The Special Education Program at Scituate High School provides instruction for students who experience varying degrees of academic difficulty with the standard school curricula. Students receiving special education services have individual educational plans (IEPS) which specify specific skill instruction predicated on long-term goals and short-term objectives. Students receive special education services as a result of a referral process initiated by staff and/or parents. The referral is evaluated by the Multi- Disciplinary Team (MTD) which makes recommendations regarding services to be provided or not provided.

Three service programs presently are in place to meet special needs: resource, intensive resource and self-contained.

The recourse program provides academic support to special education students to enable them to succeed in their mainstream classes. Resource staff assists regular classroom teachers in providing instruction that addresses areas of weakness. Students are provided resource during study periods.

The intensive resource program meets the needs of students who cannot succeed in the mainstream classes and require more intensive instruction. Although the content of the coursework parallels that of the mainstream classes, the material is presented at a slower pace, modified texts are used and the emphasis is on basic concepts. Students may be placed in Intensive Resource English, Social Studies, Mathematics and Science. Credit toward graduation will be awarded for successful completion of each course at the high school level.

The self-contained program is for students who require greater than half-time placement in special education. The program allows for a repetitive and thematic approach as well as a consistent approach to social development. This is the most restrictive public school level of service.

Special Education service providers include, but are not limited to the following: Adaptive Physical Education Teacher; Resource/Intensive Recourse Teacher; Selfcontained Program Teacher; Speech/Language Pathologist; School Psychologist; and School Social Worker.