General education has many supports to help all students with improved Response to Intervention (RTI), implementation of District Curriculum Accommodation Plan (DCAP), aligned process for Instructional Support Teams (IST), improved related service delivery model with participation-based goals, and consistent Tier I Instructional Practices. Our goal is to have all students closely aligned to same aged peers in the general education classrooms as much as possible.  Inclusive programming will be supported and Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) will be implemented to the greatest extent possible for each student. 

The Special Education Department has a continuum of programming:

• Inclusion – A student’s primary placement is a general education classroom.   This model allows for push-ins and pull-out models of instruction depending upon individual student needs and within the Tiered Model of Instruction/Intervention.  The majority of students with disabilities are expected to participate and make appropriate progress with the general education curriculum, and to participate in state assessments, with accommodations as necessary.  The link between access to the general education curriculum and student performance on state assessments is important because without exposure to the general education curriculum, students have little chance in succeeding on assessments.
  
  
• Learning Center (LC) – A substantially separate setting that allows for scheduling flexibility depending on individual student needs and within the Tiered Model of Instruction/Intervention.
   
  
• Functional Academics (FA) – A substantially separate program that focuses on functional academic skills and the development of vocational, daily living and community skills. Under the umbrella of FA are Basic Skills program that focuses on the development of foundational, academic, and vocational skills, and a Post-Graduate program for students in FA, once they receive their certificate of completions.
  
  
• Social Communication (SC) – A program for students who are identified on the autism spectrum or who demonstrate characteristics that indicate significant needs (pragmatic language development, direct teaching, behavior management, routines and structure). 
  
  

CPS also has eight Speech and Language Pathologists, one Speech and Language Assistant, four Occupational Therapists, two Physical Therapists, one Vision Specialist, one Board Certified Behavior Analysist, five psychologists and contract out for Orientation and Mobility, as well as an audiologist.