Each district or Special Education Local Plan Area (SELPA) must offer a continuum of services to meet the needs of individuals with disabilities.  The IEP team selects the program or combination of programs that allows the student to access a free appropriate public education (FAPE) in the least restrictive environment (LRE) with maximum opportunity for interactions with non-disabled peers.

Below you will find links relevant to Special Education services, assessments and resources.

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Considerations for determining the least restrictive environment include the following:

• The child’s placement is as close as possible to the child’s home.

• Unless the IEP agrees to a placement in a different facility, the child is educated in their neighborhood school.

• In selecting program and placement, consideration is given to any potential harmful effects on the child.

• A child with a disability is not removed from education in an age-appropriate regular classroom solely due to the need for modifications to the general curriculum.  The team may consider self-contained special education classes only when the nature or severity of the disability is such that education in the general education setting with the use of supplementary aids and services, including curriculum modifications and behavioral supports, cannot be achieved satisfactorily. These requirements also apply to separate schooling or other removal of pupils from the general education environment.

• In providing or arranging for the provision of nonacademic and extracurricular services and activities, the district will ensure the child with the disability participates with non-disabled children in those services and activities to the maximum extent appropriate to the needs of that child.

San Leandro Unified School District (SLUSD) and the Mid-Alameda County SELPA provide a full continuum of services for students eligible for special education and related services.  The continuum of options includes, but are not necessarily limited to, any combination of the following:

• General education classroom with specialized academic instruction

• General education classroom with specialist services

• General education classroom with related services

• Special education classroom with specialized academic instruction

• Instruction in settings other than classrooms with specialized academic instruction

• Itinerant instruction in classrooms, learning centers and settings other than classrooms

• Instruction in classrooms throughout the SELPA for individuals with exceptional needs who require intensive instruction and training

• Instruction in the home, hospitals, or other institutions

Counseling Enriched Mainstream (CEM) Program

The counseling enriched mainstream program was designed to provide social emotional and behavioral support for students functioning within the general education setting. Students in the program participate in the general education curriculum with a traditional class size of 30 or more students.  This program is designed for students who are close to grade level, but may require some resource support or additional adult (para) support in the social/emotional area to access their curriculum. Students generally do not require support throughout the school day and paras are assigned to assist 1-2 periods per semester.  Students in this program do not require  1:1 support. Locations: John Muir Middle School and San Leandro High School.

The obligation of the San Leandro Unified School District is to ensure “that all individuals with exceptional needs…participate in a free appropriate public education and that the special education instructions and services for these persons are needed in order to ensure them of the right to an appropriate educational opportunity to meet their unique needs.” EC56000

To accomplish this goal, the IEP team considers and exhausts all appropriate services within a full continuum of program options.  If the IEP team determines that a public school program cannot meet the needs of a student as outlined in the IEP, then the possibility of nonpublic, nonsectarian school placements may be explored. The following procedures detail the placement of students in nonpublic schools:

1. Prior to consideration for an NPS, the IEP team will review all public placement alternatives.  If the student is experiencing difficulty in their current special education placement, the IEP team shall consider and develop appropriate modifications to the placement or review other public school programs in the continuum of options.

2. The supervisor or program specialist may seek appropriate special education or related service placement in a program operated by another public agency prior to considering a nonpublic school or agency placement. 

   1. •  The IEP team may not recommend placement in another public program unless the other public education agency has had an opportunity to determine if the IEP can be implemented. 

3.  If the IEP team believes the student requires nonpublic school or nonpublic school agency placement, the IEP team will contact the supervisor or program specialist for a referral.  In no instance shall the LEA or IEP team, without the participation of the program specialist or prior approval of the district office, recommend placement in a nonpublic school.

The NPS program supervisor manages the IEP and related details for students placed at outside schools.  This supervisor attends meetings, monitors implementation of the IEP, and facilitates transition of the student in and out of the district.  If an IEP team agrees to move a student from a NPS to a district school, a case manager from the receiving site is invited to the transition meeting. 

Specialized academic instruction (SAI) is an instructional approach that systematically tailors teaching strategies and methods to meet the unique needs of students with learning disabilities and other types of learning disorders.  Under 34 C.F.R. Section 300.39, this specifically designed instruction means adapting, as appropriate, to the needs of an eligible child.  Examples of SAI include:

• Modifications, accommodations, and/or adaptations to curriculum/lessons

• Modifications, accommodations, and/or adaptations of instructional materials

• Collaboration and consultation with teachers, specialists, and parents

• Physical assistance

• Behavior plans

• Use of manipulatives and/or other kinesthetic resources during content lessons

• Computer assisted instruction

• Use of visual, written, or picture prompts/aids during direct instruction

• Audiobooks, enlarged print, auditory equipment, adaptive technology, etc.