Director of Special Education Competency

Special education rules and regulations are governed by FAPE and IDEA, monitored by federal and state departments of education, outlined for districts in the Total Special Education System (TSES) and for families in the Procedural Safeguards.  Beyond procedure, policy, timelines, and data collection, special education is first and foremost about people: not just the student, but the family.

SMEC is an education district whose purpose at inception was to keep students with greater needs in schools near their resident district, increasing likelihood of return and mitigating the exorbitant costs associated with sending students to programs outside their local communities for services.

At SMEC, we say we serve the student, not the disability.  This is true of SMEC programming.  Student category does not decide program.  The development and maintenance of programs then requires continual student skill assessment to ensure the program addresses the whole student, needs, strengths, interests and culture.