Student Support Services

Assistive Technology devices, services, and strategies provide alternative ways for students with disabilities to access the same materials used by their peers.

Categorical Services include Academic Life Skills and Mixed Abilities programs. These serve students with very substanial or the greatest needs for support, including medical support.

School counselors address the academic and developmental needs of all students, not just those in need, by collaborating with students, parents, school staff and the community.

Wichita Public Schools offers a continuum of supports for students with hearing loss, along iwth interpreting services for parents and caregivers with hearing impairments.

Providing services for children ages 3-5 with developmental delays who meet some additional eligibility criteria.

The primary purpose of Special Education ESY is to assist qualified students with maintaining progress that has already been made on IEP goals. A student's IEP teams will use evidence to determine that due to non-attendance, the student has a loss in skills or regression.

Gifted students are those performing or demonstrating the potential for performing at significantly higher levels of accomplishment in one or more academic fields due to intellectual ability, when compared to others of similar age, experience and environment. 

The Health Services Department is responsible for oversight of all school nursing staff and health services, support for homebound students, and administration of Section 504 services.

Our purpose is to provide continuity of educational services between the classroom and home for students who cannot attend school due to a medical issue or injury. We will help the student facilitate their return to a regular school setting as quickly as possible. Homebound services are provided for up to nine calendar weeks before additional evaulation is required.

Students receiving Interrelated Services are often those who can make progress in their school's classrooms with  less intense accommodations, modifications and supports.

IDEA lists Occupational Therapy as related services that “may be required to assist a child with a disability to benefit from special education.” This definition has implications for school‐based OT as it differentiates between therapy support that is essential to helping a student perform within the context of his/her educational program (i.e. school‐based OT), and the more medical and rehabilitative support that does not relate directly to a student’s learning and school performance.

According to IDEA section 34 C.F.R. §300.34(a), physical therapy is a related service that “may be required to assist a child with a disability to benefit from special education.” PT services must be educationally relevant meaning that it must be needed to enable the child to benefit from his or her educational setting. In contrast, medically based PT focuses on optimizing the child’s functional performance in relation to medical considerations and needs in home and community settings. Therefore, a physician’s order alone does not determine the need for educationally relevant PT services.

Secondary Transition is the process of preparing students for adult life after they leave the school system. It is the bridge between school programs and the opportunities of adult life including higher education/training, employment, independent living, and community participation.

School psychologists work with students individually and in groups. They also develop programs to train teachers and parents regarding effective teaching and learning strategies, effective techniques to manage behavior at home and in the classroom, working with students with disabilities or with special talents, abuse of drugs and other substances, and preventing and managing crises.

Referring to Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the district has a Section 504 coordinator to oversee evaluation and placement into programs for eligible students.

School Social Workers are trained mental health professionals with a Master's degree in social work who provide services related to a person's social, emotional and life adjustment to school and/or society. School Social Workers are the link between the home, school and community in providing direct as well as indirect services to students, families and school personnel to promote and support students' academic and social success.

The Wichita Public Schools provides a continuum of special education services for students aged 3 to 21.  By implementing a Multi-Tier System of Support (MTSS), teachers and support staff will ensure that students receive educational benefit in the least restrictive environment.

Speech Language Pathologists (SLPs) work with children in all grades who have significant communication problems that affect their success in classroom activities, social interaction, literacy, and learning.

The Blind and Visually Impaired program supports students with impairments in vision that adversely affect a child's educational performance.

The Youth Education & Summer Socialization Program (YESS) is a 6 week summer program serving students ages 5-21 with intellectual and developmental disabilities.