Student Services Department Information

A full explanation of FCS Special Education Services and Procedures can be found in the department handbook: FCS Special Education Department Handbook

Franklin City Schools offers a continuum of services to meet the needs of its student population. This includes RtI, Title I, Section 504, and Special Education services. For those students who are evaluated and found eligible for special education services, a variety of supports are provided.

This continuum includes Tier I, Tier II, and Tier III classroom supports. At the elementary level, Tier I special education supports are provided at all five elementary schools serving students from kindergarten through 6th grade. Preschool-age services are provided at Schenck Elementary. For students needing additional support beyond those provided within the Tier I framework, Tier II classrooms (located at Pennyroyal Elementary) are available. The IEP teams determine placement within these classrooms. For our students with more complex educational needs, our Tier III (MD) classrooms provide intensive support and are located at Gerke Elementary. At the junior high and high school levels (7th through 12th grade), the full continuum of supports exists within each building.

Franklin City Schools presently employs 39 intervention specialists, 4 school psychologists, 4 speech-language pathologists, and contracts with the Warren County ESC for preschool services, occupational therapists, physical therapists, additional speech-language pathologists, transition coordinator services, and behavior support personnel. The district's special education staff serves approximately 600 identified PK-12th-grade students.

DPIA and Student Wellness Funds

Ohio’s districts and schools receive Disadvantaged Pupil Impact Aid and Student Wellness and Success Funds to fund initiatives to support wraparound services for Ohio’s students.

Ohio law now includes several updates related to Disadvantaged Pupil Impact Aid and Student Wellness and Success Funds. These updates help ensure that districts and schools are positioned to prioritize students’ physical and mental health needs through strategic community partnerships.

Updates for FY24 and FY25 include requirements for districts and schools to:

Spend at least 50% of Student Wellness and Success Funds on physical or mental health services.
Develop a plan for using Student Wellness and Success Funds in collaboration with both a community mental health prevention or treatment provider or local alcohol, drug addiction and mental health services (ADAMHS) board and another community partner from the current list of partners.
Share the Student Wellness and Success Fund plan with governing body and post to website within 30 days after development or amendment of the plan.
Report annually on how the district or school spent Student Wellness and Success Funds and Disadvantaged Pupil Impact Aid.
Spend Student Wellness and Success Funds by the end of the next fiscal year after they were received. Funds received this fiscal year (FY24), must be spent by June 30, 2025. Additionally, Student Wellness and Success Funds received in FY20 to FY23 must be spent by June 30, 2025.

Districts and schools use Disadvantaged Pupil Impact Aid and Student Wellness and Success Funds to provide vital wraparound services to help students overcome obstacles to learning, accelerate learning and prepare for future success.

Districts and schools can view Disadvantaged Pupil Impact Aid and Student Wellness and Success Funds funding amounts on the School Payment Reports website.

Beginning in Fiscal Year 2024, all Student Wellness and Success Funds must be spent by the end of the following fiscal year. Student Wellness and Success Funds allocated this fiscal year (FY24) must be spent by June 30, 2025. Additionally, all Student Wellness and Success Funds allocated in any of Fiscal Years 2020 to 2023 shall be expended prior to June 30, 2025.

Ohio law does not specify the timeline in which Disadvantaged Pupil Impact Aid must be spent, but schools and districts can leverage these funds in a timely manner to support the critical needs of students.

Franklin City Schools Staff developed a comprehensive plan for allocating these important funds within the 2023-2024 school year and presented it to the FCS Board of Education in November 2023.

The plan can be found by following the linked attachment:

FY 24 Student Wellness and Success Funds & Disadvantaged Pupil Impact Aid Plan

School Psychologists

In Franklin, the school psychologist chairs evaluation teams, including interpreting information and recommendations. The school psychologist works to respond to new referrals in a timely manner, complete initial referrals and reevaluation within timelines, work with parents to guide them through the evaluation/re-evaluation process, work collaboratively with teams to complete the evaluations, and work with parents and teams to accept and/or reevaluate transfer students. The psychologist uses a wide range of psychological instruments and procedures to evaluate students’ cognitive, academic, adaptive/functional, and behavioral skills.

Phone: (937) 743-8602

Franklin School Psychologists Assignments:

Tiffany Hackney

Anthony Wayne Elementary
Hampton Bennett/Early Childhood Center

Rebecca Sargent

Franklin Junior High School
Pennyroyal Elementary

Heather Schneider

Gerke Elementary
Schenck Elementary

Jaymi Shroder

Bishop Fenwick High School
Franklin High School
Hunter Elementary
Warren County Career Center

Additional information about the role of school psychologists