Exceptional Student Education

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is defined to be a range of pervasive developmental disorders. ASD may adversely affect a student's social, behavioral or academic functioning.

Characteristics of Autism Spectrum Disorder MAY include:

• An uneven developmental profile
• A pattern of qualitative impairments in social interaction and/or communication
• Restricted, repetitive and/or stereotyped patterns of behavior, interests, or activities

These characteristics may manifest in a variety of combinations and range from mild to severe.

CCPS provides any combination of the following accommodations:

• Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA)
• visual cueing systems
• communication training
• direct social skills instruction
• occupational therapy
• physical therapy
• special education
• assistive technology
• speech and/or language therapy

Collier County Public Schools utilizes the Individual Education Plan or IEP Team to determine the Least Restrictive Environment, LRE, for each student based on that student’s needs.

Possible Special Class Placements: The IEP Team may determine that the student is best served in a special class placement.

• INTENSIVE BEHAVIOR INTERVENTION, IBI – a special class placement for students with significant behavioral needs…separate placements for students with typical cognitive abilities and for students with limited cognitive abilities
• MODIFIED CURRICULUM, MC – a special class placement for students with limited cognitive abilities AND without significant behavioral needs…also a placement for our students with significant medical needs.  The IEP Team may determine that the student requires instruction in Florida’s Benchmarks for Excellent Student Thinking (B.E.S.T.) Access Points if the student meets the criteria as outlined in FL Rule 6A-1.0943(5), F.A.C.

A student who is deaf or hard-of-hearing has a hearing loss aided or unaided that impacts the processing of linguistic information AND adversely affect performance in the educational environment. The degree of loss may range from mild to profound. 

The Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing program offers a full continuum of services to meet both academic and communication needs identified on a student's Individual Education Plan (IEP). 

Qualified students, 3 through 21 years of age, receive services from our highly qualified teachers of the Deaf or Hard of Hearing. Each student who is deaf or hard-of-hearing has the opportunity to develop language skills using any or all of the following:

• residual hearing
• speech reading
• manual communication systems
• speech
• appropriate amplification (hearing aids, sound field FM systems, etc.)

Interpreting services may be provided to students who are deaf or hard-of-hearing based on individual need. All services are determined by the Individual Education Plan Team (IEP Team) based on the induvial needs of the student. Students who meet the criteria for DHH are also provided with instruction in Expanded Core Competencies.

Dual-Sensory Impairment (DSI) affects both vision and hearing, causing serious impairments in the ability to acquire information, communicate or function within the educational environment. DSI may also apply to students with a degenerative condition which will lead to both vision and hearing impairment.

Collier County Public Schools provides the same type of services for our students with DSI as those provided to our students with Deaf or Hard of Hearing Impairment and Vision Impairment. Students with an eligibility of DSI are placed in the least restrictive educational environment that meets their individual needs with supports from a teacher of the Deaf or Hard of Hearing (DHH) and/or a teacher of students with a visual impairment (VI).

Types of services provided may include:

• residual hearing
• speech reading
• manual communication systems
• speech
• appropriate amplification (hearing aids, sound field FM systems, etc.)
• assistive technology and low vision aids
• orientation and mobility training
• Braille and/or other tactile adaptations
• speech and auditory adaptations of text

Students with an eligibility of DSI are provided with instruction in Expanded Core Curriculum and Expanded Core Competencies.

A student with an emotional/behavioral disability (E/BD) has persistent and consistent emotional and/or behavioral responses that adversely affect performance in the educational environment. These behaviors/responses have not been resolved/remediated through the implementation evidence-based interventions.

