Special Education Functional Skills Curriculum

The functional-skills curriculum emphasizes skills that are used in daily activities within the domestic, community, recreation, vocational, and core focus areas. These courses are based on alternate academic achievement standards, as determined by the State Board of Education. From these areas, specific critical skills or objectives are selected within each subject/course. Skills critical to students' participation in identified current and future environments are emphasized. The identified environments should be consistent with the environments common in the daily life of an individual of the same age who is not disabled.

Mastery of course content is assessed through the IEP process, which uses the following criteria to determine which specific skills will be developed:

• Age appropriateness
• Ultimate functioning (curricular activities selected lead to criterion performance in the natural environments)
• Instruction within the natural setting
• Verification of skill generalization to the natural setting, either by observed student performance, or instruction in that setting (instructional inference)
• Necessary adaptations to allow students to participate independently to the fullest extent possible

Students who complete this course of study receive a Certificate of Completion. At the elementary level, the functional-skills subjects of language arts, mathematics, science, and history–social science address the environmental focus areas in the same manner as described within the secondary functional-skills courses. Instructional emphasis varies due to individual needs and age appropriateness, as defined in the student's IEP.

The titles and course numbers of secondary functional-skills courses are shown in the table below and are described in the following pages. For information on courses included in the table below but without descriptions, please contact the Special Education Program Division at (619) 725-7700.

All courses within the 7000 series are the responsibility of the Executive Director, Special Education Program Division.