The mission of the Westosha Central High School Counseling Program is to provide equitable services and access to empower all students to become lifelong learners, college-and-career ready and responsible members of a global society.

2024-2025 ANNUAL NOTICES OF THE WESTOSHA CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT

Academic & Career Planning Services for Students

Westosha Central is committed to providing a solid foundation for all students to be successful in their chosen path after graduation. To ensure our graduates are college and career-ready, all students in grades 9-12 will create an Academic & Career Plan (ACP). Parents/guardians will be given multiple opportunities during each school year to participate in their child’s academic and career planning.

Education of Homeless Children and Youths

Homeless children and youth have equal access to the same free, appropriate public education as provided to other children residing in the district. The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act defines homeless children and youths as those who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence. For more information and assistance, please contact the Families in Transition Liaison, Mrs. Jones-Shepherd, at (262) 843-2321 ext. 275 or jonesshepherdk@westosha.k12.wi.us.

McKinney Vento Brochure

Recruiter Access to Students/Records

School districts receiving federal education funds are required to provide, on request made by military recruiters or an institution of higher education, access to secondary school students’ names, addresses, email address, and telephone listings unless access to such information has been restricted by the secondary school student or the student’s parents as outlined below. Federal guidelines issued to implement this requirement state that if a school district does not designate student names, addresses and/or telephone listings as directory data it must still provide all three items to military recruiters and institutions of higher education upon request. 

1. A secondary school student or the parent of the student may request that the student’s name, address and telephone listing not be released to military recruiters or institutions of higher education without prior written parental or student consent; and

2. That the district must comply with such request.

Special Education

Westosha Central School District is required to locate, identify and evaluate all children with disabilities, including children with disabilities attending private schools in the school district, and homeless children. The process of locating, identifying, and evaluating children with disabilities is known as child find. A request for evaluation is known as a referral.  When the district receives a referral, the district will appoint an Individualized Education Program (I.E.P.) team to determine if the child has a disability, and if the child needs special education services. The district locates, identifies, and evaluates all children with disabilities who are enrolled by their parents in private (including religious) schools, elementary schools and secondary schools located in the school district.

A physician, nurse, psychologist, social worker, or administrator of a social agency who reasonably believes a child brought to him or her for services is a child with a disability has a legal duty to refer the child, including a homeless 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.

Others, including parents/guardians, who reasonably believe a child is a child with a disability may also refer the child, including a homeless child, to the school district in which the child resides.

Referrals must be in writing and include the reason why the person believes the child is a child with a disability.  A referral may be made by contacting our School Psychologist, Mel Butler, at (262) 843-2321 ext. 237 or butlerm@westosha.k12.wi.us.

Special Needs Scholarship

This notice serves to inform parents and guardians of students with disabilities that the State of Wisconsin has established the Special Needs Scholarship Program.  Under this scholarship program and as further specified in state law, a child with a disability who has been denied the opportunity to attend a nonresident school district under the full-time open enrollment program may be eligible to receive a scholarship from the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) that allows the child to attend an eligible private school that is participating in the Special Needs Scholarship Program.

This is a state-administered program.  A parent or guardian who is interested in the Special Needs Scholarship Program should independently verify the participating private schools and the specific terms, eligibility criteria, and application procedures of the scholarship program with the DPI.  

The Special Needs Scholarship Program is further defined under section 115.7915 of the state statutes.  However, special eligibility requirements not found in that statute exist for program scholarships that are awarded for private school attendance.  Additional information about the program is available on the website of the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction.

Student Records

The federal Family Educational rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) gives parents/guardians and students over 18 years of age (“eligible students”) certain rights with respect to the student’s education records. These rights are:

• The right to inspect and review the student’s education records within 45 days of the date the school receives a written request for access. The school will notify the parent or the “eligible student” of the time and place where the records may be inspected.  

• The right to submit a written request for an amendment of the student’s education records that the parent or student believes are inaccurate or misleading.  If, upon inspection, the parents/guardians or adult student wishes to seek amendment to the student’s educational records, the parents/guardians can request, in writing, the Elkhorn Area School District to amend a record that they believe is inaccurate or misleading. If the District decides not to amend the record, the District will notify the parent or eligible student of the decision and advise them of their right to a hearing regarding the request for amendment. 

• The right to consent to disclosures of personally identifiable information contained in the student’s education records except as specified by law.  The District will forward records to other schools that have requested the records and in which the student seeks or intends to enroll, or is already enrolled, as long as the disclosure is for the purposes related to the student’s enrollment or transfer. 

• The right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by the School to comply with the requirement of FERPA. The name and address of the Office that administers FERPA is: Family Policy Compliance Office Department of Education, 400 Maryland Ave, SW Washington, DC 20202- 4605.