Which classroom will my student receive her/his instruction in during the day?

The Appropriate Class

The classroom chosen for your child will depend upon the amount and kind of special instruction or services your child needs. If your child will need only some instruction in special education classes, it may be possible for your child to stay in the general classroom most of the day, leaving it only for a short period of special instruction. A special education teacher may also be able to give instruction in the general classroom.

For some children, placement in a special education class for most or all of the day is necessary. Our goal is to have all students receive most of their school with general education students, but student programming is based upon needs of each individual child determined by the IEP team. Opportunities might include participation in elective subjects such as art or music, belonging to a general homeroom, Advisory, socializing in the lunchroom and attending assemblies and other enrichment programs with general education students as well as traditional education core subject classrooms.

School districts in Pennsylvania must have available the following types of classes for the placement of their children with special needs if an IEP team decides that a particular type of class is necessary. Their classes are formed around the learning needs of children who are assigned to them:

• Learning support class-for children whose greatest need is for help in academic areas such as reading, and math
• Emotional support class-for children whose greatest need is for social, emotional and behavioral help
• Life skills support class-for children whose greatest need is to learn skills that will allow them to live and work independent of their families
• Sensory support skills class-for children who require help in dealing with disabilities resulting from limited vision or hearing.
• Speech and language support class-for children who have difficulty speaking and communicating
• Physical support class-for children who need programs that consider their physical disabilities
• Autistic support class-for children with autism
• Multiple disabilities support class-for children with more than one disability, the combination of which results in needs requiring many services and much support
• Children with different disability can be placed together in one class if their learning needs are similar and they can all benefit from the same level and manner of instruction.
• The law requires that special education students be placed in classes with students of the same age range. At the elementary level (grades K-6), a class cannot have children who vary in age by more than three years. At the secondary level (grades 7-12), an age range of no more than four years is allowed. An exception can be made by the IEP team for an individual child based on the child’s needs. It must be explained in writing in the IEP.