Eligibilities & Services
Eligibility
How is eligibility for Special Education established?
To be eligible for special education, a student must meet the two-prong test of eligibility:
- Presence of a disability
- Need for specially designed instruction
To meet the first prong, a child (ages 3–21) must qualify under one or more of the following disability categories:
- Autism
- Deaf / Hard of Hearing
- Deaf-Blindness
- Developmental Delay
- Emotional Disability
- Intellectual Disability
- Multiple Disabilities
- Orthopedic Impairment
- Other Health Impairment
- Specific Learning Disability, including dyslexia and related disorders. Click here for additional information about dyslexia
- Speech or Language Impairment
- Traumatic Brain Injury
- Visual Impairment
Services
Eligible students' services are determined by their Admission, Review, and Dismissal (ARD) Committees. Each program is individualized—there is no one-size-fits-all approach. The list below includes, but is not limited to, services that may be provided:
- Accommodations – Reduce or eliminate the effects of a student’s disability without lowering learning expectations
- Modifications – Alter the learning expectations by changing the nature of the task or target skill
- Speech therapy
- Behavior intervention
- Occupational therapy
- Physical therapy
- Psychological services/counseling
- Orientation & mobility training
- Audiology
- Parent training
- In-home training
- Adapted physical education
- Assistive technology
- Special transportation
- Transition services – Help improve academic and functional achievement to support the child's movement from school to post-school activities