Special Education

Mission Special Education...a service, not a place!

Special Education and related services are provided to eligible students in the Lakewood School District. The Lakewood School District serves more than 330 students ages three to twenty-one years who have been identified as eligible for special education services. The Federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) ensures that children with disabilities and the families of such children have access to a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE). IDEA is focused on improving educational results for children with disabilities.

Access to all special education services is through a formal referral and evaluation team assessment process. Once an evaluation team determines that a student has a disability that has an adverse educational impact and that the student requires specially designed instruction, an Individualized Education Program (IEP) is developed to meet the needs of the individual student.

For more information on the process of qualifying students for special education, contact Jamie Rutledge, Administrative Assistant to Special Education at 360-652-4501 X 1016.