S P EC I A L EDU CATION
Executive Director: Derek Coryell Operating Budget: $31.5 million (331.4 FTE) Grant VI-B: $3.7 million (48.3 FTE) Grant 619: $119,000 (3.0 FTE)
K12NORTHSTAR.ORG/SPECIALEDUCATION
Department Summary
The purpose of special education is to enable students with disabilities to access the general education curriculum to the greatest extent possible by providing a free appropriate public education in compliance with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
Important Tasks • Work collaboratively with parents, families and community agencies to develop and provide the best educational program for students with disabilities. • Provide a range of educational and social services to individuals with disabilities between the ages of 3 - 22.
Quick Facts
• Serves approximately 2,100 students ages 3-22 in a variety of programs ranging from preschool to post-secondary services.
• Ensure that students with disabilities are provided an environment that allows them to be educated effectively and realize their maximum potential.
• Special Education school teams, along with parents, conduct over 2,000 student driven meetings and almost 1,000 student evaluations per year.
• Provide a full range of program options to meet the educational and service requirements of individuals with exceptional needs in the Least Restrictive Environment.
• Provides professional development for both certificated and classified staff and training for parents and caregivers. • Provides support in every district school including schools of choice, the BEST Homeschool program and to students on homebound status who cannot attend school based on their unique medical needs. • Works closely with other community agencies to provide support for children in alternate settings including students in residential or therapeutic settings and students placed in correctional facilities. • The Extended Learning Program serves students with characteristics of giftedness and is a function of the Special Education department.
• Serve as child advocates along side with parents and other agencies.
Department Spotlight The Special Education department serves approximately 25 students who are blind or visually impaired. The BVI program includes one dually certified Teacher of Students with Visual Impairments (CTVI) and Certified Orientation & Mobility Specialist (COMS), and one itinerant BVI paraprofessional. Over half of these students require instruction in orientation and mobility (O&M), a related service that includes cane travel, and skills for reading maps, learning routes, crossing streets, and more. Some students currently receive instruction and/ or materials in braille. A variety of assistive technologies are also supported and circulated through our destiny library system.
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