LASEC Academy

LASEC Academy is a special education self-contained experience housed within a cooperating district of Lockport Area Special Education Cooperative. The program was designed to have a smaller number of students per class, paraprofessional support, daily access to a social worker, and a behavioral management system. By design, LASEC Academy is for students who require a greater degree of emotional and behavioral support than what is typical available in regular education buildings, but can function without the type of restricted interventions and external controls more typical for a therapeutic day school environment. As a result, LASEC Academy students have physical education with regular education peers and often participate in other “specials”, assemblies, and grade level field trips. Being “nested” in a regular education building also allows opportunities for LASEC Academy students to integrate into classes so that students can incrementally be exposed to integration into regular education settings, if deemed appropriate.
Criteria include:
● Primary disability in the area of eligibility of an emotional disability, other health impairment with emotional /behavioral regulation difficulties, specific learning disability with emotional/behavioral difficulties, or autism with emotional/behavioral difficulties. Some students who have autism may be very appropriate, based on needs, but the program is designed for students with average to low-average cognitive abilities as well as adaptive skills within the average range compared to same-age peers.
● Intellectual abilities and academic skills at least within the average to low-average range of functioning.
● Communication abilities commensurate with same-age peers although students may have speech/language services as related service.
● Limited physical management requiring two or less individuals over the course a month, if appropriate academic and emotional supports are put in place (the importance of duration, intensity and frequency of physical aggression)
● If elopement is a challenge, the BIP will be reviewed to indicate if the student can be safe in a regular education building.
● Able to be safe on specialized transportation.
In addition:
● There are times that regular education students may be determined appropriate at LASEC Academy for a short duration of time. LASEC Academy may also serve as a diagnostic placement for students IDEA eligible or being considered with a disability under IDEA.