Parents sometimes wonder what type of special education is right for their child with disabilities. Here we provide information and support for parents who are not sure where to turn if their child is struggling in school. When parents believe that their child\u2019s complex educational needs are not being met, they may not know what their options are. Disagreements may occur between members of a child\u2019s educational team about whether an alternative school placement should be considered.\u00a0 Parents often feel alone and overwhelmed trying to navigate a complicated educational system to get their child\u2019s needs met. This website aims to provide easily accessible, accurate information about how to identify the appropriate educational placement for your child.\u00a0 For some families, this includes when private day or residential placement should be considered and what the process involves. We want parents to know what is possible.<\/p>\n
The sections provided below provide extensive information regarding Special Education Placement Options. Note that this is a general resource offered by FCSN and is not considered legal advice for a particular situation.<\/p>\n
Since 1975, federal laws require that all students with disabilities receive a\u00a0Free Appropriate Public Education<\/i><\/b>\u00a0(FAPE)\u00a0<\/b><\/a>in the\u00a0Least Restrictive Environment<\/i><\/b>\u00a0(LRE)<\/b><\/a>\u00a0to ensure that every student make meaningful progress in their education.<\/p>\n FAPE ensures that all students with disabilities receive an appropriate public education at no cost to families. What is \u201cappropriate\u201d depends on the unique needs of the student. FAPE also ensures that students make meaningful progress<\/i>\u00a0in the general education curriculum. How is \u201cmeaningful\u201d defined? In 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that children with disabilities are entitled to an \u201cappropriately ambitious\u201d education that offers more than minimal benefit.\u00a0(For more information, see US Dept of Education\u2019s Q & A on U. S. Supreme Court Case Decision Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District:\u00a0https:\/\/sites.ed.gov\/idea\/questions-and-answers-qa-on-u-s-supreme-court-case-decision-endrew-f-v-douglas-county-school-district-re-1\/<\/a>\u00a0or pdf:\u00a0https:\/\/sites.ed.gov\/idea\/files\/qa-endrewcase-12-07-2017.pdf<\/a>)\u00a0 FAPE also guarantees students\u2019 right to be full participants in the life of the school (including extracurricular activities), with the assistance of aids and services if needed.<\/p>\n FAPE is closely tied to\u00a0Least Restrictive Environment<\/i>\u00a0(LRE). LRE refers to the place where children with disabilities can receive an education designed to meet their needs, alongside peers without disabilities as much as appropriate. The law expresses a strong preference,\u00a0but not a mandate<\/i>, for educating children in regular classes with peers who do not have disabilities.<\/p>\n LRE is based on the child\u2019s needs, not their disability. Schools cannot simply say that if a child has autism, they are automatically placed in the school\u2019s separate autism classroom. Some children might do well in the general education classroom with support (less restrictive) and some may need a separate classroom or even a separate school (more restrictive). It depends on the child\u2019s individual needs.<\/p>\n Public schools are required to make every effort to include children with special needs in general education classrooms before considering an alternative, more restrictive setting. Decisions about FAPE and LRE must be made individually and carefully.\u00a0For more information in English, Spanish, or Portuguese, see\u00a0A Parent\u2019s Guide to Special Education.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n Public school districts are required to provide a continuum of alternate special education placements to meet the needs of all children with disabilities.\u00a0The IEP team may determine that the child cannot be served in the general education classroom, even with additional aids and services. Parents should make sure that the school has tried all available supports both in the classroom (called push-in services) and outside of the classroom (called pull-out services). At this point, an alternative placement must be considered.<\/p>\n In Massachusetts, These alternative placement options include:<\/p>\n There is a page on every child\u2019s IEP that shows how their placement is described. Having a range of placements available is intended to ensure that a child with a disability can be educated successfully in the LRE.\u00a0The individual needs of each child must be met. For each child, the school must ask: \u201cWhat is the LRE for this child, given the disability?\u201d<\/p>\n School districts are required to offer a range or continuum of school placements for children with disabilities in order to meet their individual needs.<\/p>\n There are two main types of placements:<\/p>\n Within these two broad categories, there is a continuum of placements.<\/p>\n Before a child\u2019s team considers out-of-district or private schools, various in-district, public school options are typically tried first. These options may range from full inclusion in general education classrooms to separate classrooms within public schools (programs specifically designed for children with disabilities where there is less contact with typically developing peers).<\/p>\n These classrooms are made up of typically developing children AND children with special needs at the same grade level. Services and accommodations may help children with disabilities access the general education curriculum, such as an in-class aide to assist several children throughout the day and a pull-out for special instruction (e.g., speech therapy, 1:1 tutoring, small reading group).<\/p>\n \u201c<\/strong>Full inclusion\u201d\u00a0<\/strong>is defined by a student spending 80% or more of their day in a general education classroom (20% or less time outside the general classroom).<\/p>\n \u201c<\/strong>Partial inclusion\u201d\u00a0<\/strong>is defined as a student spending 60-79% of the time in the general education classroom (21-40% of the time outside the general classroom).<\/p>\n The\u00a0IEP Placement section\u00a0defines varying degrees of time in the regular education classroom, depending on the child\u2019s needs.<\/p>\n Inclusion classrooms work very well for many children, and there are great benefits from having a diverse group of children integrated into the mainstream classroom. However, if a child is not adequately learning in this setting or has more significant emotional or behavioral needs that are interfering with learning, a more restrictive option may be required.<\/p>\n Also known as \u201cself-contained classrooms,\u201d they offer a highly modified curriculum in separate classrooms. There are no typically developing peers. Educators carefully assess if there are areas where children can access the general curriculum (e.g., certain subject areas, gym) to make sure they can be included with peers whenever possible.