Exceptional Student Placement and School Choice
The EE/SS Placement Office provides support to schools and parents with placements and transportation arrangements for students who receive exceptional education services in self-contained* or low-incidence settings. School placements are made based on the student’s residential address or the address from which the student is transported. Transportation arrangements to self-contained/low-incidence school sites are set up to ensure that students access their ESE services at the school closest to their address that has their recommended setting and available space. The Placement Office is available throughout the school year to answer questions regarding placements to ESE self-contained/low-incidence settings and to process transportation requests.
ESE Out of District Transfer Students:
Whether you are moving to Florida from another state or just transferring from another Florida county, your student has a right to a free appropriate public education (FAPE). We encourage families to contact the new school before they move to discuss their student’s needs and share a copy of his/her IEP along with any other documentation. In most cases, comparable services (services that are similar or equivalent) can be provided in the neighborhood school. Should services identified in the student’s IEP not be available at the neighborhood school, the EE/SS Placement Office will identify the school site closest to their home in which comparable services may be provided. The neighborhood school representative will provide a copy of the student’s out of district IEP and documentation to the ESE Placement office. In consultation with the student’s parent/guardian, a District Specialist will review and process the student’s transfer into the district.
Transferring within Florida
If the student is transferring into Duval County from another Florida district and received special education services, follow these steps.
Contact the neighborhood school. The neighborhood school can be identified by using the school locator.
Provide the student’s most recent IEP and documentation, and
Request to speak to the Registrar, Exceptional Student Education Lead Teacher or School Counselor.
Comparable services at the designated school will be provided until an IEP team meeting is held to identify the student’s current educational needs and how those needs will be met within the new educational environment.
Transferring from another state or country
If the student is transferring into Duval County from another state or country and they received special education services, follow these steps.
Contact the neighborhood school. The neighborhood school can be identified by using the school locator.
Provide the student’s most recent IEP and documents, and
Request to speak to the Registrar, Exceptional Student Education Lead Teacher or School counselor.
Comparable services at the designated school will be provided until the school district conducts an initial evaluation (if determined necessary) and develops, adopts and implements a new IEP that meets Florida eligibility requirements.
*Programs that fall in this category include Behavior Support (BS), PRIDE, Blended Pre-K, Communication/Social Skills (CSS), Deaf/Hard of Hearing (D/HH), Participatory Level Academics (PLA), Physically Impaired (PI), Visually Impaired (VI), Supported Level Academics (SLA), and Varying Exceptionalities Pre-K (VE/PK).