Parents  > Special Education Programs

The San Jose Unified School District offers a continuum of special education services. We hope this list of frequently asked questions will be helpful to you.

What is Special Education?

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is the nation’s special education law. IDEA requires states to provide a free and appropriate public education (FAPE) in the least restrictive environment (LRE). San Jose Unified School District (SJUSD) provides a variety of services for those individuals falling within the IDEA guidelines.

Who is eligible for services ?

Special education is designed to meet the unique, educational needs of children with disabilities. Children may receive special education services under one (or more) of following eligibilities

What special education programs are available in the SJUSD?

District services are provided to children based on their eligibility for special education, and appropriateness of a service as determined by the Individualized Education Program (IEP) team. Services may include:

Regular classroom – in some cases the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) for an eligible student is the regular classroom, perhaps with consultation from a special education staff person or DIS services.

Designated Instructional Services (DIS) – provide students with services in order for the student to benefit from their educational program. Services may include speech therapy, adapted physical education (APE), occupational therapy (OT), audiological services, orientation and mobility instruction and vision services.

Resource Specialist Program (RSP) – The RSP program includes students with mild handicapping conditions, who can succeed in the regular classroom when provided with one to three hours of special education support each day.

Special Day Class (SDC) – The SDC serves those students who require more than 50% of the day in a special education setting. Currently, the district has four types of SDC programs:

SDC /non catagorical– Students with severe learning disabilities receive instruction in core curriculum with adaptations that are based on their individual needs. When possible, students should be mainstreamed.

SDC/autism – Primarily an early elementary program designed to meet the special language and behavioral needs of children with autism, this program now includes preschool and primary classes whose goal is to bring the autistic child into the mainstream environment.

SDC/ED – Emotionally disturbed students receive instruction in core curriculum with adaptations that are based on their individual needs. In addition, intensive behavioral intervention, including, when appropriate, mental health services are provided. When possible, students should be mainstreamed.

SDC/transition – Needs of students in this educational program may best be addressed with a focus on life skills and community based instruction. The curriculum being taught is student centered, therefore, certain skills may best be taught in the natural environment in which the activity would normally take place. Participation of students in these programs may culminate in a Letter of Completion.

SDC/SH – These classes are generally self-contained and provide community-based activities for lower functioning students. The curriculum ranges from basic academics to domestic, leisure, vocational and independent living skills. Students who funcion lower than this group are usually placed in the County Office of Education programs.

Home or Hospital instruction and services may be provided for those students whose physical condition requires confinement for prolonged periods of time (a minimum of three weeks), and who require long-term instruction at home or in the hospital. This service must be recommended by the IEP team.

The Workability/Transition-to-Work programs provide service to in-school disabled youth ages 14 – 21, from special education classes, enrolled in local high schools who have significant barriers to employment or are at-risk or dropping out of school. The students may have physical, mental, multiple or learning disabilities. They must have an IEP and an Individual Transition Plan (ITP) which defines educational goals, career and vocational goals, independent living and personal adjustment goals. Students may be assisted in attaining employment. They must be dependable and express a desire to obtain some form of work experience. Services must coincide with school activities and academic progress and must have teacher and parent support.

Preschool programs for children age 3 years to 4 years 11 months are also available. Preschool services may include, but not be limited to, Designated Instruction and Services (DIS) such as speech and language, adaptive PE and occupational therapy (OT). SJUSD has classes for the severely handicapped (SH) student as well as those with speech/language disabilities and other developmental delays.
If SJUSD does not have an appropriate program within the district for a child, a referral may be made to another district. Programs that SJUSD frequently uses include hearing impaired classes in the Santa Clara Unified School District, vision impaired classes in the Santa Clara Unified School District, and hearing impaired classes in the Palo Alto Unified School District.

My child was in a special education program before we moved to San Jose. Will services continue?

If you have moved here from another district and your child had an Individual Education Plan (IEP) in the previous district, SJUSD will provide your child with comparable services as defined in the IEP for 30 days. At the end of the 30-day placement an IEP meeting will be held to review the appropriateness of the IEP from the previous district and determine the need for any changes.

My child is failing in school. Does he/she need special education services?

If you are concerned that your child is not doing well in school, you are encouraged to request a Student Study Team (SST) meeting with school staff. The SST is made up of a child’s parent(s), teacher, counselor or other facilitator and other regular or special education teachers. The goal of the SST is to identify different ways to work with the child and help him/her to succeed in the regular classroom. While the SST process may take from two to three months, it allows the school to develop alternative methods and problem solve using best practices for each student. The SST also provides invaluable information on the child, which will help the examiner to develop relevant hypothesis if the child is referred for evaluation.
Recent legislation (IDEA 2004) provided for a measurement of the students progress based on his response to intervention (RtI). RtI must be related to a peer reviewed, scientifically based intervention. The district expects to have a 3-tiered model for reading improvement ready for the 2005-2006 school year. RtI options will increase the effectiveness of the SST process.
Parents may also choose to write a letter requesting that a child be evaluated for special education services.

Is there a timeline when getting a child evaluated for a disability?

Once the school district has a request for evaluation, either from the SST or the parent, the district has fifteen days to send out an Assessment Plan. Once the Assessment Plan is signed by the parent or guardian and returned, the district has 60 days to complete the evaluation and hold an Individual Education Plan (IEP) meeting.

What is the district process for establishing eligibility?

After the Assessment Plan is signed and received back at the school, a Resource Specialist will be assigned to administer achievement tests to your child. Note: If the child is bilingual and has attended or attends a bilingual class, academic achievement testing will be in his native language. If he/she is bilingual, but has had instruction in English for at least two years, academic achievement tests will be given in English. In some cases a child may be tested in both languages. If there are speech and language issues that may be relevant to the assessment, a Speech and Language pathologist may also evaluate the child.

The parent will be asked to complete a Health and Development form that will be reviewed by the school nurse. (This may have been completed during the SST process.) The school nurse will provide a vision and hearing screen to rule out vision or hearing problems. In cases that involve medical issues, an exchange of information may be requested in order to provide the IEP team additional information about any medical condition.
Once these specialists make their results available to the psychologist, she/he will prepare to do an evaluation of the child. The evaluation will generally include a review of school records, classroom and/or playground observation, parent and/or student interview and psychological testing. Tests are selected based on individual need, but are generally selected from this list (TBD). When the testing is complete, an IEP meeting will be scheduled.

The psychologist writes an integrated report and makes recommendations to the Individualized Education Plan (IEP) team regarding eligibility for special education services. The IEP team, consisting of the parent, psychologist, classroom teacher, special education teacher, appropriate DIS staff, an administrator and those others deemed appropriate, then meets and determines eligibility. IDEA 2004 allows up to 30 days from the time of the IEP meeting to full implementation of the IEP. Special education services are based upon the needs of the student to achieve the goals established in the IEP, that is, eligibility does not determine placement.