St. Croix Central School District

Special Education Services provide comprehensive and individualized programs for students with disabilities. Services are provided to students ages three through high school and to some students until age 21. Students are identified in accordance with Federal and State laws governing public schools. The Special Education Department provides specialized instruction based on the student's written plan called an Individualized Education Program (IEP). Students with the following impairments and a need for special education may receive special education services:

• Autism

• Significant Developmental Delay

• Emotional/Behavioral Disability

• Specific Learning Disability

• Speech & Language Impairment

• Traumatic Brain Injury

• Orthopedic Disability

• Other Health Impairment

• Cognitive Disability

• Vision Impairment

• Deaf/Hearing Impairment

Related Services are provided when they are necessary for the student to benefit from their special education program and may include:

• Physical Therapy

• Occupational Therapy

• Health/Nursing Services

• Transportation

• Audiology

• Psychological Services

• Vocational and Transitional training

• Orientation and Mobility

The St. Croix Central School District is dedicated to its mission; “To prepare our students with exceptional character, knowledge and skills to thrive in their changing world.” This includes students who are serviced through the special education team. We are committed to the challenge of engaging students in learning activities that will allow them to make progress toward common core state standards in our efforts to exceed local, state and national standards. We thrive to support a safe learning environment for all and to allow for our students to be prepared for life following high school. In addition to providing child specific, individualized and differentiated instruction, our team provides a full range of specialized educational services to students with disabilities. It is our goal to ensure that each student has the opportunity to have access to general education curriculum and common core state standards and achieves to his/her greatest potential.

Our special education team does its best to determine the most appropriate educational environments for each student. This determination is made with the child’s parents. We prefer to educate our students with disabilities with their non disabled peers whenever appropriate. When making these decisions we must consider the needs of all students. We will consider placement in an environment other than the general education classroom when the nature or severity of the disability is such that education in the general education class cannot be achieved satisfactorily even with the use of supplemental aides and services.

Our special education programs are cross-categorical. Each child is placed in the program best suited to deliver the services specified in the students Individualized Education Plan, regardless of the student’s disability. Program placement decisions are made in order to ensure the best fit for each child to reach his/her potential.

An Introduction to Special Education -- From WI Department of Public Instruction

Special Education in Plain English -- A User-friendly Interactive Handbook on Special Education Laws, Policies and Practices in Wisconsin

Parents Rights Brochure

Annual District Notices

The St. Croix Central School District has a comprehensive screening program to locate and screen all children with suspected disabilities who are residents of the district. Children are referred for special education evaluations by school staff including the classroom teacher, parents and other community service agencies (such as St. Croix County Birth to Three, Head Start, area preschools and day cares). Below are different set procedures the St. Croix Central School District utilizes to identify students with suspected disabilities:

Child Development Days - Each year the Special Education Team conducts pre-school screenings for three and four year olds. These screenings allow for district staff to assess a child’s social, emotional, cognitive, motor and speech development as well as vision and hearing. Please watch the newspaper for dates for the next Child Development Day. If you have a concern regarding the development of your child ages 3-5, please contact the Director of Special Education and Student Services. You do not need to wait for the next Child Development Day for a screening. Four year olds enrolled in the SCC 4Kids class will be screened throughout their four-year-old kindergarten year.

Universal Screening – Universal Screeners are utilized in all grade levels, starting with four-year-old kindergarten. Universal Screeners allow our teachers to identify students who may be in need of additional academic support. Typically students who are two or more grade levels behind their peers in reading/and or math are identified as needing interventions in those content areas. Please see the district’s Response to Intervention link for more information on this process.

Student Success Team - The district offers assistance to students struggling academically, physically, emotionally, and behaviorally. An intervention team model/problem-solving team is available at each school building. This process is called the Student Success Team. Students with difficulties may be referred to this team by school personnel or by a parent. The role of the team is to review data provided regarding the student and to plan interventions for success. Each school building principal, school counselor and school psychologist are active team members in the SST process. Dependent on the child’s needs, the SST team could determine that an evaluation is in need or that further interventions are needed to meet a child’s needs prior to a referral.)

If you have questions regarding the needs of your child and/or the special education process, please contact the Director of Special Education and Student Services at 715-796-4500 x 3376.