We believe that students with and without disabilities learn best in classrooms that reflect the rich cultural, linguistic and developmental diversity of our great city. This means ensuring a flexible and comprehensive continuum of direct and related services, with as many specialized services as possible offered across all OUSD campuses.
Specialized Academic Instruction is provided at all OUSD schools and charter partners by Special Education teachers and support staff working under the direction of Special Educators. While most of our students with IEPs spend the majority of their day in the general education setting, we offer several types of specialized, self-contained settings, as well.
In addition to Specialized Academic Instruction, OUSD provides a diverse array of related services that are designed to ensure access to a student’s Special Education program. These include:
Language and speech services provide remedial intervention for eligible individuals with
difficulty understanding or using spoken language. The difficulty may result from problems with articulation (excluding abnormal swallowing patterns, if that is the sole assessed disability); abnormal voice quality, pitch, or loudness; fluency; hearing loss; or the acquisition,
comprehension, or expression of spoken language.
Within OUSD SELPA, speech and language services are our second-highest incidence service after specialized academic instruction, with several thousand students receiving services across our continuum. Much like SAI, speech and language services can take several Forms.
Occupational Therapy (OT) includes services to improve student’s educational performance, postural stability, self-help abilities, sensory processing and organization, environmental
adaptation and use of assistive devices, motor planning and coordination, visual perception and integration, social and play abilities, and fine motor abilities. Both direct and indirect services may be provided within the classroom, other educational settings, or the home, in groups or individually, and may include therapeutic techniques to develop abilities, adaptations to the student’s environment or curriculum, and consultation and collaboration with other staff and parents. Services are provided, pursuant to an IEP, by a qualified occupational therapist registered with the American Occupational Therapy Certification Board.
In OUSD SELPA, occupational therapy services are provided in accordance with IEPs to address students’ motor and sensory needs.
These services are provided, pursuant to an IEP, by a registered physical therapist, or physical therapist assistant, when assessment shows a discrepancy between gross motor performance and other educational skills. Physical therapy includes, but is not limited to, motor control and coordination, posture and balance, self-help, functional mobility, accessibility and
use of assistive devices. Services may be provided within the classroom, other educational settings or in the home, and may occur in groups or individually. These services may include adaptations to the student’s environment and curriculum, selected therapeutic techniques and activities, and consultation and collaborative interventions with staff and parents.
Any specialized training or technical support for the incorporation of assistive devices, adapted computer technology, or specialized media with the educational programs to improve access for students. The term includes a functional analysis of the student’s needs for assistive technology; selecting, designing, fitting, customizing, or repairing appropriate devices; coordinating services with assistive technology devices; training or technical assistance for students with a disability, the student’s family, individuals providing education or rehabilitation services, and employers.
OUSD SELPA provides assistive technology services for students who require low-, mid- or high-tech supports to access their program. Services are provided by either a credentialed speech-language pathologist or occupational therapist with an area of specialization in technology.
Often, these students are provided services in a consultative format in which the assistive technology specialist meets with the special education teacher, staff and families to ensure training and access to the specific tools and strategies required for the child to access the curriculum. Some students may require direct services, in which the AT specialist and student work together for a set period of time per week or month as agreed-upon by the IEP team to provide direct support in the student’s understanding and use of technology tools and accommodations.
Adapted PE (APE) involves adapting, as appropriate, the general education physical education curriculum to ensure access for students with disabilities. Adapted PE specialists may provide direct or consultative services. Consultative services may include collaboration with general physical educators to co-plan or modify existing PE lessons and units, as well as collaboration with other motor-related service providers (e.g. physical therapists or orientation and mobility specialists) to ensure consistent application of fine and gross motor supports.
Direct services may include providing physical education class to one or more students, co-teaching with a general PE teacher, and providing specialized equipment and materials in real time to enable greater access for students whose disabilities may impede access to the general PE curriculum.
Low incidence services are defined as those provided to the student population who have orthopedic impairment (OI), visual impairment (VI), who are deaf, hard of hearing (HH), or deaf-blind (DB). Typically, services are provided in education settings by an itinerant teacher or an itinerant teacher/specialist. Consultation is provided to the teacher, staff, and parents as needed.
OUSD SELPA has staff who specialize in the needs of students with low incidence disabilities. While many of the services students within this population require are captured within service codes 710, 725 and 730, some students may require other services specific to the impact of their low incidence disability. Specialized services may include consultation with site staff and families or the provision of and training on the use of specialized equipment and materials.
