It is the philosophy and position of the Board of Education and its administration that the primary responsibility for the administration and delivery of special education programs and services should be within the District and at the school a student would regularly attend, whenever appropriate.

Further, the Board endorses a commitment to the provision of a continuum of special education programs and services to disabled students within the District. Placement options shall follow a continuum of services model to ensure that each disabled person is provided a Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) in the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE). To that end, every attempt will be made to first serve disabled students in the context of a regular education classroom. Other more restrictive environments such as: resource rooms, self-contained-categorical classrooms, or settings outside of a District school will be considered only when placement in the regular classroom has been documented by the IEP Team to be inappropriate for the student's educational needs.

Adopted 7/6/92