The Joint School District #2 Special Services program offers special education services and related services under the provisions of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), as amended in 1997, for all children ages 3-21 who have been identified as having a disability.

Special education is defined as instruction that is specially designed to meet the unique needs of a child with a disability. It is provided at no cost to parents and may take place in the school classroom, at home, or in institutions or hospitals, and can include instruction in physical education, speech and language pathology services as well as a variety of other related services. The goal is to ensure that the child is able to access the general curriculum, so that he or she can meet the district's educational standards to the greatest extent possible. (Reg. 300.26)

If your child is eligible for special education services, he or she will most likely remain within the neighborhood school and be given additional support from the resource program located within all elementary, middle, and high school sites. Occasionally, your child's instructional needs will warrant placement in one of our regionally located extended resource programs where even more support can be given.

Related Services are transportation and such developmental, corrective, and other supportive services as are required to assist the child with a disability to benefit from special education. (Reg. 300.24) The Joint School District #2 program offers a full range of support specialists, including speech and language pathologists, physical therapists, occupational therapists, assistive technology specialist, vision specialist, psychologists, and consultation from the state programs for vision and hearing support.

Each year the special education program serves approximately 10% of the students enrolled in Joint School District #2 in a variety of ways that effectively meet the unique needs and varied learning style of each student. The following best practice components are recognized as strengths of our program:

• Visionary Leadership
• Parent/Professional Partnerships
• Collaboration
• Least Restrictive Environment
• Innovative Programming
• Transition Services
• Professional Staff