Special Education

All requests for records must be made in writing, please send your request via fax to (650) 712-0995 Attention: Cendi Castro or via email at castroc@cabrillo.k12.ca.us. The District, by law, must respond to parent requests for records within five business days. If a request is received after school hours, the date of the request will be the next business day.

If you have questions about Special Education programs or would like to request a review for assessment, contact the Special Education Department at (650) 240-3370 or contact Vanessa Jeronimo, jeronimov@cabrillo.k12.ca.us

If your child is currently enrolled in CUSD and you have questions about Special Education programs or eligibility, or would like to request a review for assessment of your child, please contact your school principal. Eligibility is determined by the Student Success Team (SST), formerly Student Study Team, a positive school-wide early identification and early intervention process. Working as a team, the student, parent, teachers, and school administrator identify the student's strengths and assets upon which an improvement plan can be designed. Concerns are seen as obstacles to student success and not descriptors of the student or his character. As a regular school process, the Student Success Team (SST) intervenes with school and community support and a practical improvement plan that all team members agree to follow. Follow-up meetings are planned to provide a continuous casework management strategy to maximize the student's achievement and school experience.

If you are new to the district and currently have an IEP, when registering, please provide a copy of your current IEP to assist us in placing your student.

The Individualized Education Program (IEP) is a written document that is developed for each public school child who is eligible for special education. The IEP is created through a team effort and reviewed at least once a year.

Before an IEP can be written, the student must be found eligible for special education. By federal law, a multidisciplinary team must determine that the student (1) has a disability and (2) requires special education and related services to benefit from the general education program.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), a federal law, requires certain information to be included in the IEP but doesn't specify how the IEP should look. Because states and local school systems may include additional information, forms differ from state to state and may vary between school systems within a state. The Cabrillo Unified School District has a streamlined IEP document to ensure consistency across our schools.

A student may qualify for special education services as an individual with special needs in one of thirteen areas identified by the IDEA. These are:

• Autism
• Deaf
• Deaf-Blind
• Emotionally Disturbed
• Hearing Impairment
• Intellectual Disability
• Multiple Disabilities
• Orthopedic Impairment
• Other Health Impairment
• Specific Learning Disability
• Speech-Language Impairment
• Traumatic Brain Injury
• Visual Impairment

The members of the multidisciplinary team who write your child's Individualized Education Program (IEP) include:

• The parents or legal guardian, who have valuable insights and information about the student's strengths and needs, and ideas for enhancing his/her education
• General education teacher(s) who can share information about classroom expectations and your child's performance
• A special education teacher who has training and experience in educating children with disabilities and in working with other educators to plan accommodations
• An individual who can interpret the results of your child's evaluation and use the results to help plan an appropriate instructional program
• An administrative representative of the school system who knows about special education services and has the authority to commit resources
• Individuals with knowledge or special expertise about the student or his/her disability who are invited by you and/or the school district
• Representatives from transition services agencies, when such services are being discussed
• The student, when appropriate, and whenever a transition is discussed

Click HERE for information about SELPA.

Adaptive Physical Education (APE)
Adaptive PE is physical education instruction modified for student's particular needs and abilities.

Alternative Settings
Special education instruction may also occur in settings other than classrooms where specially designed instruction takes place, (e.g., home instruction, residential placement).

Behavior Intervention Coordinator
This is the board certified behavior analyst from the Behavioral Health Services who supports the students and school staff with behavior plans, functional assessments, and creating/modifying behavioral structures for students.

General Education Program
A student with special needs can be placed in a general education classroom with necessary support services to ensure that his/her educational needs can be met in that setting.

Occupational Therapy
School-based occupational therapy is designed to enhance the student's ability to fully access and be successful in the learning environment. This might include working on handwriting or fine motor skills so the child can complete written assignments, helping the child organize himself or herself in the environment (including work space in and around the desk), working with the teacher to modify the classroom and/or adapt learning materials to facilitate successful participation.

Pre-School Intervention Program
Pre-school age children with special needs may be served in several ways:

• Designated instruction and services only 
• Specialized Academic Instruction
• Specialized Academic Instruction with designated instruction and services

Related Services (e.g., nursing services or counseling services)
Support services (related services) are provided to special need students when they are required to help support his/her instructional program.

Specialized Academic Instruction (SAI)
A student may be eligible for a Specialized Academic Instruction (SAI) class when the IEP Team determines that his/her educational needs cannot be satisfactorily met in general education classes for the majority of the student’s day even with the use of support services. Students in Specialized Academic Instruction classes will participate in nonacademic and extracurricular services and activities with their general education peers to the maximum extent appropriate. Those students qualified for special education services will receive services under the direction of the instructional support team. The instructional support team will provide services in an IEP developed by an IEP Team. The responsibilities of the instructional support team include providing instruction, resource information, monitoring pupil progress on a periodic basis, reviewing/revising IEPs, coordinating services, and consulting with parents and staff.

Speech and Language
Services are offered at all district schools. Speech and language specialists provide support for articulation, voice, fluency, and language disorders.

Transportation
EC Section 56040 states: "Every individual with exceptional needs, who is eligible to receive special education instruction and related services under this part [Part 30] shall receive that instruction and those services at no cost to his or her parents or, as appropriate, to him or her." Special education transportation is defined in federal regulation [34 CFR Section 300.34(c)(16 )] as a related service. Transportation is required to be provided as a related service if it is required to assist a child with a disability benefit from special education. In addition, as required for any special education program, the service must be provided to meet the criteria for a free, appropriate public education as defined in federal regulation 34 CFR Section 300.17.

Additional Resources:
UC/CSU Collaborative for Neurodiversity and Learning Resources