Special Education

SCOE’s Special Education department offers specialized instructional services for children ages 3 to 22 who have physical, emotional, cognitive, or developmental disabilities. The department operates a countywide special education preschool program and provides daily classroom instruction for the county’s most severely disabled school-age students. These programs are funded by school districts and state/federal grants. Support services are provided for an additional 300 children at district schools who have hearing or vision impairments.

The department’s Non-Public Schools program administers and funds educational services for special education students residing in licensed children’s institutions. Through a contract with the Sonoma Developmental Center (SDC), the department also provides educational programs for the facility’s residents, each of whom has severe multiple disabilities.

All of our staff receive specialized training and strive to provide a rich and caring educational experience in the least restrictive setting possible. The department has approximately 365 employees who deliver services at some 50 school and community sites within Sonoma County. Those services include special day classes, speech and language therapy, occupational and physical therapy, support for visually impaired and deaf/hard of hearing students, orientation and mobility training, vocational training, counseling, positive behavioral support, and assessments.

Our specially trained staff strives to provide each student with a high-quality, standards-based educational experience that prepares them for successful transition to the highest possible level of independence.