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Special education director explains IEPs, inclusion models and placement locations
Summary
Lori Bruce, Director of Special Education, summarized services (speech/language, OT, PT), IEP team process, and how students with higher needs are placed in targeted programs across the district (autism placements, LEAP, medically intensive classrooms, TLC) with individualized planning.
Lori Bruce, the district’s director of special education, told families that special education is not about labels but about organizing supports to help each child make progress.
Bruce explained that an IEP (individualized education program) is developed by a team that includes the family and school professionals and that most students with IEPs spend time with general‑education peers with targeted pull‑out or in‑class supports. For some students with greater needs, the district places programs in specific schools where expertise is concentrated.
“We have a whole amazing team to help all children who need it,” Bruce said, listing common supports — speech and language pathology, occupational therapy, physical therapy and special educators — and describing the range from partial inclusion to self‑contained classrooms for very complex needs.
She identified several program placements by school (including autism supports and LEAP) and explained that the district tries to place specialized programs where staff expertise and supports can be centralized, noting that kindergarten placements into certain programs are handled carefully and are not automatic.
Bruce invited families with concerns to contact the special education office, an assistant director or team chairs at each school for individualized questions and planning.
