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Special Education

Liberty strives to provide equal educational opportunity, high-quality academic development, and a safe learning environment for ALL students. We work hard to foster a positive mindset regarding inclusive practices and provide strategies to ensure appropriate inclusion. Appropriate inclusion is characterized by practices and programs which provide for the following:
  • A full continuum of placement options and services.
  • Appropriate and ongoing professional development.
  • Class sizes and supervision that are responsive to student needs.
  • Active participation in school events and activities.
  • Staff and technical assistance that is specifically appropriate to student and teacher needs.
  • A system-wide understanding that inclusion is a process, not an event.

PROCEDURAL SAFEGUARDS
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act is a federal special education law that requires districts to provide a free appropriate public education (FAPE) to students eligible for special education. FAPE means special education and related services necessary for your child to benefit from his or her education. Students are eligible for special education between the ages of three and twenty-one. Incarcerated youth in a state adult correctional facility and who are eligible for special education are entitled to a FAPE until age 18. These services will be provided to your child in the least restrictive environment as described in an Individualized Education Program (IEP). The State Office of Public Instruction has put together a Procedural Safeguards” handbook to answer many of the most frequently asked questions as well as providing a description of the services that school disticts provide for students with special needs.

For more information: District level contacts are generally the first stop for more information. There are a number of people in the district who can answer questions about your child’s education. You may contact your child’s general or special education teacher, the school principal, or the district’s special services director.  If our Special Programs Director is unable to answer you questions, your next level of support can be found at OSPI, which has program supervisors to assist you with questions about your child’s special education program. You may reach OSPI, Special Education Operations at (360) 725-6075, TTY (360) 586-0126, or by using OSPI’s contact form.