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Special Education

Welcome to the VUSD Special Education Department! 

We are committed to serving the educational needs of every student by developing and securing the best possible educational program and appropriate educational services for children with special needs. 

A student may qualify for special education services as an individual with special needs in one of thirteen areas identified by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA 2004). These are:

Student with teacher out skiing

  • Deaf

  • Hard of Hearing

  • Deaf-Blind

  • Visually Impaired

  • Speech or Language Impairment

  • Specific Learning Disability

  • Multiple Disabilities

  • Orthopedically Impairment

  • Other Health Impairment

  • Intellectual Disability

  • Emotional Disturbance

  • Autism

  • Traumatic Brain Injury

student smilingGeneral Information

The VUSD Special Education Staff if comprised of the following:

  • Mild/Moderate Credentialed Teachers

  • Moderate/Severe Credentialed Teachers

  • School Psychologist

  • Speech/Language Pathologist

  • Trained Special Education Paraprofessionals

  • County Specialists

IEP Process

Families and school teams are encouraged to hold a Student Study Team (SST) meeting to review the student's strengths and areas of concern to determine if alternative instructional strategies, supports or accommodations are needed prior to special education referral.

A referral for a special education assessment may come from a parent/guardian or site team, either in writing or verbally. When an assessment referral is received, an Assessment Plan is developed by the school site team within 15 days. We encourage families and school site teams to meet through the SST process to hear concerns and determine the areas of suspected disability in order to develop a comprehensive assessment plan.

Given collaboration with the school site team, some families may reconsider their request if the student’s needs can be met with other interventions. If they agree to reconsider, this must be done via written request. If the assessment moves forward, parental consent is required within 15 days of parents receiving the assessment plan for the assessment to be initiated.  

Site teams have 60 days from the day in which a signed assessment plan was received to complete the assessment and convene an Individualized Education Program (IEP) team meeting to review the evaluation results.

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