Services and Programs

Preschool services are provided on a continuum from a least restrictive to most restrictive environment. The Continuum of Preschool Special Education Programs and/or Services includes the following:

Related Services Only
Special Education Itinerant Teacher Only (SEIT)
Related Services and Special Education Itinerant Teacher
Half-Day Class
Full-Day Class
In-State Residential

A student who is identified as a Preschooler with a Disability and qualifies for services as outlined by the state of New York may receive one or more of the following services or programs.

Related Services (least restrictive): Speech Therapy (SP), Occupational Therapy (OT), Physical Therapy (PT), Teacher of the Visually Impaired (TVI), Teacher of the Deaf/Hearing Impaired (TOD), Audiologist, Parent Training, Counseling, Music Therapy, Aquatic Therapy.

Special Education Itinerant Teacher Only (SEIT): Direct individual and/or group instruction to preschoolers with disabilities by a certified special education teacher.

Related Services and Special Education Itinerant Teacher: The Special Education Itinerant Teacher (SEIT) services can be provided alone or in combination with one or more related services.

Half-Day Class: A child may require a comprehensive special education program to meet his/her Individual Education Program (IEP) goals. The child may require a more continuous multidisciplinary team approach that may include related services as well (for example, OT, PT, SP). The child's age, attention span and stamina are also considered.

Full-Day Class: The child has extensive needs, as described in annual goals/short-term objectives on the IEP, that require a comprehensive special education program. The child requires a greater degree of adult support, attention, direction and supervision than is typical in settings for children without disabilities in order to benefit from the instructional program.

In-State Residential (most restrictive): The child's needs are so extensive that a comprehensive special education program and related services are required at an intensity that will exceed a five-hour special education instructional day in order to meet his or her annual goals and short term objectives on his/her IEP.

Special Class Integrated Setting (SCIS)

If a child qualifies for a half-day or full-day special education preschool program (SCIS) the following is a list of preschool programs available in Onondaga County. Placement of children is dependent upon space availability in the program.