Out-of-District Placements

Out-of-District Placements (the three on the right side of the Range of Placements below) include private special education day or residential schools. Out-of-District Placements are considered the Most Specialized or "Restrictive" educational settings, according to special education laws.

Children are typically referred and funded for Special Education Private Day and Residential Placements by their public school district.

The Massachusetts Association of Approved Private Schools (maaps) website offers detailed information about special education private schools, including how referrals are made and how they are paid for.

Special Education Private Schools are:

designed to provide specialized instruction by highly trained staff to meet the needs of a particular population (e.g., children with dyslexia receiving structured literacy instruction such as Orton-Gillingham)

able to meet a student’s unique academic, social, and emotional needs with teaching methods and services beyond what can be offered in their local public schools (such as physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, social skills groups, counseling, psychiatry, adaptive physical education and recreation, nursing, life skills, and vocational training)

publicly funded. Because school districts are required to educate every student in their community, they (not parents) are responsible for paying tuition and transportation.

located throughout Massachusetts and the U.S. Some states offer more than others.

sometimes called “Chapter 766″ schools. Chapter 766 (now Mass general law Ch 71B) refers to the Massachusetts law that guarantees the rights of children with disabilities age 3-21 years to an education that meets their needs.

How are these different from traditional private schools (such as religious/parochial, college prep, or Montessori)?

Unlike private special education schools, traditional (non-special education) private schools:

are chosen and paid for by parents
do not necessarily require approval by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE)
are not obligated by law to follow IEPs or 504 plans, but may accept them
may or may not serve children with special needs (however, if a child is eligible for an IEP and parents decide to pursue one of these schools, the public school is still obligated to provide services the child qualifies for under the IEP)

Do many children attend an Out-of-District Placement?

Only a small percentage of children with disabilities attend out-of-district placements (1-3%).

This means that in-district placements are effective for the majority of children. But some children -- often those with complex learning profiles or serious challenges -- need something different or more intensive than what the public school can provide.

How long do children need an Out-of-District Placement?

Some children are able to return to the general education classroom in their public schools after a few years or even months. Others, depending on the nature and severity of their disability, may graduate from a special education private school.

The key to returning to public school is when students no longer require specialized instruction or a modified curriculum in order to learn in the public school. Students have obtained the grade-level skills needed to return to a less specialized or less "restrictive" setting with typically developing peers.

Young girl with Down Syndrome doing a puzzle

Residential Placements

Among the most specialized or "restrictive" options on the continuum of educational placements is a private special education residential school. This is considered when the child’s needs are 24/7 and cannot be met in any other setting. The child’s team then determines that the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) for that child is outside of their home. Publicly funded residential schools offer a combined private day school and group home in the community or on the school’s campus. Supervision is provided at all times, including evenings, weekends, and holidays. Specialized instruction for academics and daily living skills occurs during and outside of the school day.

Making Sense of the Options

There is no standard definition of residential treatment in the U.S., or even a common term (boarding school, or residential treatment/program/care are sometimes used interchangeably, because terms vary by state). Not all programs are accredited or provide treatment.

This can create confusion and uncertainty for parents. Be sure to ask potential placements if:

they are accredited by any national accrediting agencies and
they employ licensed clinicians and educators.

Some agencies approve programs for a particular population, such as children with learning disabilities, psychiatric difficulties, visual and hearing impairments, autism spectrum disorders (ASD), intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD).

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Common Features of Residential Facilities

A Work Group on Residential Treatment (Abt Associates, 2008) defined residential treatment for children with serious emotional/behavioral disorders as having:

24-hour therapeutic behavioral health intervention
highly structured and supervised daily living
multidisciplinary treatment by licensed clinicians
individualized assessment and treatment planning
coordination with local school districts and education agencies

What Does Residential Placement Look Like?

Sometimes this consists of a group home in the community located several miles from the private school building. Or there may be a campus-style setting where the school and housing are within walking distance of one another, similar to a small college campus. Most of the residences house small numbers of children (often less than 10). We cannot emphasize enough that the schools today are very different than the institutions of the past. When people initially hear or think about a child in a residential placement, these old, dark images may unfortunately come to mind. However, children today can be extremely well-cared for AND receive the intensive level of services and education that their severe challenges require. For the past several decades, disability advocates have fought for adults with disabilities to live in the community rather than in institutions. It is critical to mention that many modern residential placements for children meet these same standards.

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