Welcome to Special Services Department

The special services department is a division of Educational Services that is responsible for the leadership, administration, and supervision for special education and health services.  Our special education programs serve eligible students with mild to intensive needs ranging from preschool to adult transition programs.

All special education services are determined at the individual student level through the Individualized Education Program (IEP) process. The IEP process is student-centered and focuses on a student’s strengths, unique needs, goals, and necessary services and supports that are reasonably calculated to provide the student an educational benefit in the least restrictive environment.

The North Monterey County Unified School District is committed to providing a free appropriate public education (FAPE) for eligible preschoolers, school-age students and young adults with disabilities in the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) to meet each student’s individual needs.
Special education is provided to students based upon the individual needs of the student and the recommendations of the student’s Individualized Education Program (IEP) Team. The IEP team develops an IEP, a legal document that describes the services that the NMCUSD will provide for each student who is eligible for special education.
Special education services are provided under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), a federal law that was signed into law in 1997, then reauthorized in 2004 as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA) of 2004.
NMCUSD provides a continuum of services in order to meet the individual needs of our students.  These program and services include the following:

• • • Special Education Programs
    • Resource Program                                                 
    • Collaborative Teaching
    • Mild/Moderate Self-Contained
    • Moderate/Severe Self-Contained
    • Young Adult Transition Program
    • Special Education Services
    • Specialized Academic Instruction
    • Occupational Therapy
    • Physical Therapy
    • Adaptive Physical Education
    • Psychological Services
    • Specialized Health Care
    • Transition Services
    • Behavior Intervention