Student Services

"If a child can not learn the way we teach,

We must teach in a way the child can learn."

Ivar Lovaas

Special Education provides students with identified disabilities specialized instruction designed to meet their unique learning needs, giving them the opportunity to develop to their fullest potential. In the United States, special education is delivered, free of charge, through the public education system, thanks to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Students may receive services from an array of specialists including but not limited too: direct instruction, physical therapy, speech therapy, occupational therapy and consultation services

In addition to Special Education Services, the Student Services Department also provides support with 504 Plans, Health Plans and Homelessness.

McKinney Vento

The McKinney-Vento Act defines homeless children as "individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence." The act provides examples of children who would fall under this definition:

Children and youth sharing housing due to loss of housing, economic hardship or a similar reason
Children and youth living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camp grounds due to lack of alternative accommodations
Children and youth living in emergency or transitional shelters
Children and youth abandoned in hospitals
Children and youth whose primary nighttime residence is not ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation (e.g. park benches, etc)
Children and youth living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations
Migratory children and youth living in any of the above situations

Students without fixed, regular and adequate nighttime residences have the following rights:

1) Immediate enrollment in the school they last attended or the local school where they are currently staying even if they do not have all of the documents normally required at the time of enrollment without of fear of being separated or treated differently due to their housing situation;

2) Transportation to the school of origin for the regular school day;

3) Access to free meals, Title 1 and other educational program programs, and transportation to extra-curricular activities to the same extent that it is offered to other students.