E/BD can only be determined if the behavior/responses cannot be attributed to age, culture, gender, or ethnicity. A student must exhibit one or more of the following factors/characteristics for a period of 6 months or more in order to constitute an emotional/behavioral disability:

• Feelings of sadness, or frequent crying, or restlessness, or loss of interest in friends and/or school work, or mood swings, or erratic behavior
• The presence of symptoms such as fears, phobias, or excessive worrying and anxiety regarding personal or school problems
• Behaviors that result from thoughts and feelings that are inconsistent with actual events or circumstances, or difficulty maintaining normal thought processes, or excessive levels of withdrawal from persons or events
• An inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships with peers, teachers, and other adults in the school setting
• Behaviors that are chronic and disruptive such as noncompliance, verbal and/or physical aggression, and/or poorly developed social skills that are manifestations of feelings, symptoms, or behaviors found in in the first three sub-bullets

Levels and intensity of services for students qualified with an E/BD exceptionality vary based on the needs, as determined by the Individual Education Plan Team, IEP Team. Most students with E/BD will respond to evidence-based interventions developed through a problem-solving process and implemented with fidelity. Some students with E/BD will need specially-designed instruction and related services beyond general education resources and supports to sustain adequate progress in the learning environment.

The IEP Team may determine that a student meets specific eligibility criteria to receive direct services from the Intensive Behavior Intervention-3 Program, a special class placement

Eligibility for Homebound or Hospitalized Services is based on Florida Statute, State Board Rule 6A-6.03020, FAC, for the provision of individual instruction to currently enrolled students who are unable to attend classes because of a medically diagnosed physical or psychiatric condition which is acute or catastrophic in nature, or a chronic illness or a repeated intermittent illness due to a persisting medical problem  A statement and medical referral documenting the disabling condition, along with a treatment plan, must be provided by a licensed Florida physician.  The physician must certify that:

• the student is under the treatment of the physician;
• the student will be confined to home or hospital;
• is expected to be absent from school for at least fifteen (15) consecutive school days or the equivalent on block schedule;
• has a chronic condition and is expected to be absent for at least fifteen (15) school days, which will not run consecutively;
• will be able to participate in and benefit from an instructional program;
• can receive an instructional program without endangering the health and safety of the instructor or other students with whom the instructor may come in contact; and
• is enrolled in public school in kindergarten through 12th grade prior to the referral for homebound or hospitalized services.  Eligibility is determined by the eligibility staffing committee. 

Highly-qualified teachers provide instruction designed to assist students to continue progressing academically in the core curriculum while away from their regular school program.  The curriculum for Hospital/Homebound follows the Sunshine State Standards for essential academic skills and core curriculum.

Intellectual disabilities (IND) is defined as significantly below average general intellectual and adaptive functioning. The below average functioning occurs during the developmental period, classified as birth through age 18 AND results in significant delays in academic skills.

Collier County Public Schools provides services for students with an eligibility of IND from ages 3-21. Based on the individual needs of the student, the Individual Education Plan Team (IEP Team) will determine appropriate services and supports to ensure students are provided with appropriate instruction.

For students with the most significant cognitive disability, the IEP Team, based on the unique needs of each student, may determine that the student requires instruction in Florida’s Benchmarks for Excellent Student Thinking (B.E.S.T.) Access Points if the student meets the criteria as outlined in FL Rule 6A-1.0943(5), F.A.C.

Students with intellectual disabilities are placed in the least restrictive educational environment that meets their individual needs. Students may also be provided with career preparation and life skills training in the secondary setting.

Other health impairment means having limited strength, vitality or alertness, including a heightened alertness to environmental stimuli. This impairment results in limited alertness with respect to the educational environment, that is due to chronic or acute health problems. The impairment may include, but not limited to:

• Asthma
• Attention deficit or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
• Tourette syndrome
• Diabetes
• Epilepsy
• Heart conditions
• Hemophilia
• Lead poisoning
• Leukemia
• Nephritis
• Rheumatic fever
• Sickle cell anemia
• Acquired brain injury

Students with OHI may be eligible for an Individual Education Plan or a 504 Accommodation Plan.

Orthopedic impairment (OI) means a severe skeletal, muscular, or neuromuscular impairment. OI includes impairments resulting from congenital anomalies (e.g., including but not limited to skeletal deformity or spina bifida). OI also includes impairments resulting from other causes (e.g., including but not limited to cerebral palsy or amputations).

The intensity of services provided to students varies based on the individual needs of the student. Collier County Public Schools may provide services such as Physical Therapy or Occupational Therapy for students with OI. The Individual Education Plan Team, IEP Team, will determine what services and accommodations are necessary for each student.

