Exceptional Children & Health Services

The Exceptional Children and Health Services Department’s purpose is to provide a broad continuum of services to students with exceptional needs and talents through a comprehensive system of support that address the academic, social, health, emotional, psychological and behavioral needs of our varied and dynamic students.

Child Find

What is Child Find?

Hattiesburg Public Schools participates in an ongoing effort to identify, locate, and evaluate all children from birth to 21 years of age who are physically, communicatively, mentally, and/or emotionally disabled.

How are children identified and located?

Early identification of children is important to the growth and welfare of each child, and such information will assist in determining present and future program needs. It is the goal of the Hattiesburg Public School District to provide a free, appropriate education to all disabled children.

What is a multidisciplinary evaluation?

A multidisciplinary evaluation will involve a series of observations and tests with the child and interviews with caregivers conducted by two or more specialists, such as a speech-language pathologist, a school psychologist, or a special educator. A written summary of this evaluation will be provided to the family and a meeting will be held to determine if the child needs special services.

Who should I contact about making a Child Find request?

Hattiesburg Public School's Child Find Coordinator works with the local school staff, other school systems, individuals, Headstart, the Department of Human Services, and mental health agencies to locate children with special needs.

For more information, please contact the Hattiesburg Public School District Office of Exceptional Children and Health Services at 601-582-5078.

Click here to download the Child Find Flyer

Click here to download the Child Find Request Form

Health Resources

Immunizations
Immunization against childhood diseases helps to protect the long-term health of our students, classmates, and our communities. To keep students healthy in school and foster an environment less prone to disease outbreaks, it is vital to make sure that students are up-to-date on all required immunizations. Before enrollment in any public or private daycare, preschool, kindergarten, elementary, high school, or college in Mississippi, state law requires that students obtain specific immunization against childhood diseases at the appropriate age and intervals according to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommendations. The Mississippi State Department of Health provides all necessary immunizations at a low cost, and immunizations are free if you qualify for the Vaccines for Children program.

Please visit the links below for more information on Mississippi Immunization Requirements.

Influenza
Influenza (“flu”) is a disease that spreads around the United States each year. Every year, thousands of people in the United States die from this contagious disease. To combat influenza, yearly flu vaccines are recommended by the Centers for Disease Control for everyone six months of age and older. Some children six months of age through eight (8) years of age may need two doses of the vaccine during the same flu season. Flu vaccination can prevent you from getting the flu, reduce the severity of flu illness if you do get it, and prevent flu-related hospitalizations and death. It takes about two weeks after vaccination for protection against the flu to take effect.

Please visit the link below for more information about influenza provided by the Mississippi State Department of Health:

Influenza Information

The following Influenza Fact Sheet has been provided by the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases and can be accessed by selecting the following link:

Influenza Fact Sheet

Meningococcal Meningitis
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-11-61 (2017) requires local school districts and agricultural high schools to inform parents and guardians about meningococcal disease and the effectiveness of meningococcal vaccination. The Centers for Disease Control define meningitis as an inflammation (swelling) of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord. Meningitis can be caused by a viral, fungal, or bacterial infection. Common symptoms of the disease include headache, fever, and stiff neck. Meningitis is severe and can be fatal, but vaccinations can protect against certain conditions.

Please use the link below to learn more about meningococcal disease.

Meningitis Research Foundation

Additional Health Resources

HPS Reach Gifted Program

Hattiesburg Reach Logo

Mission Statement

The mission of the Hattiesburg Public Schools REACH Gifted Program is to address the needs of intellectually gifted children and provide the necessary instructional modifications to increase these students' skills in:

Autonomous learning
Creative, productive thinking
Metacognition
Developing and maintaining healthy, positive, enriching relationships
Developing appropriate expectations for and understanding of the self

These instructional modifications include an environment that allows intellectually gifted children to learn from one another, a curriculum that addresses the unique characteristics and needs of the gifted by balancing cognitive and affective instruction/experiences, and a delivery system that employs multiple instructional strategies to accommodate individual learning differences.

Who Do We Serve?

The REACH Program serves intellectually gifted students in 2nd through 6th grade.

Our Program Goals

Thinking Skills
Creativity
Decision-Making Skills
Communication
Information Literacy Skills
Problem-Solving Skills

Program Benefits

Learners focus on interests, strengths/weaknesses, and develop social-emotional skills.
Learners develop communication skills and explore various career options.
Learners receive more challenging tasks (higher-order thinking skills).

Referral To Placement Process

Referral Form: Students may be referred by a parent, counselor, administrator, teacher, peer, self, or anyone who has reason to believe the student may be intellectually gifted.
Checklist of Giftedness, Creativity, and Leadership.
The Local Survey Committee (LSC) determines if a student qualifies to move on to the Assessment Phase.
Parental consent for testing.
Assessment Phase: Individual IQ Test Administered.
The District Team determines whether the student meets the criteria for eligibility in the gifted program.
Parental consent for placement.

Gifted Options

The REACH Program is offered for eligible students in 2nd-6th grades.
Advanced Placement Courses offer a more rigorous and
challenging curriculum for our high school students. Current course offerings include English Literature (11th Grade), English Literature (12th Grade), Art: Studio Art, World History, and U.S. History.
Hattiesburg High School Dual Enrollment Program, where Hattiesburg High School students can enroll and earn credits with the following institutions: Pearl River Community College, The University of Southern Mississippi, and William Carey University.
Middle College Program advances Hattiesburg High School students in grades 11-12 through a partnership with Pearl River Community College, where students can simultaneously earn a high school diploma and an Associate's Degree.

For more information about our program, please refer to the documents in the menu to your right.

GIFTED POLICYGIFTED HANdbookMDE Family Guide for gifted programsHPS REACH IMPIDENTIFYING GIFTED TRAITsRegulations for gifted education programs

Mississippi Educational Scholarship

The Mississippi Educational Scholarship was enacted in 2015 and provides an opportunity for parents of children with disabilities to receive money to help defray the cost of private school tuition or other specific allowable expenses to educate their child. The ESA program was created by the Equal Opportunity for Students with Special Needs Miss. Code Ann. §§ 37-181-1 et. seq. The program is being administered by the Mississippi Department of Education, Office of Special Education. The MDE OSE is required by statute to annually notify all students with an IEP of the existence of the ESA program.

To apply or recertify, click here

Other Resources

Click below to learn more about the following:

More Resources

As of April 14, 2020, the Pediatric Behavioral Health Clinic at USM is here to help families of children and adolescents, ages 2 to 18, who need assistance during these unprecedented times caused by COVID-19. See attachment.

FREE Psychological services to families VIA ZOOM.