Child Find

The school district must locate, identify, and evaluate all resident children with disabilities, including children with disabilities attending private schools, regardless of the severity of their disabilities. The school district has a special education screening program to locate and screen all children with suspected disabilities who are residents of the district and who have not graduated from high school. Upon request, the school district will screen any resident child who has not graduated from high school to determine whether a special education referral is appropriate. A request may be made by contacting the district Special Education office, at (414) 963-3924, or by writing to the district Special Education office at 1200 East Fairmount Avenue, Whitefish Bay, WI 53217. Parents may also request an evaluation through a school principal.

Information from screening may be used to determine whether a child should be evaluated for a suspected disability. When school staff reasonably believe a child is a child with a disability, they refer the child for evaluation by a school district Individualized Education Program (IEP) team. Developmental screening is conducted annually in the junior kindergarten program.

A physician, nurse, psychologist, social worker or administrator of a social agency who responsibly believes a child brought to him or her for services is a child with a disability has a legal duty to report the child to the school district in which the child resides. Before referring the child, the person making the referral must inform the child's parent that the referral will be made. The referral must be in writing and include the reason why the person believes the child is a child with a disability. Others who reasonably believe a child is a child with a disability may also refer the child to the school district in which the child resides. A referral of a child residing in the School District of Whitefish Bay may be sent to the Director of Pupil Services at the school district address above.

The school district maintains pupil records, including information from screening and special education referral. All records directly related to a student and maintained by the school district are pupil records. They include records maintained in any way including, but not limited to, computer storage media, video and audiotaping, film, microfilm, and microfiche. Records maintained for personal use by a teacher and not available to others and records available only to persons involved in the psychological treatment of a child are not pupil records.

The school district maintains several classes of pupil records:

• Progress records" include grades, courses the child has taken, the child's attendance record, immunization records, required lead screening records, and records of school extra-curricular activities. Progress records must be maintained for at least five years after the child ceases to be enrolled.
• "Behavioral records" include such records as psychological tests, personality evaluations, records of conversations, written statements relating specifically to the pupil's behavior, tests relating specifically to achievement or measurement of ability, physical health records other than immunization and lead screening records, law enforcement officers' records and other pupil records that are not "progress records." Law enforcement officers' records may be maintained for no longer than one year after the child graduates or otherwise ceases to be enrolled, unless the parent specifies in writing that the records may be maintained for a longer period of time. The school district informs parents when pupil records are no longer needed to provide special education. At the request of the child's parents, the school district destroys the information that is no longer needed.
• "Directory data" includes the student's name, address, telephone listing, date and place of birth, major field of study, participation in officially recognized activities and sports, weight and height of members of athletic teams, dates of attendance, photographs, degrees and awards received, and the name of the school most recently previously attended by the student. 
• "Pupil physical health records" include basic health information about a pupil, including the pupil's immunization records, an emergency medical card, a log of first aide and medicine administered to the pupil, an athletic permit card, a record concerning the pupil's ability to participate in an education program, any required lead screening records, the result of any routine screening test, such as for hearing, vision or scoliosis, and any follow up to the test, and any other basic health information, as determined by the state superintendent. Any pupil record relating to a pupil's physical health that is not a pupil physical health record is treated as a patient health care record under sections 146.81 to 146.84, Wisconsin Statutes. Any pupil record concerning HIV testing is treated as provided under section 252.15, Wisconsin Statutes.