPH Suicide Prevention Information
• IDPH Nation Suicide Prevention Lifeline PSAs
• Coping with Stress - CDC article

Dunlap provides special education services at all levels and in all buildings.  The type of special education services may differ among the buildings, however we have a full continuum of services throughout the district.  We have speech services and cross categorical services (resource support) at every school.  

Dunlap has center based Early Childhood programs housed at Hickory Grove Elementary School; Early Childhood Special Education and Bright Futures/Blended Early Childhood Special Education Program.  

We also provide an  Instructional program for students who require a modified curriculum.  The K-5th grade instructional program is housed at Ridgeview Elementary School, grades 6-8 at Dunlap Middle School and grades 9-12 at Dunlap High School.  

In addition to the instructional modified curriculum, we have a Life Skills program for students who require an alternative curriculum.  The Life Skills program for K-5th grade is housed at Banner Elementary School, grades 6-8 at Dunlap Middle School and grades 9-age 21 at Dunlap High School.  To view more information about the services that Dunlap provides please click on the "Continuum of Services" tab on the left.