Special Education Services

• Best Buddies Team at Lowell High School
• Chris Clauss RSP Teacher at George Washington High School
• Joseph Feldman Founder and Executive Director at CASE / the Community Alliance for Special Education
• Lori Chambers ARTIF & SDC Teacher at  Hillcrest Elementary School
• Rebecca Fall RSP Teacher at Presidio Middle School
• Wendy McSpadden Paraeducator at Hillcrest Elementary School

We are in the final stages of preparation for our Extended School Year (ESY) 2022. By now families should have received their ESY letters and filled out the online form to let us know their students will be coming. If you have not received a confirmation letter contact your case manager asap or email esy@sfusd.edu. Deadline for summer 2022 is May 13th.

Dear Special Education Community:

Happy New Year.  I hope your winter break was relaxing and rejuvenating.  We are writing to provide you with important information relating to Special Education Services.

This year, the theme for Inclusive Schools Week is “Rebuilding Our Inclusive Community Together.”  We have an opportunity to reimagine how we can direct our talent, time and energy to strengthen our commitment to inclusive education.  Now is the time for restoring and rebuilding a shared community of learners, educators and leaders.    

To help every child succeed, the SFUSD Board of Education established policies to ensure the use of effective practices to support students receiving special education services. 

Inclusive education is not a separate education initiative; rather it is a basic characteristic of school organizing to improve student performance. It recognizes that students requiring special education services are, first and foremost, general education students who require additional services and support to succeed in school. 

Special education is instruction specifically designed to address the educational and related developmental needs of children with disabilities. This includes early intervention services for infants and toddlers, pre-school for students starting at age three, services for school-age children in grades K-12, and transition services for eligible students up to age 22. For students with Individual Education Plans, instruction is based on the core curriculum.

Special Education Services is a flexible system of leadership and support that mobilizes resources and services to enable schools, families, and community to assist children and young adults in experiencing success.

The San Francisco Unified School District is dedicated to identify, locate and assess all students within the district from birth to 22 years of age who may have disabilities, as well as provide appropriate support and/or related services to those students as determined by an educational evaluation.