The Special Education Department serves students with a variety of special needs. Our department of fourteen includes six resource specialist teachers, three visions program teachers, three teachers for students with severe handicaps, and one staff person for our severe treatment center. The department also utilizes the services of instructional aides to support student success in the classroom.

The Resource Specialist Program is for students with average or above average abilities who have discrepancies between ability and academic levels as defined by law. The majority of the student's day is spent in the regular program. The Resource Specialist provides consultation to parents and regular staff members in areas such as assessment, curriculum and classroom management.
 
Special Day Classes are for students with more intensive educational needs, when education in regular classes with the use of supplementary aides and services cannot be achieved satisfactorily. Typically 50% or more of the student's day is spent in Special Day Classes.
 
CH Deaf/Hard of Hearing Program is for students who are deaf or hard of hearing and have an active IEP with the County Office of Education. Students may be enrolled in some or all regular education classes, with close monitoring by the CH (communicatively handicapped) teacher.
 
Eligibility for Special Education classes is determined by the Individualized Education Program (IEP) team.
 
Our needs include the following items for our classrooms:
• We try to provide school planners to each special ed. student.  These typically cost us between $3 and $5 apiece. 
• Nuts and bolts classroom items are becoming harder and harder for us to obtain (because of diminishing budgets):  #2 pencils, blue and black pens, ‘Expo’ white board markers, 1” three ring binders, lined paper, reams of Xerox copy paper, Kleenex, manila file folders
• Vocational assessment tests such as the “COPS II’ are also very useful.