Exceptional Children (EC) Department

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA) is the federal law and Article 9, Section 115 C of the North Carolina General Statutes is the State law concerning the education of students with disabilities. Part B of the IDEA refers to the part of the law for children with disabilities who are ages three (3) through twenty-one (21).

Children with disabilities include those with autism, deaf-blindness, deafness, developmental delay, serious emotional disability, hearing impairment, intellectual disability, multiple disabilities, other health impairment, orthopedic impairment, specific learning disabilities, speech and/or language impairment, traumatic brain injury, and visual impairment.

The Exceptional Children Department at Lee County Schools is here to ensure that each student receives the education that they deserve in a way that meets their specific needs. We partner with parents, school administrators, teachers and other school staff to make a plan to serve student's unique needs.

We provide Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) for families and students who have challenges to their educational journey. If you have questions or concerns regarding your child's special education services, please address them with your child's classroom teacher first, then with the Principal at your child's school and if you still have concerns, contact the EC Director, Mrs. Anne Sessoms, at the Central Office.

Discipline Information

Do you have questions about school discipline and your child with disabilities? The Parent Rights and Responsibilities in Special Education: NC Notice of Procedural Safeguards provides information regarding procedural safeguards for children disabilities and discipline. 

New to Lee County Schools?

If you are new to Lee County Schools and have questions about special education, please visit NC DPI's Parent Resource Page or contact Lindsay Earl via email.

In order to make your student's transition into Lee County Schools go smoothly, it is very important to provide your students' new school copies of the following information during registration:

  • Most recent psychoeducational report, eligibility, evaluation and/or reevaluation report

  • Current individualized education program (IEP)

  • Contact information for your student's previous school and school district.

These items will support a successful transition between your student's old and new school and will ensure that appropriate services and supports are made available.

Exceptional children who enroll in Lee County Schools must enroll in the school in their attendance zone.  If a parent would like to request a transfer to a different school outside of their attendance zone, please visit this link to find more information about how to do so.  Student Transfer Requests

What to Expect

For Out of State Students

Once you have shared your student's special education records, school staff will invite you to a meeting to discuss comparable services, or services similar to or the same as, provided on your student's most recent IEP. During the meeting,school staff will also describe the initial eligibility process that occurs when students move from out of state and the timeline in which an initial North Carolina (NC) IEP will be developed.

For In State Students but new to LCS

School staff will begin implementing your student's current NC on their first day of school. An invitation to review and revise your student's IEP may be scheduled. The purpose of the meeting will be to discuss your student's transition to a new school and to determine if any adjustments to the services and supports currently being provided are needed.

Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) for Families

NCDPI MTSS Website | LCS MTSS Website

What is NC MTSS?

Family engagement within an MTSS is defined as the active and meaningful partnerships that educators build and maintain with students' families for the purpose of supporting student learning. It embodies the idea that all parties are equally invested in the student's educational experience and all parties are equally invested in the student's educational experience and all parties bring knowledge and skills of equal value to the table to work together.

What is "support"? 

NC schools that are implementing an MTSS may talk about support for the students. To further define that support, NC organizes these supports around the instruction, the curriculum, and the environment.

Occupational Course of Study (OCS)

The Occupational Course of Study is focused on building skills necessary for students to enter the world of work upon graduation. A standards-based curriculum with a vocational focus is used which includes academics and work experiences. Integration into the work community is an essential part of the Occupational Course of Study. Eligible students participate in job training and competitive work experiences.

Teacher Resources

 FREE modules designed to help educators learn the step-by-step process of planning for, using, and monitoring an Evidence Based Practice (EBP) with learners with ASD from birth to 22 years of age. The modules are offered by the UNC Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute. Supplemental materials and handouts are available for download. 

Dispute Resolution

Any person who has a concern about the education of a student with a disability can raise the issue in one of several ways. For example, it is always appropriate to discuss the matter with the student's teacher or principal at the local school, or it is also helpful to contact the Director of Exceptional Children Program in the central office of the school system, charter school, or state operated program.

The Exceptional Children Division's consultants for dispute resolution and consultants for instructional support and related services are also able to offer consultation to assist parents, advocates, or school system, charter school, or state operated programs personnel who request help with problem-solving.

Consultants at the Department of Public Instruction are neutral and refrain from taking sides when there is a disagreement, but consistently advocate for appropriate services for children with disabilities. They are committed to the protection of rights for children with disabilities and their parents.

An informal means of problem solving is provided through the Exceptional Children Division's Facilitated IEP Program for school systems, charter schools, state operated programs, and parents.

Formal means for dispute resolution are also available through the Department of Public Instruction, Exceptional Children Division. These options are requirements of federal and state laws governing special education - Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA), and Policies Governing Services for Children with Disabilities.

When there is an unresolved disagreement over identification, evaluation or educational placement of a child with a disability or the provision of free appropriate public education, the options for dispute resolution are mediation, formal written complaint, and due process hearing. A formal complaint filed on the same issue(s) as contained in a petition for a due process hearing will not be investigated. These options are also available to the adult student who has reached the age of majority (18), unless legally deemed incompetent or unable to make educational decisions.

*Excerpt taken from NCDPI-EC Division

Meet the Team

Lisa Duffey - Interim Director of EC

Dr. Lisa Duffey

Executive Director for Student Services

P: (919) 774-6226 x 7215

Email Dr. Duffey

Lindsay Earl

Compliance Specialist

P: (919) 774-6226 x 7210

Email Mrs. Earl

Rachel Hurt

Director of Exceptional Children

P: (919) 774-6226 x 7244

Email Mrs. Hurt

Riley Bost

Administrative Assistant

P: (919) 774-6226 x 7227

Email Mrs. Bost