Public Notifications
Asbestos Management Plan Available for Viewing
As provided under the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act (40 CFR 763), the Cortland Enlarged City School District hereby makes known the steps it has undertaken to comply with AHERA and the availability of asbestos management plans:
- Every three years a licensed professional engineering firm is hired to inspect all district owned facilities and to construct a management plan for each building. The management plans for each building are updated accordingly.
- Periodic surveillance is conducted every six months by the Director of Facilities.
- All custodial and maintenance staff have undergone a two-hour awareness training program.
- All response actions taken are within federal and state guidelines.
Management plans may be viewed in the Business Office during the hours of 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. For more information, please contact Director of Facilities, L.E.A. Designee, at (607) 758-4100.
Breakfast and Lunch Prices: The District will provide breakfast and lunch at no cost to all Cortland students in grades kindergarten through twelfth grade. A la carte items are still available at a nominal cost.
Free and Reduced Lunch Applications - Available Upon Request - for St. Mary’s Students.
Complaint Procedures
New York State has a procedure for filing complaints about an ESSA-funded program at the district or state level. The procedure provides parents and other stakeholders with a process to file complaints and allow for the timely resolution of such complaints. Complaints filed against a local entity such as a school district, charter school, or grantee will be reviewed by NYSED's Office of ESSA-Funded Programs. Complaints filed against NYSED will be reviewed by NYSED's legal counsel. The polcy can be accessed through NYSED's website.
In compliance with the NYS SAVE Legislation, the Dignity for all Students Act and the Commissioner’s Regulations, the Cortland Enlarged City School District involved stockholders in developing and annually reviewing the Comprehensive Code of Conduct.
The intent of this document is to establish standards of conduct that will enable students, parents, visitors and staff to know what is acceptable behavior and how deviations from these standards will be addressed. These standards and procedures have been developed for system-wide use, and will be in effect during school and non-school hours and enforced the entire calendar year (twelve months).
Every student and staff member has the right to expect an atmosphere that is orderly, safe and conducive to the educational process. In order to assure an orderly environment in which each person may live and learn to his/her full capabilities in harmony with others, the school community, parents and community-at-large must share responsibility for helping students develop self-discipline. Educators know that although steps to stop unacceptable behavior are necessary, recognition for responsible student behavior does more to encourage positive traits than anything else. Staff in the Cortland Enlarged City School District are encouraged to practice appropriate classroom management techniques.
When self-discipline fails or self-control falters, disciplinary action will be imposed to protect the rights of others. Discipline must emphasize humanitarian principles and ideals such as justice and equality. It must recognize the inherent dignity and rights of every human being and must include self-direction and self-discipline. In the Cortland Enlarged City School District, as in the community-at-large, certain rules and procedures are established to guide students through constructive growth into mature adulthood. Students, parents, visitors, district staff and the Board of Education need to cooperate to interpret and enforce these rules.
To obtain a copy of the full text of the Code of Conduct, contact the Cortland Enlarged City School District at (607) 758-4100 or visit our school website at www.cortlandschools.org.
Pursuant to NYS Law, the Cortland Enlarged City School District has developed response plans for emergencies which arise in/or impact our students and staff. Our four basic response actions are: school cancellation, early dismissal, evacuation, and sheltering within the facility. A drill concerning early dismissal will be held. You will receive notice at least one week prior to this drill so you can plan your children’s early arrival home. In the event of an emergency, information will be scrolled on the district website www.cortlandschools.org. If you should have any comments, questions, or would like to review the plan, please call the Safety/Compliance Officer at (607) 758-4100.
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)
Under FERPA, 34 CFR § 99.7 parents and eligible students have the right:
- To inspect and review education records;
- To request amendment of education records;
- To provide written consent before the school discloses personally identifiable information from the student’s education records, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent;
- To request information on who constitutes a school official and what constitutes a legitimate education interest if the agency or institution discloses or intends to disclose personally identifiable information to school officials without consent, and;
- To file a complaint with the Family Policy Compliance Office (FPCO) in the Department. (www.ed.gov/offices/OM/fpco.)
For information, contact the District Office.
G Suite for Education
As part of our instructional programs, we register our students for a number of educational websites and a school issued Google account. If you have any questions about this please email Denise Fox at dfox@cortlandschools.org.
Homeless Student and Unaccompanied Youth
Students in temporary housing and their families have rights specifically granted to them under State and Federal law in order to assist in their education. For specific information, contact the Homeless Liaison at the District Office – (607) 758-4100.
Under Section 2164 of the NYS Public Health Law, all children entering and attending school must be immunized. The immunizations for all are as follows:
- Two doses of varicella vaccine (chickenpox).
- Five doses or four doses of diphtheria toxoid (usually given as DPT or DT).
- Four doses or three doses of polio vaccine.
- Two doses of MMR (measles-mumps-rubella).
- Three doses of HepatitisB (HepB).
