Special Education

Our Mission

To enhance student learning outcomes by clearing the path of social, health, cultural, intellectual, economic, and emotional barriers.

What We Do

HSSD Special Education strives to ensure the best services possible for all students.

Visit the Special Education section of the DPI website to learn more about Disability Categories and the structure guiding HSSD Special Education.

HSSD Special Education Programs

Early Childhood Special Education
Speech and Language
PK-4 Services
- Related Services
- Cross-Categorical Support
- ID Programming (Bay Harbor)
- Bridge Programming (Meadowbrook and Howard)
5-6 Services
- Related Services
- Cross-Categorical Support
- ID Programming
- COVE/Harbor
9-12+ Services
- Related Services
- Cross-Categorical Support
- ID Programming
- Behavioral Programming
- SOAR Program
- Learning for Independence
- Project Search
- Work Experience

Services for Children with Disabilities

Programs

HSSD works with families and students to ensure they are provided an appropriate public education for students with disabilities.

HSSD provides programming for:

Autism
Cognitive disabilities
Learning disabilities
Emotional behavioral disabilities
Other health impairments.
Note: programming is provided in the least restrictive environment.

Services through CESA in cooperation with Green Bay Area Public Schools.

Hearing and visually impaired programs

Who is a Child with a Disability?

A child with a disability is a child age 3-21 who needs special education services. The term includes a person who becomes 21 during the school term for the remainder of the school term (the last day pupils attend in a school year, other than summer classes).

The law has criteria for each category below to help IEP teams decide if a child has a disability.

Intellectual Disability (ID)
Speech or language impairments (SL)
Emotional behavioral disability (EBD)
Orthopedic impairments (OI)
Traumatic brain injury (TBI)
Other health impairments (OHI)
Hearing impairments (HI)
Visual impairments (VI)
Autism (A)
Specific learning disabilities (SLD)
Significant developmental delay (SDD)

Special Education Policies and Procedures

Special Needs Scholarship Program Notice

This notice serves to inform parents and guardians of students with disabilities that the State of Wisconsin has established the Special Needs Scholarship Program.

Under this scholarship program and as further specified in state law, a child with a disability 24 who has been denied the opportunity to attend a nonresident school district under the full-time open enrollment program may be eligible to receive a scholarship from the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) that allows the child to attend an eligible private school that is participating in the Special Needs Scholarship Program. This is a state-administered program.

A parent or guardian who is interested in the Special Needs Scholarship Program should independently verify the participating private schools and the specific terms, eligibility criteria, and application procedures of the scholarship program with the DPI.

The Special Needs Scholarship Program is further defined under section 115.7915 of the state statutes. However, special eligibility requirements not found in that statute exist for program scholarships that are awarded for private school attendance that initially begins in the 2016-17 school year.

Additional information about the program is available on the DPI website.