Special Education
Services & SupportsDefinition
Specially designed instruction provided at no cost to parents to meet the unique needs of a child with a disability. Special education includes instruction in the classroom, home, hospitals, institutions, and other settings. It also includes physical education and can include speech-language pathology services.
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Related Terms
Instruction that is adapted in content, methodology, or delivery to address the unique needs of a child with a disability and ensure access to the general curriculum. SDI is the core of what makes special education "special" — it is instruction specifically tailored to the individual child.
Supportive services required to help a child with a disability benefit from special education. Examples include speech-language therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, counseling, transportation, school health services, social work, and parent counseling and training.
The right of every child with a disability to receive special education and related services at no cost to the family. "Appropriate" means the education must be reasonably calculated to enable a child to make progress appropriate in light of the child's circumstances, as established by the Supreme Court in Endrew F. v. Douglas County (2017).
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