<\/p>\n In-District substantially seperate classrooms are effective for many children. For some children, however, parents and educators decide that the child\u2019s needs are more extensive than what the public school can reasonably provide. When more specialized services and trained staff are required, a private special education day or residential school is the next consideration. Sometimes parents and educators do not agree on whether the child is making adequate progress in the current setting.<\/p>\n The above options are effective for many children. For some children, however, parents and educators decide that the child\u2019s needs are more extensive than what the public school can reasonably provide. When more specialized services and trained staff are required, a private special education day or residential school is the next consideration.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Out-of-district placements are schools that are separate from public schools. Sometimes they are also called special education private schools. These schools provide specialized instruction by highly trained staff designed to meet the needs of a particular population (e.g., children with physical disabilities, learning disabilities, autism). These schools were put in place to ensure that children with disabilities can be educated successfully.<\/p>\n Children are usually referred to out-of-district schools when it has been determined that the public school cannot adequately serve them. Their educational needs are thought to require more specialized instruction in order to justify removal from the public school and exposure to typically developing peers.<\/p>\n The public schools of several nearby towns may share resources and offer specialized programs called\u00a0Education Collaboratives<\/em><\/a>\u00a0for students with less common or \u201clow-incidence\u201d disabilities in one of their buildings. Sometimes children are referred to a Collaborative that is located in their town, and sometimes they travel to a neighboring town for a program that meets their needs and provides an appropriate peer group.<\/p>\n These day schools provide specialized instruction by highly trained staff designed to meet the needs of a particular population (e.g., children with physical disabilities, learning disabilities, autism). These schools were put in place to ensure that an individual with a disability is served in a setting where the student can be educated successfully.<\/p>\n These day schools provide specialized instruction by highly trained staff. They are designed to meet the needs of a particular population (e.g., children with visual or hearing impairments, learning disabilities, autism). These schools were put in place to ensure that students with disabilities are served in a setting where they can be educated successfully.<\/p>\n Unlike private special education schools, other types of private schools:<\/p>\n About Special Education Private Schools<\/a><\/p>\n The most restrictive option on the continuum of educational placements is a\u00a0special education private residential placement<\/strong>. This is considered when the child\u2019s needs are 24\/7 and cannot be met in any other setting. The child\u2019s team then determines that the LRE is outside of the child\u2019s home.<\/p>\n There are many different types of residential programs, and it can be confusing for parents to make sense of the options. There is no standard definition of residential treatment in the U.S. or even a common term (residential treatment, boarding school, residential care, therapeutic school, residential placement, and residential program are sometimes used interchangeably because terms vary by state). This can create uncertainty for parents about what is best for their child.<\/p>\n Parents should know that not all programs are accredited or provide treatment<\/em>. There are state and national agencies that approve programs for a particular population, such as children with learning disabilities, mental health difficulties, autism spectrum disorders (ASD), and intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Asking schools about their accreditation and checking on this is recommended.<\/p>\n Publicly funded means that the program is paid for by the school district, not the child\u2019s parents.<\/em>\u00a0Residential schools offer a combined private day school and group home in the community or a dorm on the school\u2019s campus. Supervision is provided at all times, including evenings, weekends, and holidays. Specialized instruction for academics occurs during the school day, and intensive teaching of daily living skills often occurs before, during, and after the school day.<\/p>\n Key features of residential treatment, particularly for children with serious emotional and behavioral disorders, are:<\/p>\n A child may also be referred by an agency and to settings\u00a0other than public schools<\/em><\/strong>, including:<\/p>\n When one of these agencies or professionals refers a child to a program, the program\u2019s cost is the agency\u2019s responsibility, not the child\u2019s parents.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":51,"featured_media":1387378,"template":"","resources-categories":[240],"topics-filter":[274,273],"age_filters":[248,249,250],"language_filters":[308],"class_list":["post-1390892","resource","type-resource","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","resources-categories-special-education-pti","topics-filter-special-education-ieps","topics-filter-school-placement-options","age_filters-age-3-5","age_filters-age-6-13","age_filters-age-14-22","language_filters-english"],"translation":{"provider":"WPGlobus","version":"3.0.3","language":"zh","enabled_languages":["en","es","pt","ar","zh","vi"],"languages":{"en":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"es":{"title":false,"content":false,"excerpt":false},"pt":{"title":false,"content":false,"excerpt":false},"ar":{"title":false,"content":false,"excerpt":false},"zh":{"title":false,"content":false,"excerpt":false},"vi":{"title":false,"content":false,"excerpt":false}}},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nLeast Restrictive Environment<\/h3>\n
What are schools’ obligations under special education law?<\/h3>\n
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Range of School Placement for Students on IEPs<\/h2>\n
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In-District Placements<\/h2>\n
\u201cInclusion\u201d or General Education Classroom<\/h3>\n
Substantially Separate Classrooms<\/h3>\n
Out of District Placements<\/h2>\n
Education Collaboratives<\/h3>\n
Private Special Education Day Schools<\/h3>\n
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Private Special Education Residential Schools<\/h3>\n
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Other Publicly Funded Placements<\/h2>\n
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