The Special Education Department is provided for children with special needs who have an area of exceptionality that significantly impacts their ability to make progress in an educational setting. The Individual with Disabilities Education Act assures that all students receive the same educational opportunities as all students. Some children and youth need additional specialized instruction to reach their full potential. Geary County Schools USD 475 is committed to providing programs and services to children with exceptionalities to reach their potential for the future. USD 475 offers a continuum of programs and services that are tailored to meet the needs of each individual child. Each child is entitled to appropriate public education and the opportunity to succeed.
District Resources
Early Childhood Screening Schedule
Resources
Developmental Information: Parents as Teachers (National)
Special Needs: KITS Early Childhood Resource Center
Kansas State School for the Blind
Families Together Inc.
Kansas Parent Information Resource Center
Disability Rights Center
Kansas School for the Deaf
Infinitec
Exceptional Family Member Program
Big Lakes Developmental Center
Request Records
If you are looking to request a student’s cumulative record from when they were enrolled with Geary County Schools USD 475, please contact the previous school the student was enrolled in to find the appropriate contact information, locate your child’s school on our homepage.
If you are looking to request a students’ special education records from when they were enrolled with Geary County Schools USD 475, please use this fillable PDF and forward it to SPEDRecordsRequest@usd475.org. Please note we are a department that keeps digital copies of a student’s record once they have exited from our district. To help conserve paper, we prefer to email these scanned records to the requesting party.
Requesting Information (Kansas Open Records Act or KORA)
Geary County Schools USD 475 adheres to the Kansas Open Records Act and allows public records to be inspected upon request. In order to request information from Geary County Schools USD 475 contact the Executive Director of Communications (Freedom of Information Officer). Requests should be submitted in writing in the form of a written letter or electronic mail. Some requests may incur a copy fee, however, when appropriate and available USD 475 will make attempts to make records available by digital means. For more information on the Open Records Act visit the official website of the Kansas Attorney General.
Nathan Downs
Executive Director of Special Education
785-717-4093
The Executive Director of Special Education is responsible for implementing and maintaining birth to age 21 Special Education programs and services in conformance to District, State and Federal objectives; providing written support and/or conveying information; serving as a resource to patrons, school personnel and the Board of Education; and maintaining adequate staffing to ensure objectives of programs and services are achieved within budget.
Courtney Eichhorn
Assistant Director of Special Education
785-717-4090
The Assistant Director of Special Education works with all special education programs within the district and is responsible for the implementation of special education transportation, para-educator training and orientation, and special education services to private schools.
Nicole Nutter
Special Education Administrative Assistant
785-717-4093
The Special Education Administrative Assistant is responsible for preparing the state personnel report, billing and purchasing, travel arrangements, extra-duty vouchers, and helping to organize most of the events and meetings held for and within the department. In addition, she is the department receptionist and is happy to assist you.
Stephanie Waterman
Early Childhood Coordinator
785-717-6953
The Early Childhood Coordinator provides instructional leadership and program coordination amongst the Early Childhood Education programs for the district. The EC Coordinator works with the school community to provide information and serves as a resource to families and staff. Within the Early Childhood Program, the EC Coordinator collaborates with building teams to plan, evaluate, develop, implement, and maintain services in compliance with the state guidelines for special education services and grants within the Early Childhood Programs. While working with the school community, the EC Coordinator plans and coordinates all community and child find screenings for children who are birth to five years old as well as providing placement opportunities for families. USD 475 has worked extremely hard to maintain and grow our Early Childhood Program and we look forward to continuing to serve our community.
Casey Bell
Junction City High School Special Education Coordinator
785-717-4254
The JCHS Special Education Coordinator oversees all special education services and staff for JCHS, Freshman Success Academy, and the Innovations Academy. In addition to providing support for those campuses, the coordinator oversees the transition from middle school to high school as well as coordinating services to help ease the transition from one level to the next.