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SPECIAL EDUCATION

REACH and STEP Programs

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Educational Services for All Children

As part of the initial Joint Powers Agreement in 1990, Special Education was a priority to serve the member districts. All students of our member districts are eligible to receive special education services provided by or through GCED. These services provided to member districts are determined by students' identified needs.

Special Education Services

All students in our member districts are eligible to receive special education services provided by or through GCED. These services provided to member districts are determined by students' identified needs.

 

It is the goal of the GCED to achieve the highest standards of excellence for students with disabilities based upon their individual strengths and needs. Every student is provided with sound academic opportunities to facilitate their physical, emotional, social and vocational potential. It is our responsibility to provide demanding programs appropriate for all levels of ability and to implement this philosophy into practice for all students.

It is our goal to serve every school-aged child with a disability who resides in our member districts. If you are aware of a student who resides in one of our member districts and meets one or more of the following disabling conditions or if you suspect that your child has a disability that has not yet been identified, please contact our district office or your local school:​

  • Autism Spectrum Disorder

  • Blind or Visually Impaired

  • Deaf and Hard of Hearing

  • Deaf-Blind

  • Developmental Cognitive Disability

  • Developmental Delay

  • Emotional or Behavioral Disorder

  • Other Health Disabilities

  • Physically Impaired

  • Severely Multiply Impaired

  • Specific Learning Disability

  • Speech and Language Impairment

  • Traumatic Brain Injured

​The GCED, along with the member districts, provides a full continuum of special education services for each individual student in the least restrictive environment. Each level of service is available for consideration by the Individual Education Plan (IEP) or Individual Family Service Plan (IFSP) team for all eligible students.

Our Programs

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REACH Program

A special education program serving students whose emotions or behaviors significantly impact their ability to make progress in a less restrictive setting. Students in the REACH program typically have average to above average cognitive ability. Students served are age 4 to grade 12.

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STEP Program

STEP is a secondary transition program for students 18-21 years old who have successfully completed the requirements necessary for a high school diploma however, are still making progress towards goals and objectives in the transition areas. A community-based program emphasizing employment and independent living skills, STEP works in collaboration with students, families, and community agencies.

Our Services and Resources

The following services are provided by or through GCED. Services are determined by students' identified needs.

Continuum of Services

  • Students requiring minimal special education services may benefit from Itinerant Instruction. This level of service provides the student with intermittent instruction, consultation, and/or materials provided by district-wide special education teachers.

  • Eligible students may receive resource instruction in a separate classroom for part of their school day. This level of service supplements or replaces general education class instruction depending on the student's needs. Resource teachers typically work with students in skill deficits in core subjects, and provide individual or small group instruction as determined by the IEP/IFSP team. All of our schools provide resource special education services.

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  • At this level of service, students with needs that cannot be met by itinerant or resource level services receive instruction in a separate classroom for the majority of the school day. These specialized programs offer the environmental changes needed to ensure educational success. One teacher is in charge for most of the school day and provides the majority of instruction. Paraprofessionals may also work with the teacher and students. Class sizes are kept smaller than the general education classroom to provide the educational support needed by the students.

  • Students whose IEP needs exceed those of a self-contained program may need the support of a separate day school. Member district staff remain involved in each of these programs. Just like in the resident school district, students and their families are assigned a case manager to ensure that the students' progress is monitored and, when exit criteria are met, that the student is reintegrated into their resident district.

  • Homebound instruction is provided for special education students who, because of medical problems documented by a physician, are either: unable to attend regular classes for a period of not less than three school months; or capable of learning at school but are unable to attend classes for intermittent periods of time totaling three school months during a school year.​

  • When a student is parentally placed in private, parochial or home-schooled, not due to FAPE, the district is responsible for child find and evaluation of these students. Following evaluation and identification, the district team will report recommendations and, if eligible, propose an IEP/IFSP following a team meeting with representatives of the public, nonpublic and parents.​

  • Related services include transportation and other support services, such as speech or physical therapy, required for students with disabilities to benefit from special education. Speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, and physical therapy are available at all of our district schools.​

  • Extended school year (ESY) services are offered to eligible special education students during summer vacation. ESY is for students who lose critical skills during regular breaks in instruction and who require an excessive amount of time to regain those skills. Other factors may be considered. Skills appropriate for ESY consideration include those related to self-sufficiency, behavior, socialization, communication and academics. A student's need and eligibility for ESY instruction is determined by the IEP/IFSP team.