- One dose of Tdap for children enrolling in 6th grade.
- Two doses of meningococcal vaccine for students 7th, 8th, 9th &12th grade
The number of doses depends on the schedule recommended by the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practice, ACIP. Check with your physician or health department for further information.
Written proof of immunizations for the above diseases must be submitted to the school. Please bring a physician’s or health department’s signed record of immunizations received by your child at the time of registration. Parents are required to have the immunizations provided for their children prior to school attendance. Students will be excluded from school in September if the requirements are not met.
Pesticide Neighbor Notification Law
The NYS Education Law, section 4090-H effective July 1, 2001, required that all public and nonpublic elementary and secondary schools provide written notification to all persons in parental relation, faculty, and staff regarding the potential use of pesticides periodically throughout the school year.
The Cortland Enlarged City School District is required to maintain a list of persons in parental relation, faculty and staff who wish to receive 48-hour prior written notification of certain pesticide applications.
If you would like to receive 48-hour prior notification of pesticide applications that are scheduled to occur in your school, please contact the school district at (607) 758-4100. You must apply to be on the list to receive notification!
Sex offenders under the jurisdiction of the Cortland City Police who reside in the City of Cortland, NY, can be found by going to their link at: www.cortland.org/city/police/sexoffenders.htm
Student Photograph Used in Publications
Throughout the school year, photographs are taken of students for use in District publications, including the website and other social media platforms. Parents who do NOT wish to have their child’s photograph used in these publications are asked to send a letter indicating the child’s name and what school they attend to: Cindy Dann, Kaufman Center, 1 Valley View Dr., Cortland, NY 13045
Title I
Title I (pronounced “Title One”) is the largest federal aid program for elementary, middle, and high schools. Through Title I, the Federal government provides funding to school districts around the country based on the number of low-income families in each district. Each district uses its Title I money for extra educational services for children who are behind in school.
Schools where more than half of all students are low-income can operate a school-wide Title I project. This means that all students in Cortland schools can receive Title I services.
Local districts, schools, and parents know best what their students need to succeed. Title I allows them to decide how to use Title I money to help students who are behind. In Cortland, Title I funds are being spent in these ways:
- Reading specialists who help students to read and write
- Math specialist who help students with their numeracy
- A teacher who works with students for whom English is a new language
- Professional development and training for teachers
- Literacy supplies and materials
Title I money can also be used for different types of parent involvement activities. It can be spent on things such as:
- Family literacy activities;
- Parent meetings and training activities;
- Transportation and child care so that parents can come to school activities or volunteer in the classroom;
- Materials that parents can use to work with their children at home;
- Parent resource centers.
Parents are partners in helping all students achieve. Parents have the right to be involved in the design and operation of their school’s Title I program. Our District Shared Decision Making and Title I Team provides oversight and guidance of our Title I program. This committee is always seeking parents to work with the committee in order to ensure that we are spending our Title I funds wisely and efficiently. If you want to learn more or want to join the District Shared Decision making and Title I Team, please send an email to aviel@cortlandschools.org.
The Cortland Enlarged City School District is committed to involving parents and the community to improve student academic achievement. We will:
- Provide assistance to parents of children served by the school in understanding such topics as the New York State Learning Standards, the New York State P-12 Common Core Learning Standards for English Language Arts & Mathematics, State and local academic assessments, and how to monitor a child’s progress and work with educators to improve the achievement of their children;
- Provide materials and training to help parents work with their children to improve their achievement, through literacy training and using technology, as appropriate, to foster parental involvement;
- Educate teachers, pupil services personnel, principals, and other staff with the assistance of parents, in the value and utility of contributions by parents, and in how to reach out to, communicate with, and work with parents as equal partners, implement and coordinate parent programs, and build ties between parents and the school;
- Coordinate and integrate, to the extent feasible and appropriate, parent involvement programs and activities with mathematics and literacy, including reading and mathematics interventions, and conduct other activities that encourage and support parents in more fully participating in the education of their children;
- Ensure that information related to school and parent programs, meetings, and other activities is sent to the parents of participating children in a format and, to the extent practicable, in a language the parents can understand;
- Communicate with parents via several avenues including school newsletters, the district website, Open Houses, Curriculum Nights, report cards, Schooltool parent portal, progress reports, e-mail, and parent conferences regarding school programs and student progress.
The District shall not discriminate on the basis of age, sex, sexual orientation, race, color, creed, religion, national origin, political affiliation, marital status, military status, veteran status, disability, or under the Boy Scout Act in the educational programs or activities which it operates, or against any employee or applicant seeking a position of employment. The District will be in full compliance with all applicable rules and regulations pertaining to civil rights for students and employees.
School Policy prohibits the use of any tobacco products on school grounds, by anyone, at all times.
A copy of the results of any (lead in water) testing shall be available on our website and in the administrative offices of the local education agency for inspection by the public, including teachers, other school personnel, and parents.
