• PROGRAMS AND SERVICES

    When eligibility has been established by the IEP team, it must determine how to meet the student’s individual needs in the least restrictive environment as close to home as possible.  Assignments to special day classes, special schools, or any other removal from the regular classroom setting should only occur when the nature and severity of the disability is such that education in regular classes with additional, supportive aids and services cannot be satisfactorily achieved.  Remember, under the law each child is entitled to placement in the least restrictive environment, which is that placement which gives the student the greatest amount of contact with their non-disabled peers.  Moreover, as a student achieves goals and succeeds in the present placement, a less restrictive environment should be considered.  Each school district must provide a continuum of programs and services, including:

    RELATED SERVICES (DESIGNATED INSTRUCTIONAL SERVICES)
    Related Services and instruction are provided by specialists in a wide variety of settings.  These services support the student’s total education program and may include Speech, Physical, or Occupational Therapy, Audiological Services, Orientation and Mobility Instruction, Vision or Hearing Services, Home or Hospital Instruction, Designated Psychological Services, Career or Occupational Training, Assistive Technology, and Counseling.  Related Services may include consultation to parents and staff as specified in the IEP.


    RESOURCE SPECIALIST PROGRAM
    Students who receive special education services through a school site Resource Specialist are assigned to a classroom teacher for a majority of the school day and are pulled out to receive small group instruction from a credentialed resource specialist teacher in the core curriculum areas specified in their Individual Education Plan (IEP). These students are assessed using the statewide assessments with necessary accommodations as stated in their IEPs. 
    For middle and high school students in the RSP program, the special education department is implementing a collaborative model for the core subject areas.  Special education students who are on a diploma track will be enrolled in general education and core subject areas classes with support such as tutorial or study skills class.  This is also referred to as “push-in” model.  Several high schools have fully implemented the model for specific subject areas.  Elementary RSP Program
    Secondary RSP Program

    INSTRUCTIONAL SUPPORT PROGRAM (ISP)
    The Instructional Support Program (ISP) is a flexible, innovative program that blends resources and services under the MMSN special day class (SDC), RSP and Response to Intervention (RtI) programs. The goals of the program are to provide students with individualized academic and behavioral supports based on need, in order to include students in general education as much as possible and provide services at the students’ school of residence.   Elementary ISP Program


    MILD TO MODERATE SUPPORT NEEDS (MMSN) PROGRAM
    The Mild to Moderate Support Needs Program may include students with any disability to a lesser or more moderate degree.  This includes students diagnosed as having “Specific Learning Disabilities.”  The term “Specific Learning Disability” means a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written, which may manifest itself in an impaired ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or to do mathematical calculations.  The term includes such conditions as perceptual handicaps, brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction, dyslexia, and developmental aphasia. 
    Students in the MMSN Program may be educated in small classroom environments of no more than 17 students, the Resource Specialist Program, or in the general education classroom.  The MMSN Program follows California Standards core curriculum and includes instruction in Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, History, Health, Physical Education, and Visual and Performing Arts. MMSN students are assessed using statewide assessments with necessary accommodations as stated in their IEPs.  Elementary MMSN Guidelines     Secondary MMSN Guidelines 


    EXTENSIVE SUPPORT NEEDS (ESN) PROGRAM  SPECIAL DAY CLASS
    Students with extensive support needs may be educated in small classroom environments of no more than 11 students.  ESN students are provided the necessary supports to access Core or Functional Life Skills curriculum.  ESN curriculum includes task analysis and instruction in Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, History, Health, Physical Education, and Visual and Performing Arts, and follows California Standards. Students in the ESN program are assessed using the California Alternate Assessment, (CAA), an alternative version of the STAR test. 
    Students who have extensive support needs include those who are hard of hearing, deaf, have visual impairment, orthopedic impairment, emotional disturbance, autism, below average intellectual functioning, or multiple disabilities.   Elementary ESN Guidelines   Secondary ESN guidelines


