special needs

Pinellas County Schools officials hope to shave about $6.5 million off their budget by retooling special education programs. Closing the K12 Hamilton Disston School in Gulfport and moving the students to other schools is expected to save $1.8 million, while other special education staffing changes are expected to save an additional $4.7 million.

Jordan Valley School in the Canyons School District in Sandy, Utah is using an iPad to show pictures and icons that help children on the autism spectrum to more easily manage their day so they will know what to expect. Pictures, for example, depict a toilet, handwashing in a sink, reading, and math, among other tasks.

In a recent analysis, the Seattle Special Education Advisory & Advocacy Council found that in Seattle Public Schools, 40 percent of all long-term or short-term suspensions were received by students identified as having a disability.

The variety of Bridgeport school programs serving students on the autism spectrum has increased over the last decade as the district has sought to educate more students in its own schools instead of expensive outside programs.

It started as a transitional program, a way to teach special education students with developmental disabilities how to handle personal finances, find a job and live independently once they left school.

Thanks to Washington's budget showdown, our neediest kids will see the deepest cuts.

PresenceLearning, the leader in online speech therapy services for K12 students, is now offering online occupational therapy (OT) to help schools and districts better – and more efficiently – serve their students with special needs. With PresenceLearning’s OT services, highly qualified therapists use evidence-based practices to deliver one-on-one or small group therapy to students via PresenceLearning’s online platform.

Not much has changed since 2008, an outside expert told Norwalk Board of Education members Tuesday night -- the special education program is still understaffed and underfunded.

Following in the footsteps of Hinsdale-Clarendon Hills School District 181, Hinsdale Township High School District 86 is moving closer to cutting its ties with the La Grange Area Department of Special Education (LADSE) cooperative — a move that means it would educate special needs students on its own.