Hillside High School -

The committee in charge of designing, revising this document for the year 2024-2025 consists of a multidisciplinary team and HHS staff who represent the interests of the community. This committee and policy will be updated annually.

• Principal - Dr. Joshua Mallory

• Assistant Principal - Ms. Margaletta Reid

• Diploma Programme Coordinator - Dr. Sanders Benkwith

• Middle Years Programme Coordinator - Ms. Keshetta. Henderson

• EC Facilitator - Ms. Ebony Freeman  

• Equity Champion - Mrs. Kathy Chapman

• MTSS Coordinator - Ms. Jessica Bryant 

• Counselor - Dr. Chemeka Turner-Williams

Hillside High School IB Diploma Programme operates our special educational needs policy under the Durham Public Schools (DPS) district, North Carolina state and federal Exceptional Children’s (EC) policies and guidelines.  As DPS Policy 3400 states, “The term ‘special education’ means specifically designed instruction… to meet the unique needs of the exceptional child.”  Hillside’s Vision aims to meet the needs for the exceptional child by creating “A professional learning community that cultivates confidence and high achievement in ALL of its learners.”  To that end, exceptional children are provided the support needed as outlined in their Individualized Education Plan (IEP) or 504 Plans to meet the needs of an academically rigorous learning environment of the IB Programme. Approximately 13% of Hillside students have an IEP and 1.8%  have a 504 Plan.

The process below is used for identifying students in the EC Program in DPS. 

Staff Referral

1. Referral for testing goes to the Multi-Tier System of Support (MTSS).  Members of the MTSS Team could include counselors, EC Facilitator, speech language pathologist, school psychologist, social worker, nurse, career development counselors, teachers, exceptional children teachers, etc. based on the need of the student referred.  

2. MTSS Team meets to discuss student needs and as a team develops interventions. 

3. Interventions are monitored by EC staff members and teachers for at least 4 – 6 weeks.  

4. MTSS Team meets to review data from the interventions and make a decision whether to test/evaluate the student.  

   • If interventions were ineffective then a referral to EC for testing is warranted

   • If interventions were effective then a conclusion is made whether a child needs specially designed education services.  

5. Once testing is completed, the EC team goes over the results at an eligibility meeting.  

   • If a student qualifies, then an IEP is developed in any of the 14 areas of disability

   • If a student doesn’t qualify, then a child can be considered for the 504 process.   

Parent Referral

1. Parents should state their concerns and identify strengths and weaknesses in writing.  

2. The referral can be given to a counselor, MTSS Coordinator, school administrator or EC Personnel.  

3. Once the EC team receives the referral, they must meet on the referral within 7 days. 

4. The EC team completes a special education referral.   In this meeting, the team completes the referral to determine if there is a need for an evaluation or testing.

5. If testing is needed, a parent must grant permission for the child to be evaluated. The results of testing for the suspected area, the development of the initial IEP, and parent consent for placement must all occur within the 90 day timeline.  

6. If the student does not meet eligibility for special education services, a referral can be made to 504 if there are other conditions that might warrant special accommodations. EC contacts the 504 Coordinator. The process for 504 is listed below.  

Fourteen Areas of Disability

• Autism

• Deaf-blindness 

• Deafness

• Developmental Delay 

• Emotional Disability 

• Hearing Impairment 

• Intellectual Disability 

• Multiple Disabilities 

• Orthopedic Impairment 

• Other Health Impairment 

• Specific Learning Disability 

• Speech or Language Impairment 

• Traumatic Brain Injury 

• Visual Impairment, including Blindness

The process below is used for identifying students in the 504 Program in DPS. 

Reasons for Referral

• A student has a medical or mental health condition but is determined as not being eligible for special education under IDEA. 

• A student returns to school after a critical illness or injury.

• A student only exhibits a persistent health problem.

• A student's academic and/or behavioral performance may indicate the existence of a disability.

• The parent of a new student indicates on enrollment paperwork that the student has had a 504 plan in the past.

Referrals may be made by staff members or parents.

Staff Referral

1. General Staff Referral

   • Staff with concerns about a possible disability that is purely physical (cerebral palsy, broken appendage, etc) or medical (diabetes, sickle cell, asthma, etc) should contact 504 Coordinator for referral paperwork.  

2. MTSS Referral

   • After completing Exceptional Children’s MTSS team review and the child does not qualify for EC services, the MTSS coordinator contacts the 504 Coordinator for referral paperwork.

3.  IEP Team Referral

   • A student who has undergone EC evaluation and is found to have an impairment or disability but does not require EC specialized instruction is referred to the 504 coordinator. 