    FULL INCLUSION 
    Full Inclusion programs are designed to combine both small group instruction and general education push-in support for students who can access general education curriculum, but have social, communication, and/or executive functioning challenges. Specialized academic instruction targets individual IEP goals, and often addresses both academic, social-emotional, and behavioral skills Students placed in the Full Inclusion program spend the majority of their day in their general education classroom, receiving direct instruction from their general education teacher, while having access to the accommodations and modifications included in their IEP.  Placement in the general education classroom provides an opportunity to interact with their general education peers throughout the day when compared to a mainstreaming model where only specific times of the day or week are designated for interaction with general education peers. Full Inclusion programs are designed to combine both small group instruction and general education push-in support for students who can access the general education curriculum, but have social, communication, and/or executive functioning challenges. Specialized academic instruction targets individual IEP goals, and often addresses both academic, social-emotional, and behavioral skills.  Elementary FI Guidelines
    Secondary FI Guidelines

     

    ADDITIONALLY, WCCUSD PROVIDES THE FOLLOWING PLACEMENT OPTIONS:

    COUNSELING ENRICHED CLASSROOMS (CEC) 
    CEC classes are self-contained special day classes located on public school campuses.  CEC classes serve special education students whose behavioral and emotional needs interfere with their ability to learn and interfere with the learning of others.  Educational services are provided by a team of specially credentialed teachers, school psychologists, instructional assistants,   related service providers and others as determined by each student’s IEP.  Student/teacher ratios are kept at a low level.  Instruction is based on each student’s IEP and is provided in a consistent format within a behavioral level system with emphasis on social skills training.   Counseling Enriched Program   


    DEAF AND HARD OF HEARING 
    Deaf and Hard of Hearing services include consultation with the classroom teacher, student, parents, speech therapist, audiologist, hearing aid dealer, etc.  This also includes class presentations, hearing aid checks, and maintaining FM systems.  Services are provided in Auditory Skills Development, and/or vocabulary development, especially related to academic subjects, and may also include the use of FM equipment.  Services are also provided to deaf/hard of hearing students with cochlear implants.  Services are provided in the Least Restrictive setting by a specially credentialed/certificated team in age/peer-appropriate settings including a resource room, special classroom, and general education environment. 


    HOME INSTRUCTION 
    Home instruction is provided to students who are temporarily unable to attend a regular or more intensive school program. Special Education services are provided by qualified teachers and service providers according to the students individualized needs determined in the IEP. The goal of this program is to allow students to continue to access instruction, services and supports in order to help transition the student back into a regular school program. Parents must oversee all instruction and are a very important part of the success of this program.


    NON-PUBLIC SCHOOLS 
    These services are offered when it has been determined that the most appropriate educational program is not available through the public school system.  Non-public, non-sectarian school programs and services may be provided for an individual with a rare or unusual disabling condition for whom the maintenance of a public school program is not feasible; or when a student’s disability is compounded by other conditions so that the student requires services and facilities that are not a part of the educational program, or when a student’s previous placement in the public school special education program has been determined to be unsuccessful and further modification of the program is not possible.


    STATE SPECIAL SCHOOLS 
    Residential schools which are operated by the State of California for the deaf, blind and neurologically disabled are available for complete diagnostic workups and may be considered for placement of certain individuals with extraordinary needs.  Placement in these programs will be arranged by the school district upon the recommendation of the IEP team.

    VISUALLY IMPAIRED PROGRAM 
    Students who are determined, through assessment, to be functionally visually impaired may  receive Services for Students with Visual Impairment (VI) and Blindness, within the least restrictive environment, through the VI program.  Possible placements may include: Preschool and Elementary SH/VI Special Day Class, Middle and High School VI, Resource Room, and/or  Orientation and Mobility (O&M). 
    The VI program offers two kinds of services. The Teachers of the Visually Impaired (TVI) instruction focuses on the unique educational needs of visually impaired students, and may include Braille, modification of curriculum and materials, specialized computer technology, and other skills.  O&M specialists help students learn skills which contribute to their ability to travel safely and independently in the community.