Welcome to Utah Online SChool Elementary Special Education 

What is Special Education and Specially Designed Instruction (SDI)

Special Education is defined as: specially designed instruction, at no cost to the parent(s) or the adult student, to meet the unique needs of a student with a disability, including instruction conducted in the classroom, in the home, in hospitals and institutions, and in other settings; and instruction in physical education. The term includes speech language pathology services and may include other related services, travel training, and applied technology education, if they meet the definition of special education. Special education services are services provided to the student, and do not include consultation between teachers or monitoring a student’s grades or work completion.

Specially designed instruction (SDI) means adapting, as appropriate to the needs of an eligible student under these Rules, the content, methodology, or delivery of grade-level core curriculum instruction in order to: a. Address the unique needs of the student that result from the student’s disability; and b. Ensure access of the student to the grade-level core/general curriculum, so that the student can meet the educational standards within the jurisdiction of the LEA that apply to all students. (1) The IEP Team may determine the use of the grade-level alternate core standards (i.e., Essential Elements), for a student with a significant cognitive disability as defined in R277-705-2(8). (2) Other alternate or modified academic achievement standards are prohibited.