The personnel who provide such services vary based on the specific type of disability and may include physical therapists, occupational therapists, teachers of the deaf, and teachers of the visually-impaired.
One-to-one or group counseling, provided by a qualified individual pursuant to an IEP. Counseling may focus on such student aspects as education, career, personal, or be with parents or staff members on learning problems or guidance programs for students. Individual counseling is expected to supplement the regular guidance and counseling program.
When a student in OUSD SELPA requires mental health support due to the impact of their disability, the IEP team may consider the provision of individual counseling services through the IEP. Many schools within OUSD SELPA offer these services through the general education program, as well. Within Special Education, individual counseling is provided by either a district-employed school social worker or a nonpublic agency therapist under contract with the district depending on the setting of the service and the program placement of the child. Therapists are social workers with appropriate training and credentials. The therapists
meet with each student individually as indicated in their IEP to address educationally-related mental health needs that are presenting as barriers to educational progress. This may include mental health assessment and diagnosis, collaborative goal planning, and direct therapy in a variety of modalities based on students’ developmental levels and needs (e.g. talk therapy,
play-based therapy).
These services, provided by a credentialed or licensed psychologist pursuant to an IEP, include interpreting assessment results for parents and staff in implementing the IEP, obtaining and interpreting information about child behavior and conditions related to learning, and planning programs of individual and group counseling and guidance services for children and parents. These services may include consulting with other staff in planning school programs to meet the special needs of children as indicated in the IEP. IEP required psychological services are expected to supplement the regular guidance and counseling
program.
OUSD SELPA offers psychological services to support the behavioral and emotional wellbeing of students who have areas of need in these domains. Services are provided by credentialed school psychologists and may include any of the following:
A systematic implementation of procedures designed to promote lasting, positive changes in the student’s behavior resulting in greater access to a variety of community settings, social contacts, public events, and placement in the least restrictive environment.
In OUSD, students with behaviors that are not addressed sufficiently by an IEP team-based behavior intervention planning process may require behavior intervention services. These services are performed by a BCBA or assistant under the supervision of a BCBA and may include analysis and collection of behavioral data, preference assessment, trialing of interventions, and collaboration with service providers and family members.
Organized educational programs that are directly related to the preparation of individuals for paid or unpaid employment, and may include provision for work experience, job coaching, development and/or placement, and situational assessment. This includes career counseling to assist a student in assessing their aptitudes, abilities, and interests in order to make realistic career decisions.
As a part of preparing for post-secondary transition, youth with IEPs may participate in vocational and career assessment services. These services may be provided by special education teachers or career/transition services case managers. These services include the administration of measures designed to help students better understand their strengths and potential career preferences and to connect those interests to schooling or training to be employed within a field of interest. Students may work one-on-one or within a small group of peers to review assessment results and receive guidance relative to next steps to secure employment or continued education after graduation.
Transition services include a provision for self-advocacy, career planning, and career guidance. This also emphasizes the need for coordination between these provisions and the Perkins Act to ensure that students with disabilities in middle schools will be able to access vocational education funds.
You can learn more about our Special Education continuum in this short video.
To ensure as much access to the general education setting as possible most of our Special Education programs utilize the district-adopted curricula. We provide a variety of evidence-based supplementary materials, intervention curricula and core replacement curricula for students working toward alternative, modified standards.
Our team is deeply invested in multisensory instruction as an approach to reduce disability-related barriers to instructional access. We train in and provide Spire multisensory literacy intervention for all of our TK-8 mild-moderate and moderate programs, and we have collaborated with our district’s academics division leaders to create small group mathematics intervention guidance using Eureka Squared. Our Extensive Support Needs settings use Unique Learning System and Equals Math, which feature icon-supported text and embedded use of manipulatives and realia.
To support social-emotional and behavioral needs, we have invested in Superflex guides and training for our educators, Everyday Speech for pragmatic language and social skills instruction, and two evidence-based social-emotional intervention programs. OUSD Special Educators attend training in culturally-responsive instruction and anti-racist teaching and learning through our Office of Equity, as well.
OUSD is a proud member of the CAPTAIN cadre, which is a statewide network of educators committed to the use of evidence-based practices (EPBs) for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs). We integrate EBPs into our professional learning scope and sequence and provide access to the UNC AFIRM modules focused on such practices.
Our behavioral specialists provide mentorship, modeling and intervention plan development aligned to the principles of Applied Behavior Analysis using the Classroom Checkup system.
