If you are visiting this page, you are likely on the often-times confusing and frustrating journey to understand your child's educational rights and the local services available to best support their needs. Meeting Street is here to help.

Let's start with the basics.

There are two ways to attend Meeting Street as a student with special needs:

1. District Placement (i.e. your local school district cannot accommodate your child's needs, as outlined in their Individual Education Plan [IEP], and the district agrees to pay the tuition to "place" your child in a non-district school like Meeting Street).
2. Out-of-Pocket Placement (i.e. you personally pay the tuition estimated by Meeting Street to accommodate your child's needs. Please note: financial assistance is not available for special education tuition.)

So, where do you start?

• If your child is turning 3 and needs additional support or accommodations, the first step is to contact your local school district, in writing, to request a special education evaluation for your child.
• If you child does have an IEP and you wish to pursue a placement at Meeting Street, you must contact your local school district's special education director to discuss options. School districts offer a diverse range of programs and services for children with special needs, which may meet the needs of your child.  Please note: Meeting Street is not able to discuss or review your child's IEP without a referral from your local school district.
• If you disagree with the findings of your local school district, you have options. Click here to learn about your rights.
• Please note: Meeting Street is not an appropriate placement for children with significant behavioral needs.

For a comprehensive overview of the laws and systems governing special education in Rhode Island, please visit the RI Department of Education (RIDE) website here. For Massachusetts regulations, please visit the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) website here.

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Meeting Street's Rhode Island special education program is a continuum spanning three schools:

• The Early Learning Center (3 years - 5 years) 
  Meeting Street's Early Learning Center, or ELC, places children with IEPs in the same classrooms as children without IEPs, creating a full-day, fully inclusive educational environment.  Located on Meeting Street's Providence campus, the newly constructed ELC features a multi-lingual Young Learners' Library, adaptive playground and sensory integration gymnasium.  The ELC is BrightStars rated, NAYEC accredited and all teachers are RIDE-certified.  The ELC program is able to accommodate students who require a 1:1 nurse.
• The Grace School (Kindergarten - Grade 8)
  Also located on Meeting Street's Providence campus, The Grace School continues the fully inclusive classroom model of the ELC, capping classroom enrollment at 18 students.  Each classroom has a RIDE-certified general education teacher and special education teacher, with adaptive spaces to accommodate students using wheelchairs or other adaptive equipment.  The school boasts an adaptive track and multi-sport field, therapeutic pool, on-site skills nursing staff and physical, occupational and speech-language therapists who utilize a team approach to bring out the best in each child. Please note: nursing and therapy services are only provided in accordance with a child's IEP.
• The Carter School (Ages 14 - 22)
  Meeting Street's Providence high school for students with multiple disabilities utilizes a "centers-based" approach to prepare students for adulthood and life after Meeting Street.  The school's three centers include:
  • Academics, with students receiving an RIDE-certified high school diploma at age 18;
  • Vocational Skills, where students work with a job coach to identify career interests, a team of therapists to develop necessary skills, and ultimately, to receive on-the-job-training through a community-based work placements; and
  • Life Skills, where students practice Activities of Daily Living - learning how to do laundry, cook, clean, and care for their personal hygiene - in a mock apartment.

In Massachusetts, Meeting Street offers The Schwartz School, located in Dartmouth, MA, which provides special education to students ages 3 to 22. The Schwartz School provides access to an adaptive playground, therapeutic pool, on-site skilled nursing staff and physical, occupational and speech-language therapists who utilize a team approach to bring out the best in each child.  For our high school students, The Schwartz School utilizes the center-based model outlined above (see: The Carter School).