SPECIAL EDUCATION and STUDENT SERVICES
The mission of Tulsa Public Schools' Special Education and Student Services department is to uphold excellence and high expectations with a commitment to all. We are committed to identifying and meeting the diverse needs of each student through individualized educational programming. It is our mission to work cooperatively with families, students, community, colleagues, and other professionals in order to promote each student's success and well-being as he/she prepares for future endeavors.
At Memorial High School we offer a full continum of services.
Autism
Provides services for students with significant educational needs related to an autism spectrum disorder. This disorder is a developmental disability which significantly affects verbal and nonverbal communication and social interaction. It is generally evident before the age of 3. Other characteristics often associated with autism are engagement in repetitive activities and stereotyped movements, resistance to environmental change or change in daily routines, and unusual responses to sensory experiences. The term does not apply if a child's educational performance is adversely affected primarily because the child has a emotional disturbance. Medical information from a licensed physician is a required component in the evaluation for autism.
Emotional Disturbance
An emotional disturbance is characterized by one or more of the following characteristics, to a marked degree, over an extended period of time, which adversely affects educational performance.
1. Inability to learn that cannot be explained by intellectual, sensory, or health factors.
2. Inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships with peer and teachers.
3. Inappropriate types of behavior or feelings under normal circumstances.
4. Tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears associated with personal or school problems.
5. A general pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression.
An evaluation of psychological/social/emotional/behavioral functioning conducted by qualified examiner(s) is required.
Intellectually Disabled (Mental Retardation)
These students exhibit significantly below average general intellectual functioning, along with deficits in adaptive behavior, which are evident during the developmental period. These deficits in functioning are not a result of environmental or sociocultural factors and reflect consideration of the physical health of the child which may impact functioning. The team may identify degrees of intellectual disability such as mild, moderate, severe, or profound.
Multiple Disabilities
An impairment accompanied by one or more other impairments (such as blindness-mental retardation), the combination of which causes such severe educational needs that they cannot be accommodated in special education programs designed solely for one of the impairments. Does not include deaf-blindness. Medical information from a licensed physician providing relevant medical findings, specific syndromes, health problems, or any information deemed necessary for planning the child's educational program is required.
Other Health Impaired
Limited strength, vitality or alertness due to chronic or acute health conditions which adversely affects educational performance. May be due to health problems such as asthma, attention deficit disorder, diabetes, epilepsy, or other chronic or acute health conditions. Requires medical information from a licensed physician, providing relevant medical findings, specific syndrome, health problems, medication, and any information deemed necessary for planning the child's educational program.
Specific Learning Disability
A disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written, that may manifest itself in an imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or to do mathematical calculations. May include conditions such as perceptual disabilities, brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction, dyslexia, and developmental aphasia. Does not include learning problems that are primarily the result of visual, hearing, motor disabilities, mental retardation, emotional disturbance, or environmental, cultural, or economic disadvantage. Lack of instruction in math or reading, and/or limited English proficiency must be ruled out as the determining factor of the disability.
Traumatic Brain Injury
An acquired injury to the brain caused by an external physical force, resulting in total or partial functional disability or psychosocial impairment, or both, that adversely affects a child's educational performance. The term applies to open or closed head injuries resulting in impairments in one or more areas, such as cognition; language; memory; attention; reasoning; abstract thinking; judgment; problem solving; sensory, perceptual, and motor abilities; psychosocial behavior; physical functions; information processing; and speech. The term does not apply to brain injuries that are congenital or degenerative, or to brain injuries induced by birth trauma. Medical information from a licensed physician should be obtained regarding relevant medical and neurological findings and any information pertinent to planning the child's educational program.
Visual Impairment
Visual impairment, including blindness and partial sight, involves an impairment in vision that, even with best possible correction, adversely affects a child's educational performance. An ophthalmologist's, optometrist's, or physician's report stating the diagnosis and description of the child's visual problems is required.