ELIGIBILITY
This guide for parents of children receiving special education in Pennsylvania outlines how a child’s need for special education is determined, how a child’s educational program is developed, the responsibilities and protections guaranteed to parents and children, and the resources available to parents of a child with disabilities. This guide has been updated to reflect the July 2008 Chapter 14 regulations.
Pennsylvania Parent Guide to Special Education for School Age Children
PROGRAMS
Autistic Support
Provides specially designed instruction to students who need a program that is highly structured with a special emphasis on behavior modification. This itinerant program focuses on the development of independence and self-sufficiency in the areas of community-based instruction, functional academics, vocational, leisure and social skills.
Emotional Support
Provides a structured, behaviorally enhanced approach to students whose primary need is for social skills development or who demonstrate a pattern of maladaptive behaviors that may include poor attendance, aggression toward others, withdrawal, poor peer/adult relationships and court involvement.
Learning Support
The Learning Support program provides specially designed instruction to students that have a significant disparity between educational expectancy and one or more of the following: written expression, basic reading skills, reading comprehension, mathematics calculation and mathematics reasoning.
In the 2015-2016 academic year, we are adding an additional learning support classroom at the elementary that goes beyond the academic component to address student behavioral, sensory, communicative, and adaptive skill needs. This unique setting will provide students with a free and appropriate public education within their home school.
Speech and Language Support
The Speech and Language Support program provides specially designed instruction to students whose articulation and/or language skills are not commensurate with their same age peers. These deficits affect the communication areas.