Special Services

Welcome to the Barre Unified Union School District (BUUSD) Special Services Department

Special Education is defined through both federal and state regulations and all BUUSD Schools comply with these regulations. The Barre Unified Union School District Special Services Department strives to meet the educational, social/emotional, and behavioral needs of all eligible children in grades Pre-K-12 through a variety of comprehensive programs.

Barre Unified Union School District #097 Notice

All children and youths, ages 0-21 years who are residents of the Barre Unified Union School District are eligible to receive an appropriate education at public expense regardless of any handicaps they may have. The Barre Public School System may be unaware of all resident children and youths with disabilities. If you know of a child who may be eligible for special education services and is not in school or otherwise being educated at public expense, please notify the school system by calling or writing to Stacy Anderson or Don McMahon.

If you are unable to find what you are looking for on this page, please don't hesitate to contact either of us, or the appropriate staff member at your school.

Update from Special Services

March 19th, 2020

Dear Families,

We find ourselves in times of uncertainty across our state and country. First and foremost, we hope that you and your family are staying healthy and have whatever you need to weather this storm.

Currently, we are under a dismissal, as ordered by our Governor. With a dismissal, all students will continue to be offered distance learning opportunities and/or practice activities will be sent home. Students with special needs are also entitled to a Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE), to support the maintenance of skills, during this time.

We are working diligently to develop processes and set up systems to support the maintenance of skills during this time of school dismissal. If you haven’t already, over the course of the next few days, you will be hearing directly from your child’s special education teacher about creating a plan to support your child’s distance learning during this time of school dismissal. Our special educators and related service providers from across the district will be connecting with you around learning opportunities and checking in with you and/or your student on a regular basis. This may be done via a virtual learning platform, email, phone call, etc. The special education teacher will work with you to determine what works best for you and your student. At this time, your child’s IEP does not need to be revised to reflect these changes.

If we find ourselves going beyond April 6th, we will reevaluate how we can support the needs of our students across our system. Special Education case managers are still expected to abide by the timelines as outlined in the VT Special Education Rules and Regulations. They will be inviting you to participate in IEP meetings via phone and/or virtually. We do anticipate receiving guidance from the Federal government related to timelines, until then, we will continue to hold IEP meetings and maintain compliance to the best of our ability.

Thank you for your flexibility and patience as we navigate through this time of uncertainty. Please know that your students are in the forefront of our minds with every decision we make.

Sincerely,

Stacy Anderson
Donald McMahon
Annette Rhoades
Jason Derner

photo of buusd special education administrators

McKinney-Vento Homeless Liaison
Donald E. McMahon - dmcma bsu@buusd.org - 477-5030 x1037
Dawn Poitras - dpoitbce@buusd.org - Supports Homeless Liaison

Best Interest Determination ("BID") Responsibilities
PreK-8 - Stacy Anderson - sande bsu@buusd.org - 477-5030 x1019
9-12 - Donald E. McMahon - dmcma bsu@buusd.org - 477-5030 x1037

Request for Contracted/Related Services Proposals

The Barre Unified Union School District is seeking proposals for contracted and related services for the 2019-20 school year. See our RFP here:

Request for Contracted/Related Services Proposals

Notices & Helpful Links

VT Agency of Education Special Education Family Resources

The VT Agency of Education provides a number of resources to help families make decisions about special education services for students who have disabilities and who are eligible for special education services under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Visit their website by clicking on the following link:

VT Agency of Education Family Resources

Rules and Regulations Governing Special Education in VT

Notice of Procedural Safeguards

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires schools to provide parents of a child with a disability with a notice containing a full explanation of the procedural safeguards available under the Act, as well as Vermont Agency of Education Special Education Rules. You can find that information by clicking on the following link:

Notice of Procedural Safeguards - Rights of Parents of Students with Disabilities

Vermont Family Network

Special Education Records Act

Notice to Barre Residents - Special Education Records Act

Please be advised that all special education records for those students formerly attending Spaulding High School, Barre City Elementary and Middle School, and Barre Town Middle and Elementary School who graduated, moved, or transferred in the 2011/12 school year will be destroyed on or about August 1 2019.

If you would like to receive your records, send a signed letter of request to Barre Unified Union School District, Special Services Office, 120 Ayers St., Barre VT 05641.

Section 504 Notice to Parents

Section 504 Notice to Parents of Children with Disabilities, and Parents with Children with Suspected Disabilities

Under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and/or the Americans with Disabilities Act, a child who has a mental or physical impairment that is substantially limiting the child’s ability to perform a major life activity is protected from discrimination on the basis of disability. (Major life activities include such activities as: caring for one’s self, performing manual tasks, walking, seeing, hearing, learning, thinking, concentrating, eating, sleeping, reading, communicating). Among those protections is the availability of accommodations and services that are necessary to assure that the child is not excluded from participation in or denied the benefits under, any Barre public school program, facility or activity, solely on account of disability.

Whether or not your child is currently receiving a public education, if you believe that your child may have a disability, or if you have questions about this notice or the rights of students with disabilities and their parents under Section 504, or about referral, evaluation and/or planning procedures available to students who are protected by Section 504, please contact the person(s) identified below, or your child’s school principal.

The Barre Unified Union School District Non-Discrimination Coordinator is:

John Pandolfo
Superintendent
120 Ayers St., Barre, VT 05641
802-476-5011

Additional A.D.A. & Section 504 Resources

Overview of ADA, Early Childhood Special Education and Section 504

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act (ADAAA) is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all areas of public life, including jobs, schools, transportation, and all public and private places that are open to the general public. The purpose of the law is to make sure that people with disabilities have the same rights and opportunities as everyone else. For more information on your rights under the ADA and Section 504, please read the following document:

Overview of ADA, Early Childhood Special Ed, and Section 504