If a student’s home school district IEP team has determined that an alternative placement is necessary, that district will obtain a release of information from the parent to send necessary IEP documents for their child to Giant Steps for review.  Necessary documents for placement consideration include the student’s most recent IEP and last 3-year re-evaluation.  Once these documents are received from the district, the Giant Steps team will review the documents and determine whether or not space is available in a classroom that would best meet the needs of the student.   Additionally, if the Giant Steps team determines that placement at our day school is appropriate based on the information gathered from the  IEP documents, the following steps would involve but are not limited to observation of the student in his/her current educational environment, parent tour of Giant Steps facility, a home visit or Zoom call with the family, and an intake meeting at Giant Steps with the new team.

Giant Steps Day School serves students 5 through 22 years of age, in Kindergarten through Transition. All students must have primary eligibility for Special Education under the category of autism. Giant Steps requires district-supported placement, so a child must be identified by his or her home school district’s IEP Team as requiring outplacement at Giant Steps. Giant Steps is not involved in the decision-making process regarding placement until a child has been enrolled at our day school. Students enrolled in Giant Steps come from a wide geographic area spanning over 60 public school districts. Giant Steps admits students of any race, color, sex, nationality, or ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities.

Giant Steps Day School operates 205 days per year, 176 days during the regular school year, and 29 days during the Extended  School Year program. During the regular school year, the school day runs from 8:40 am through 2:45 pm, for 1760 bell-to-bell minutes and instructional minutes per week. The school day consists of an arrival period, six academic/therapeutic periods, one lunch period, and a dismissal period. Every Wednesday is an early dismissal day, with the school day running from 8:40 am through 1:40 pm.  

Giant Steps offers a 29-day Extended School Year Program (ESY) for students who qualify. The ESY program runs from 8:40 a.m. through 12:55 p.m., for a total of 1275 bell-to-bell minutes per week. All Giant Steps staff work the full calendar year, including summer, so students have minimal staff transitions for ESY. Student participation in ESY is determined on an individual basis by the IEP team. 

Giant Steps makes full attempts to reintegrate students back into their home school district to the maximum extent possible when appropriate. Our approach is tailored to each individual student. Target skills and behaviors required to be successful in the least restrictive environment are assessed through daily data collection. Readiness for reintegration is individually defined for each student as appropriate to their least restrictive environment. It is evaluated as appropriate based on student growth, but no less frequently than at their annual review.