Special Education

Developmental Adapted Physical Education (DAPE) is a branch of special education that helps students with disabilities be successful in physical education and recreational activities.

The program shares common beliefs, knowledge, and goals with the regular physical education program. The term "developmental" means that we design appropriate outcomes for students based on their ability level rather than grade-level standards. The term "adapted" means that we individualize physical education instruction for learner success.

Our DAPE program is based on the Hopkins physical education curriculum. We instruct students in physical fitness, motor fitness, fundamental motor patterns and skills, and skills in aquatics, dance, individual and group games, and sports.

In all cases, it is the Individual Education Plan of the student that determines the type of service that is provided.

School social workers provide services to students and families and consult with school personnel to promote and support students' academic and social success. Services vary between setting and age group, therefore this list of services may differ between buildings and staff.

We participate in the educational evaluation process, including interviewing parents for social/developmental history and other testing to determine educational needs.

Social workers may meet with students individually and/or in groups to help them improve skills in self-regulation, anxiety, coping, and social skills development. We are related service providers on the students' Individualized Education Plan (IEP), and may provide needed services to help the student make progress towards their other special education goals.

We consult with general and special education teachers.

Many school social workers are case managers.

We may assist in the development and provide support to students regarding behavior intervention plans.

The speech/language pathologist role is to evaluate for eligibility and serve students with language disabilities such as:

• Articulation: The atypical production of speech sounds characterized by substitutions, omissions, additions, or distortions that may interfere with intelligibility.
• Fluency: An interruption in the flow of speaking characterized by atypical rate, rhythm, and repetitions in sounds, syllables, words, and phrases. This may be accompanied by excessive tension, struggle behavior, and secondary mannerisms.
• Voice: The abnormal production and/or absences of vocal quality, pitch, loudness, resonance, and/or duration, which is inappropriate for an individual's developmental stage.
• Language: Impaired comprehension and/or use of spoken, written, and/or other symbol systems. The disorder may involve (1) the form of language (phonology, morphology, syntax), (2) the content of language (semantics), and/or (3) the function of language in communication (pragmatics) in any combination.

Speech/language pathologists also provide support and consultation with parents, community partners, and regular education teachers.

Special Education Services by Location in the District

Special Education services are offered at all sites in grades K through age 21. Service Providers may include: Speech-language Pathologists, Social workers, Occupational Therapists, Physical Therapists, Teacher for deaf/hard of hearing students, and Special Education Teachers.

Services include special education and supports for: mild/moderate Emotional Behavioral Disorder (EBD), Other Health Disabilities, Speech/Language Disorder, Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Physical/Health Disabilities (P/HD), and Developmental Cognitive Delay (DCD). Developmental Delay  and Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE) services are offered at all elementary sites as well as at Harley Hopkins Family Center for students age birth-5. 

Specialized Federal Setting III programs are site specific for students with more severe needs requiring 60% or more of their day in special education.

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)

IDEA is an education act that provides federal funding for special education. The purpose is to provide financial aid to states in their efforts to ensure a free appropriate education for students with disabilities.

A student is eligible to receive special education and/or related services if the multidisciplinary team determines that the student has a disability under one of 13 qualifying conditions and requires special education services. IDEA requires the district to provide an individual education program (IEP). The IEP provides an "Appropriate Education," which means a program designed to provide "Educational Benefit." The 13 classification categories are:

• Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
• Deaf-Blind (DB)
• Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH)
• Developmental Cognitive Disability: Mild to Moderate (DCD-MM) or Moderate-Severe (DCD-MS)
• Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE)
• Emotional or Behavioral Disorders (EBD)
• Other Health Disabilities (OHD)
• Physically Impaired (PI)
• Severely Multiply Impaired (SMI)
• Specific Learning Disability (SLD)
• Speech or Language Impairments (SPL)
• Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
• Visually Impaired (VI)


Students must meet specific criteria determined by the Minnesota Department of Education. There are 13 disability categories for services:

• Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
• Deaf-Blind (DB)
• Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH)
• Developmental Cognitive Disability: Mild to Moderate (DCD-MM) or Moderate-Severe (DCD-MS)
• Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE)
• Emotional or Behavioral Disorders (EBD)
• Other Health Disabilities (OHD)
• Physically Impaired (PI)
• Severely Multiply Impaired (SMI)
• Specific Learning Disability (SLD)
• Speech or Language Impairments (SPL)
• Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
• Visually Impaired (VI)


Another educational benefit provided, under state law, to non-public students in grades 7 through 12 is guidance and counseling services. This means all of the typical activities of a licensed school counselor in counseling pupils and parents, including assisting in personal and social development and career and post-secondary planning.

Hopkins Public Schools provides secondary guidance services to Blake School, Breck School, Chesterton Academy, The International School of MN, Minnetonka Christian Academy, and Notre Dame Academy. Parents seeking career and college planning information for their children attending non-public schools are also welcome to contact their student's high school counselor for more information.

For more information about services you can request, see the contact list linked below, or consult the state statute, also linked below.

If I think my child in a private school has a disability, how can I obtain special education services?

The Hopkins School District has several schools that serve students with disabilities attending non-public schools. Parents may contact the Special Services Coordinator to request assessment of their child. 

Teachers and principals in the private schools may also contact the Special Services Coordinator to ask about assessing a child. 

The Special Services contacts are:

• Jackie Hunke, Elementary Special Services Coordinator (grades K to 6), 952-988-4983
• Brian Stanley, Secondary Special Services Coordinator (grades 7 to 12), 952-988-4319
• Fhonda Contreras, Director of Special Services, 952-988-4041

The coordination of special education services to private schools occurs through a multidisciplinary team of Hopkins special education staff.  The services provided by the Hopkins school district in most instances occurs at the student's private school with case management assigned to a special education teacher that will collaborate with the student's regular education teachers.

How can my child who attends a private school access Nursing Services?

A licensed school nurse in the Hopkins Public Schools works collaboratively with the private schools to provide school nursing services. 

Who provides guidance and counseling services to students attending non-public schools?

Our guidance counselor for non-public school students in our school district is:
Jill Rost, Licensed School Counselor, 952-988-4132

This Minnesota statute governs the support services that school districts are required to provide for students attending non-public schools.