Special Education and Student Services
Special Education and Student Services in the Medford School District provides appropriate interventions and instruction, through quality teaching, for students with special needs to overcome challenges in order for them to become successful, contributing members of society.
The Office of Special Education and Student Services supervises and supports the areas of Special Education, Section 504, Alternative Education and School Health Services. Our mission is to provide information, guidance, and support to district staff and parents in order to enhance the education of the students with special needs that we serve.
Special Education
Comprehensive Services for Meeting Special Learning Needs of Students
Parents looking for additional resources to support their child with special needs will find help at Medford schools. We offer a wide range of services to meet your child's needs. Highly trained staff will assist in evaluating your child's situation and help find the best resources to allow your child to have the most appropriate and successful educational experience. If you feel your child may have a special need, please contact your child's teacher or school principal.
Special Education Programs and Services
Parent Outreach Committee
The purpose of the Special Education Parent Outreach Committee is to improve communication practices and collaboration between District staff and parents. The committee's goal is to establish and enhance trust, develop relationships among all partners, and engage in shared learning opportunities for the benefit of our students. The committee will work to provide supports for parents, teachers, and all education partners, empowering parents to be valued participants in their child's education. For more information, please click below.
Parent Outreach Committee
Other Services
If you suspect your child has a disability, and they are not yet school age, please contact the Douglas County ESD at 541-494-7800.
If your child is enrolled in a private school, and you are concerned that they may have a disability, please contact Vanessa Campbell at 541-842-3628.
Resources and Directories
Staff Directory
For Parent and Teacher Resources Click Here
For Issues of the Special Connections Newsletter Click Here
Student Services
Children with Disabilities under Section 504
Some children may have a disability that affects a major life activity but does not fit into one of the categories of disability under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). These children may be protected by a different federal law, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Contact your school principal for more information.
For more information or questions regarding district policy or special education law contact Student Services at 541-842-3628.
Section 504 Brochure
School Health Services
Health Services in the Medford School District are coordinated and supervised by Registered Nurses (RNs). Services provided through a school-health program include identification of health concerns, nursing assessments, and the development of individual health care plans to ensure a safe school experience for students with health related concerns.
Our mission is to support the health and well-being of students because healthy students learn better. We help families and school staff by providing health education and guidance. We promote student access to primary health care and community services in order to foster healthy behaviors and promote preventative care. We also support the mission of the Office of Student Services by providing nursing care to students eligible for special education or Section 504.
Click here for School Health Services Page
Multi-Tiered Instruction (MTI) and Response to Intervention (RTI)
Multi-Tiered Instruction (MTI) and Response to Intervention (RTI) are often used interchangeably. MTI, as a school organizational model, is a system of organizing general education curriculum and instruction to meet the needs of all students. This system of support integrates core instruction and all supplemental and intervention programs in order to use resources more efficiently.
School-wide
- All students receive high quality, research-based instruction by qualified staff in their general education classroom.
- Instruction is delivered using a multi-tier model of increasingly intense student interventions.
- Differentiated curriculum and instruction is in all classrooms.
- General education instructors and staff assume an active role in the assessment of the student’s progress in core and supplemental curriculum.
- Schools conduct universal screening of academics and behavior three times per year.
- All schools have a common framework and participate in similar procedures and processes that are well defined and allow for some variation between schools.
- Grade and School Level Teams use a problem-solving model to develop and evaluate core instruction and intervention programs.
For Students At-Risk
- School staff implements specific, research-based interventions to address the student’s difficulties.
- Continuous and regular progress monitoring of the student’s performance occurs.
- Interventions may be delivered by someone other than the classroom teacher.
- Interventions are varied in duration, frequency and time.
- School staff will use progress monitoring data and decision rules to determine the effectiveness of the interventions and to make modifications, as needed.
- Systematic evaluation of the fidelity or integrity with which instruction and interventions are implemented.
Response to Intervention
The school will keep you informed about your child and will tell you whether your child begins to make sufficient progress or if your child has or continues to have difficulty. If you and the school have tried several interventions, and progress is still limited, you may be asked to give your consent for an evaluation. The purpose of such an evaluation is to determine your child’s specific educational needs and to consider whether a disability may impact his or her learning.
RTI Brochure
RTI Brochure-Spanish