The Worcester Public Schools (WPS) Special Education Department provides support, technical assistance and service to schools, staff, students, families and community stakeholders to ensure all scholars of all abilities can learn and thrive.

Our team is committed to partnering with caregivers and schools to ensure the fidelity of specialized instruction, inclusion opportunities, professional learning and rigorous outcomes for students with disabilities.

For educational purposes, a disabling condition is characterized by significant delays, impairments, or limitations in the student’s capacity. To make this determination, the Team should consider all of the following as indicative of limited, impaired, or delayed capacity:

• a pattern of difficulty that persists beyond age expectations;

• a pattern of difficulty across settings;

• a pattern of difficulty that is not solely the result of cultural, linguistic, or socioeconomic differences; and

• a pattern of difficulty that persists despite instructional support activities.

• Autism

• Developmental Delay

• Intellectual Impairment

• Sensory Impairment

• Neurological Impairment

• Emotional Impairment

• Communication Impairment

• Physical Impairment

• Health Impairment

• Specific Learning Disability

Massachusetts Special Education Regulations provide these Disability Definitions at 603 C.M.R. 28.02(7).

For general inquiries, please call the Special Education Department at 508-799-3055.

Mailing Address: 20 Irving St., Worcester, MA 01609

Academic Center for Transition

Assistive Technology

Autism

Autism / Life Skills

Child Find Notices

Early Childhood Assessment Center

Emotional Disabilities

Home & Hospital

Learning Disabilities

Life Skills

Occupational Therapy

Physical Therapy

Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SEPAC)

Speech & Language

Special Education Procedures Manual

Transition

Transitional Life Skills

Vision