Special Services

Our Special Services Department aims to provide you answers and resources to help your special needs child have a positive educational experience. If you ever have any questions about the services your child receives, or if you feel your child should be receiving services, please give us a call. We are always happy to help you.

Special Education

The delivery of support and services varies from student to student. Some children are provided special education services in a general education classroom while others are provided services through a “pull out” model where they are taken out of the general education room for specialized academic instruction. Some have a blended program in which services are provided in a variety of creative ways. Parents are integral members of the IEP team and participate in decisions regarding the identification, placement, and services to be provided for their children.
Specialized Academic Instruction and Related Services are available at each elementary, middle school, and high school in the district. Self-contained classes for students with moderate to severe disabilities are available at Whipple Ranch Elementary, Nikolaus Homestead Elementary, Show Low Jr. High School, and Show Low High School. Services for students with an emotional disability (grades 3-12) that need a more restrictive environment are available through our RISE program located on the high school campus. When reviewing service delivery options, the consideration of “inclusion” is often discussed. This term refers to children receiving support and services in the general education classroom with their non-disabled peers.
Children qualify for special education services by meeting eligibility criteria set forth by state and federal laws. Each child is unique, and the concept of an Individualized Education Program (IEP) is truly realized when a program is specifically designed to meet the needs of the child. If a student is not making adequate progress on IEP goals, even when all supports and services are in place, the placement needs to be examined.
Special Education teachers serve students whose IEPs indicate specialized academic instruction in the form of collaboration, pull out, or consultative services.
The categories of eligibility for persons aged 3 through 21 are:

Autism
Developmental Disability
Cognitive Disability
Hearing Impairment
Learning Disability
Multiple Disability
Physical Disability
Emotional Disability
Speech and Language Impairment
Traumatic Brain Injury
Visual Impairment
Other Health Impairment

The Individualized Education Program (IEP)

The Individualized Education Program (IEP) is a written program that outlines the special education services the student will receive. A continuum of services is available based on the needs of the student. At SLUSD, we believe in the importance of parent participation and collaboration. Pursuant to A.R.S. 41-1351, we will destroy special education records including intervention, evaluation, and IEPs four years after the student’s final enrollment in the district.

Child Find

Child Find is a component of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA 2004), that requires Public Education Agencies to locate, identify and evaluate all children with disabilities aged birth through 21, located within their geographic boundaries who are in need of early intervention or special education services.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and its implementing regulations require that all children with disabilities who are in need of special education and related services, regardless of the severity of their disability, are identified, located, and evaluated. [20 U.S.C. § 1412(a)(3); 34 C.F.R. § 300.111(a)]

*Child Find applies to children who are:

Suspected of having a disability even though they are advancing from grade to grade
Highly mobile, such as migrant and homeless families
Wards of the State
Private school students
Home school students

The regulations that implement the IDEA require each State to have policies and procedures to ensure that “all children with disabilities . . . including children with disabilities who are homeless children or are wards of the State, and children with disabilities attending private schools, regardless of the severity of their disability, and who are in need of special education and related services, are identified, located and evaluated.” [34 C.F.R. § 300.111(a)(i)] In Arizona, each public education agency must have written procedures for the identification and referral of all children with disabilities within its boundaries of responsibility, including children with disabilities attending private schools and those who are homeschooled. [A.A.C. R7-2-401(D)(1)]

For early childhood screening, please call 928-537-6051

* Note- Charter schools identify, locate and evaluate all children with disabilities within their populations served who are in need of special education and related services.