Monterey County Office of Education Special Education Division

The Special Education Division of the Monterey County Office of Education partners with Local Education Agencies, parents and integral community members and agencies to provide comprehensive special education services for students requiring highly specialized programming in order to make educational progress in school.

The Special Education Division provides for the development of functional academic, social, communication, vocational and life skills for students with severely disabling conditions from birth to age twenty-two. Our programs serve students with cognitive impairment, orthopedic impairment, visual impairment, hearing impairment, disorders of language and speech, emotional disturbance and autism.

We take pride in a highly qualified and dedicated staff with extensive experience and expertise, providing comprehensive support to all of our students to achieve their unique potential as valued and contributing members of their families and society.

The following continuum of program options and related services is available to meet the needs of students eligible for special education and related services. The intensity of placement and services varies greatly depending upon the severity of each student’s disability and resulting needs.

General Education
To the maximum extent appropriate, children with disabilities shall be educated with children who are not disabled, and removal of children with disabilities from the regular educational environment will occur only when the nature or severity of the disability is such that education in regular classes with the use of supplementary aids and services cannot be achieved satisfactorily.

Specialized Instruction
Typically, students with mild disabilities can successfully access and benefit from the general education curriculum with the support of accommodations and specific skills instruction. These students are assigned to general education for the majority of the school day and receive specialized instruction for a portion of the school day from a specialist within the general education classroom and/or in a separate classroom.

Inclusion
Students with moderate to severe disabilities who are able to achieve their IEP goals and objectives within a general education classroom for the majority of the school day with the support of special education staff are sometimes served in the general education setting.

Special Classes
Students may need specialized instruction for a majority of the day in a self-contained special class on either an integrated or isolated site to accommodate their special needs. The focus of these classes varies depending on the needs of the students. Classes include, but are not limited to, the following curricular focuses:

• Functional academics curriculum
• Alternative Life Skills curriculum
• Therapeutic interventions for students with significant emotional disabilities
• Specialized curriculum for students with communication and social skill deficits
• Specialized curriculum for students with autism
• Specialized curriculum for students with low incidence disabilities: Deaf/Hard of Hearing, Blind/Vision Impaired, Severely Orthopedically Impaired
• Preschoolers with disabilities
• Infants & Toddlers with disabilities