Parent Referral

Parent may start the referral process in one of the following ways:

1. Provide a medical diagnosis or private evaluation showing potentially qualifying condition  

2. Raise concerns about a potential disability/diagnosis

3. Request an evaluation

Hillside provides the least restrictive learning environment for exceptional children as mandated by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).   IB also supports the principles of an inclusive education for exceptional children in the following ways as taken from Learning Diversity in the IB Programmes: Special Educational Needs within the IB Programmes:

• Inclusion is a process by which schools and others develop their cultures, policies and practices to include all students.  Inclusive services are provided based on a student’s IEP. 

• An inclusive education service offers excellence and choice, incorporating the views of all stakeholders. 

• The interests of all students must be safeguarded. 

• The school community and other authorizing bodies should actively seek to remove barriers to learning and participation. 

• All students should have access to an appropriate education that affords them the opportunity to achieve their personal potential. 

• With the right skills training, strategies and support, the majority of students with special educational needs can be successfully included in mainstream education. 

• Mainstream education will not always be appropriate for every student all of the time. Equally, just because mainstream education may not be appropriate at a particular stage, it does not prevent the student from being included successfully at any other stage.

Hillside’s IB Programme provides an inclusive education to exceptional children.  Potential IB students must only apply to enter the program without entrance criteria, except for completing a demographic application and meeting the district set deadline.   Students within Hillside’s attendance zone may also take IB Diploma classes so therefore no exclusions apply to exceptional children.    

Exceptional students have equal access to Hillside’s IB program.  “Difference and diversity are central in IB World Schools where all students enrolled in IB Programmes should receive meaningful and equitable access to the curriculum.”  (Learning Diversity in the IB Programmes: Special Educational Needs within the IB Programmes, p. 2).   All other policies developed for IB students, such as the assessment policy, language policy, and academic honesty policy apply to IB exceptional children as well.  Hillside’s IB Program teachers, coordinators, counselors, administrators, and parents should work together to complete, provide documentation, submit and implement the Request for Inclusive Assessment Arrangements for any necessary students for IB examinations and assessments.  

IB identifies four principles of good practice when providing equal access.  Hillside addresses each in the following ways: 

1. Affirming Identity and Building Self-Esteem

Hillside’s Vision and Mission statements are evidence of affirming identity and building self-esteem by creating “a professional learning community that cultivates confidence and high achievement in all of its learners.”   Our mission statement pushes  students to affirm their identity as “globally aware citizens, lifelong learners, and responsible leaders in their communities.”  We stress the importance of our students’ roles as they “create a better and more peaceful world” and are “active, compassionate and lifelong learners” as they strive to bring the  IB mission statement to life.   

2. Valuing Prior Knowledge

The IB Staff provides a link to prior knowledge throughout all IB Diploma courses.  The Summer Middle Years Programme and Diploma Academies for rising 9th graders and rising 11th graders give the IB staff the opportunity to bring prior knowledge to the forefront of their minds to ease with the transition to each level.  

3. Scaffolding 

Hillside uses the Learning Focused ® Lesson planning which includes various scaffolding strategies, such as graphic organizers as visual aids, for breaking down the learning process into smaller chunks to help with understanding.  We differentiate our lesson plans to ensure all learning styles are met within our teaching. 

4. Extending Learning 

With the use of Understanding By Design ® unit planners, Hillside IB Teachers extend student learning by leading students to transfer meaning independently in new situations.  Hillside’s teachers have had extensive training over the past few years to help with this skill.  IB Teachers have set high expectations in order for IB students to continue their growth and extension of their learning.

IB Staff

• IB teachers will attend the Exceptional Children (EC) Rodeo at the beginning of each semester to be notified which of their students have an IEP or 504 plan.  Each teacher meets with their students’ case managers and is provided a folder including modifications, accommodations and goals to be implemented for each of their EC students.  Each teacher must complete and sign the acknowledgement of information for the students.  

• IB teachers will implement the modifications & accommodations for exceptional children as noted in IEPs and 504 Plans in compliance with district, state and federal laws.  

• IB coordinators, counselors, and case managers will provide guidance for exceptional children as they apply and/or enter the IB Program.  

• IB teachers will attend IEP and 504 update and review meetings. 

• IB coordinator will complete the request for inclusive assessment arrangements for necessary exceptional children.

• IB coordinator and testing invigilators will provide accommodations during IB examinations. 

• IB staff will be discrete and maintain confidentiality when providing accommodations and modifications for IB exceptional children. 

• When possible, IB coordinator will work with PowerSchool coordinator to update LEP, IEP, and 504 status for teachers. (Similar to medical/birthday/AIG alerts in roster.)

• Revise or update the Special Educational Needs Policy about every year. 

IB Parents

• Parents will provide documentation to IB coordinators to send to the IBO for assessment arrangement requests. 

• Parents will communicate any changes or updates to their child’s exceptionality.

Policy review and revisions will happen annually to update:

• Demographics

• Enrollment numbers

• State policy changes

• District policy changes

Revision: March 2025