YUSD’s Functional Skills Program meets the individualized needs of students with disabilities in grades 9-12, plus through age 22. This is a certificate track program (non-diploma), and students only qualify for this program through the individualized education plan (IEP) process. In order for a student to be eligible, it must be determined through the IEP process that this program provides a free and appropriate public education (FAPE) in the least restrictive environment (LRE).

5 Domains of the Functional Skills Program

The Functional Skills program incorporates a blend of academic skills and daily living skills, and focuses mainly on preparing students to live as independently as possible when they are adults. Students will also be provided with the opportunity to participate in a work experience program. Our goal is to prepare students to become fully functioning members of our community through a functional blend of academic, life and job skills. The five domains that are addressed within this Program are:

• Vocational

The purpose of instruction in the vocational domain is to increase the likelihood of students functioning and contributing as adults within our society and increase opportunities of obtaining employment. It includes instruction in work related skills, job seeking skills and skill training.

• Functional Academics

The purpose of the functional academics domain is to stress academic skills necessary to participate in everyday life with goals for maximum independence. To be functional, these must be related to real life activities, encountered in everyday living. Functional academics are learned and applied in both classroom and community settings.

• Community

The purpose of the community domain is to prepare the student to access and use community environments as independently and completely as possible. Instruction includes the areas of shopping, travel, eating out, and use of public services.

• Domestic

The purpose of the domestic domain is to prepare the student to become as independent as possible in his/her living environment. Included in instruction are personal care, food preparation, and housekeeping skills.

• Recreation and Leisure

The purpose of the recreation and leisure domain is to enable students to engage in constructive and personally satisfying leisure activities in school, home, and the community.

The Functional Skills program is a self-contained special education class with a low staff to student ratio (approximately 1:4). It is taught by a credentialed Special Education Teacher and staffed with additional paraprofessional support, depending on enrollment. Instruction is individualized based on skill levels and IEP goals.

The academic subjects covered in Functional Skills Program are:

Basic skills Reading

Basic skills Science

Basic skills Writing

Basic skills Health

Basic skills Math

Basic skills Social Science

Vocational Academic skills that are covered in the program include:

• • • Managing personal finances

    • Managing a household

    • Caring for personal needs

    • Safety awareness

    • Responsible citizenship

    • Personal and public transportation

    • Using community resources

    • Pre- Vocational and Vocational Skills

    • Exhibiting appropriate work habits and behavior

    • Seeking, securing, and maintaining employment

    • Communication

    • Using appropriate social skills with friends, co-workers, and other citizens

    • Problem Solving

    • Emotional Regulation

    • Technology and the applications for daily life, including safety and responsibility.

    • Self-advocacy Problem solving skills

Students who are enrolled in this program will be mainstreamed into general education subject classes as much as possible, and they will also participate in electives and physical education classes. Functional Skills students will also participate with other high school students in lunch, activities, and extra curriculars—specifics for each student will be determined by his/her IEP. Students who satisfactorily have met his/her IEP goals during high school, as determined by IEP team, will be eligible for a Certificate of Completion upon completion of his/her Senior year, and will also be eligible to participate in graduation ceremonies with other high school students. Students who receive a Certificate of Completion are eligible to continue to receive special education services until they are twenty-two. Therefore, it may be appropriate for some students who earn a Certificate of Completion to continue in the Functional Skills program—final determination will be through the IEP process.