ESE Prekindergarten (Pre-K) services are provided to children from 3-5 years of age who meet the criteria for any of the following disabilities as defined by the Florida Department of Education and in accordance with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA):  Developmental Delay, Language Impairment, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Deaf or Hard of Hearing, Dual-Sensory Impairment, Intellectual Disabilities, Orthopedic Impairment, Other Health Impairment, Traumatic Brain Injury, Speech Impairment, Visual Impairment.

The Florida Diagnostic and Learning Resources System (FDLRS), in coordination with the school district, locate children who are potentially eligible for services under the IDEA and link them with needed services.

Click here to complete the referral form for Florida Diagnostic & Learning Resource System (FDLRS) to request a free developmental screening or call (239) 337-8199.

Specific Learning Disabilities(SLD) may affect the way a student receives, processes, or expresses information. A learning disability can cause a person to have difficulty learning and using certain skills. The skills most often affected are reading, writing, listening, speaking, reasoning, and doing math. There often appears to be a gap between the individual‘s cognitive abilities and actual achievement.

Most students with SLD receive the majority of their education in a general education classroom or a resource class. Support in the general education classroom can exist in the form of a special educator co-teaching with or serving as a consultant to the general educator. The Individual Educational Plan (IEP) team determines the intensity of the special education services a student with learning disabilities will receive based on the student’s individual needs.

The Speech and Language Impaired Program serves children with communication disorders that adversely affect their education. Poor communication skills can interfere with a student’s ability to understand and participate in classroom instruction and may impair their relationships with teachers and other children. Good communication is important for speaking, thinking, writing, reading and learning. The highly qualified Speech-Language Pathologists provide support for students, ages 3 years through 21 years, in all areas of communication. Services are delivered in the least restrictive environment in all district area schools.

Language difficulties include spoken language, reading and/or writing difficulties. Speech encompasses such areas as articulation and phonology (the ability to speak clearly and be intelligible), fluency (stuttering), and voice.

A strong relationship exists between communication and academic achievement. Language and communication proficiency, along with academic success, depend on whether students can match their communication to the learning-teaching style of the classroom. Students with communication disorders are capable of high academic success if they learn the classroom's social, language, and learning patterns. Our teachers and speech-language pathologists focus on classroom interactions and the language and communications used in the academic environment to assist students in being active participants in their learning.

Students with TBI have an injury to the brain caused by an external physical force, resulting in total or partial functional disability or psychosocial maladjustment, or both, which adversely affects educational performance. The term applies to mild, moderate or severe open and closed head injuries resulting in impairments in one or more areas, such as:

• Cognition
• Language
• Memory
• Attention
• Reasoning
• Abstract thinking
• Judgment
• Problem-solving
• Sensory, perceptual or motor abilities
• Psychosocial behavior
• Physical functions
• Information processing
• Speech

The term does not apply to brain injuries that are congenital or degenerative, or brain injuries induced by birth trauma. Every TBI case presents differently and requires a continuum of services to meet individual student needs.

For students recently injured and still under medical care, educational services may be provided at the hospital or in the home through itinerant teachers and/or the use of specialized telecommunications.

Students who meet the eligibility of visually impaired (VI) include:

• students who are blind, have no vision or little potential for using vision
• students who have low vision
• students who have a visual impairment after best correction that adversely affects their educational performance
• or students who have been diagnosed with a progressive condition that will most likely result in a visual impairment or no vision after best correction

Students with an eligibility of VI are placed in the least restrictive educational environment that meets their individual needs with supports from a teacher of students with a visual impairment (TVI). Services are determined by the Individual Education Plan Team (IEP Team).  

Collier County Public Schools offered two models of service:

• Consultation Model - students remain in the regular classroom. The itinerant teacher of the visually impaired consults with the student's classroom teacher(s) regarding necessary interventions and accommodations
• Itinerant/Resource Model - services are provided when students receive instruction in specialized vision skills as part of the school day on an identified schedule in their least restrictive environment. These services may be provided in the child’s classroom or in a separate room on the school campus based on student needs

Orientation and Mobility (O&M) training is provided, as necessary, and occurs on the school campus and/or in the neighborhood surrounding the school and community. Students who meet the criteria for VI are also provided with instruction in Expanded Core Curriculum.