  • Parents of children, who are at least three years of age, but who have not reached the required age for kindergarten, may request evaluation for special education preschool services from their district. The assessment will assess the child’s vision and hearing, language fluency, communication skills, medical history, cognitive development, gross/fine motor skills, and social-emotional development. If eligible, an IFSP will be developed. The IFSP team may determine that they need services while in their current setting or while attending a developmental preschool program at one of our districts for no cost.

  • Transition services are provided for students who are at least sixteen years old. These services, which are based on each student's strengths, interests and preferences, help students make the transition from school to post-school activities, including college education, vocational training, employment, continuing and adult education, adult services, independent living and community participation. For students aged 18-21, who remain enrolled, there are two transition programs. One program is at the River Bluff Education Center, a GCED site in Red Wing. The other site is located at Red Wing High School. IEP teams will propose the most appropriate program based on student strengths and needs.

Child Find

  • Child find is a component of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) that requires districts to locate, identify, and evaluate all children with disabilities, age birth through age 21, who are located within the geographic boundaries of the district and who are in need of special education services. These activities are referred to as the “child find” process.  The child find requirement applies to all children with disabilities who are attending nonpublic, elementary and secondary schools.  The child find process for nonpublic school children with disabilities must be comparable to the process used for children with disabilities in public schools.

     

    Should you perceive that your child has a disability and is not making satisfactory academic, social behavioral and/or communicative progress and has a substantial limitation in the areas of learning and communicating, you may seek an evaluation through the district. The evaluation will be designed to determine whether or not your child has a disability as defined by special education eligibility criteria in Minnesota Rules (MR) 3525.  For children with disabilities who are found eligible to receive special education services, parents will be invited to participate on a planning team that will review the information and propose services. 

     

    District teams often attempt interventions first in an attempt to close any gaps in achievement.  Although these interventions are a critical component, often providing teams with rich instructional data, teams will not use intervention systems to wrongfully delay evaluation. 

Resources, Services and Information

  • Supports teachers who work with individuals who meet educational criteria for autism. The consultant is available to assist with evaluations, individual education programs, program and family supports, strategies, behavior challenges and general consultation.​

  • Provides education for students with emotional or behavioral difficulties. Assists in program planning, inservice and student assessment and intervention and provides ongoing support to teachers and building teams.​

  • Provides functional vision assessment; direct specialized skills teacher, adaptation of classroom materials, and consultation to parents, students and teachers.​

  • Provides support to staff and students to ensure optimal use of hearing in the educational environment; provides consultation and inservice on hearing impairment, intervention strategies and use of amplification.​

  • Provides speech/language assessments for hearing impaired students; direct teaching of language, specialized skills and academics; consults with students, parents and teachers; and coordinates and employs interpreters to support students with severe hearing impairments.​

  • Service to increase the capacity of teachers to plan and implement effective instructional practices and to increase student achievement through modeling and feedback.​

  • Promotes the physical, mental, emotional and social well-being of students by providing comprehensive health services.

  • Provides assessment and services that prevent or minimize disability; relieve pain; develop and improve sensory and motor function, controls, postural deviations; and establish and maintain maximum performance within the student's capabilities.​

  • Provides assessment, consultation, and direct services to building teams and students who have special education or special equipment needs due to physical disabilities and/or health disabilities.​

  • Provides evaluation and services that prevent or minimize disability, relieve plan, develop and improve sensory motor function, improve movement, manage pain, and establish and maintain maximum performance with the student's capabilities.​

  • Provides assessment, intervention, and consultation services provided to special education programs of member school districts.​

  • Identifies student communication needs and develops and implements programs to remediate and/or prevent communication disorder.

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Begin Your Journey Today

If you suspect that your child has a disability that has not yet been identified, please contact our district office or your local school district. 

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