View several short videos about special education. 

Special Education

California provides specially designed instruction at no cost to parents to meet the unique needs of children with disabilities. This instruction is offered in a variety of settings to ensure that infants, preschoolers, students, and young adults can learn alongside their peers whenever possible. This approach is known as the least restrictive environment (LRE).

Special education services may be provided in many settings, including day‑care programs, preschools, regular classrooms, specialized classrooms, community locations, and work environments.

According to the California Department of Education, disability categories include the following:

• Intellectual disabilities
• Speech or language impairment
• Visual impairment
• Emotional disturbance
• Orthopedic impairment
• Other health impairment
• Specific learning disability
• Deafness
• Hard of hearing
• Deaf‑blindness
• Multiple disabilities
• Autism
• Traumatic brain injury

California's Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO) provided the following overview in 2019 of Special Education in the State: LAO_Overview_of_Special_Education_2019-11-06

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Related Services

Related services include transportation and other support services that help a child with a disability benefit from special education. These services are provided as needed to support the child’s development, learning, and participation in school.

Related services may include:

• Speech‑language pathology and audiology services
• Interpreting services
• Psychological services
• Physical therapy and occupational therapy
• Recreation services, including therapeutic recreation
• Early identification and evaluation of disabilities
• Counseling services, including rehabilitation counseling
• Orientation and mobility services
• Medical services for evaluation or diagnostic purposes

Related services also include school health and school nurse services, social work services in schools, and parent counseling and training.