Parents of School-Aged Children
As a child with Down syndrome grows up and enters public or private schools, parents need to aware of their child’s rights and the resources that are available to them in public schools. To learn about public education issues in North Carolina, you can contact:
- Special Education as the Exceptional Children Division or EC for short. For more information on the EC division visit: http://ec.ncpublicschools.gov/
- Early Intervention regarding the North Carolina Infant Toddler program at 919-707-5520 beearlync@dhhs.nc.gov http://www.beearly.nc.gov/
- Department of Public Instruction (DPI) can be reached by telephone at 919-807-3969 or visit their website http://www.ncpublicschools.org
- Report Cards on each school district and individual schools, including class sizes, test results, teachers, and more, visit http://abcs.ncpublicschools.org/abcs/ or http://www.ncreportcards.org/src/
- School System directory can be found at http://www.ncpublicschools.org/nceddirectory/
For assistance for families moving in to a local Triangle area school systems or wanting information on special education services, use the contact information below:
- Wake County Public School System (WCPSS) Office of Special Education Services Family and Community Connections http://www.wcpss.net/Page/4243
- Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools (CHCCS) http://www.chccs.k12.nc.us/academics/academic-programs/exceptional-children
- Durham County Public School System http://www.dpsnc.net/Page/169
- Orange County Public School System http://www.orangecountyfirst.com/ Crimmins, Connie, Director, Exceptional Children connie.crimmins@orange.k12.nc.us
In addition, the Exceptional Children’s Assistance Center (ECAC) provides training, information and a free lending library of books about education and disabilities. ECAC is a go to resource for questions regarding education. http://www.ecac-parentcenter.org/parent-training-info-center/ncs-parent-training-and-information-center-pti/
