About Special Education
Special Education is specially designed instruction to meet a student’s unique needs and to enable the student to access the general curriculum of the school district. A student who is eligible for special education services is entitled by federal law to receive a free appropriate public education (FAPE). FAPE ensures that all students with disabilities receive an appropriate public education at no cost to the family. FAPE differs from student to student because each has unique needs. As a parent of a student who has or who may have a disability that requires specially designed instruction, you will work with a team of educators and, as appropriate, specialists to determine the needs of your child and to design an appropriate program to address your child’s educational needs.
To be eligible for special education and related services:
- Your child must be between 3 and 21 years old.
- Your child must have one or more of the following disabilities, determined by the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA 2004):
- Autism
- Deaf-Blindness
- Developmental delay (in Connecticut for 3 to 5 year-olds, inclusive)
- Emotional Disturbance
- Hearing Impairment (deaf or hard of hearing)
- Intellectual Disability
- Multiple Disabilities
- Orthopedic Impairment
- Other Health Impairment (OHI)
- OHI/ADD/ADHD
- Specific Learning Disability
- Specific Learning Disability/Dyslexia
- Speech or Language Impairment
- Traumatic Brain Injury
- Vision Impairment
- The disability must adversely affect your child’s educational performance, and as a result, your child requires a specially designed instructional program to address their unique educational needs.
Eligibility will be redetermined every three years. In Connecticut, a school district is also required to provide identification, referral and evaluation services for a student who may be gifted and/or talented. A district is not required, but has the option of, providing services to a student who has been identified as being gifted and/or talented.
The information above is adapted from A Parent’s Guide to Special Education in Connecticut (2021), published by the Connecticut State Department of Education, Bureau of Special Education and Pupil Services.