Special Education
Special Education services are available for those students with identified learning disabilities. Students experiencing difficulty with learning tasks may need to be referred by their teacher to the SST. The SST may refer the child, as appropriate, to the Student Assessment Team (SAT) which determines if the student should be recommended for in-depth testing to determine a potential learning disability, and possible eligibility for a specific program. Programs at MHS include:
RESOURCE SPECIALIST PROGRAM (RSP): The Resource program serves students needing help in an academic area as defined in their Individual Educational Plan. Students may be out of their regular classroom for up to 49% of the day for these services, but more commonly, students are out less than 1.5 hours per day. MHS’s Resource Specialist is full-time and has a 30-hour per week instructional assistant.
LANGUAGE SPEECH SPECIALIST (LSS): LSS is for students who need assistance with speech and language difficulties such as articulation.
Occupational Therapist (OT): School-based occupational therapists assist students with performing the necessary activities to participate in school activities and foster meaningful learning. A school-based occupational therapist looks at a variety of areas affected by a child’s disability such as self-care, motor function, sensory processing and awareness, oral motor function, function of the hands, visual and perceptual abilities and pre-vocational activities.
ADAPTIVE PHYSICAL EDUCATION (APE): APE is for those students who need special instruction with large and small muscle skills.
SPECIAL DAY CLASS (SDC): MHS houses three Special Day Classes for the District. These classes are distinguished by the fact that there are fewer students in them, usually 8-12, who need a small-class setting all day to meet their particular educational needs as defined by their IEP. We have a K-1st class for identified autistic students. Our other Special Day Classes are for primary students (1st-3rd ) and intermediate students (4th-5th). Our SDC students integrate and participate in our general education classes at all opportunities as specified by the IEP. Each SDC class has a 30-hour per week instructional assistant for the teacher.
Please refer to the following websites for additional information:
SPUSD Special Education Department
