Contact Us at 616-819-2000

Child Find
Child Find activities are provided by GRPS to assure that the needs of students suspected of having a disability will be met. It is the district responsibility to identify persons between the ages of birth and 26 who are suspected of having a disability that may affect their educational performance. Please call the Child Find Hotline at 616-819-3514 with any questions.

If you suspect your child may have a disability, the district team can help by:

- Identifying students Birth to 3 years of age suspected of having a disability
- Identifying students 3 to 26 years of age suspected of having a disability
- Guiding you to the appropriate educational services within the district
- Providing additional information to assist with children who have educational needs

Programs & Services
BIRTH-AGE 26
Our mission is to meet the unique needs of students with individualized education programs (IEPs) by providing instruction and training to enable them to meet the district’s rigorous Academic Plan.

GRPS also provides center-based special education programs and services to students from the 20 school districts of the Kent Intermediate School District (KISD) as determined through the IEP team process.

Introducing
 SPECIAL EDUCATION
PROGRAMS & SERVICES LOCAL DISTRICT
Students who reside within GRPS and are determined eligible to receive special education or related services through an IEP team process, and are not more than 25 years of age,  and have not graduated from high school are provided services in a continuum of settings including home, community, preschool, K5 or K8 buildings, middle schools, or high school buildings located throughout the district. Programs include:

- Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE)
- Autism Spectrum Disorder. (ASD)
- Emotional Impairment. (EI)
- Moderate Cognitive Impairment. (MoCI)
- Resource Program (Level 1, Level 2, Level 3)

PROGRAMS & SERVICES CENTER BASED

Students who reside within the boundaries of Kent County who meet all the criteria identified above for local access to programs and services; but for whom a more restrictive environment is required for them to make progress due to their individual level of need may be provided services via center based programs.  GRPS operates 11 Center Based Programs for Kent Intermediate School District (KISD) when it is determined that individual student need exceeds the capacity of the local district to offer a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE).  Programs include:

- Ken O Sha Early Childhood Center (2) -  Van Auken and Campus
- Grand Rapids Oral Deaf (GROD)
- Kent Education Centers (KEC) for Behavior (2) Beltline and Oakleigh
- Lincoln Campus' (3) - Lincoln School, Pine Grove Learning Center, Lincoln Developmental Center
- Kent Vocational Options (KVO)
- Community Transition Campus (CTC)
- Physical Impairment Programs

GRPS
 RELATED SERVICES
Students determined to be in need of special education or related services through an IEP team process will have access to related services including:
- Homebound/ Hospitalized.
- Nursing.
- Occupational Therapy.
- Physical Therapy.
- School Social Work.
- Speech-Language Therapy.
- Teacher Consultant.

 

Visit Let’s Talk to share your questions or comments about the Special Education Center Program Review.

Review Lets Talk button

Laura LaMore
Executive Director of Special Education and Early Intervention Services
1331 Franklin St SE
Grand Rapids, MI 49506
p.616.819.2185 f.616.819.2104
Child Find Number
616-819-3514

  • Laura Lamore Executive Director of Special Education

Special Education


Ken-O-Sha Early Childhood Center @ Campus & VanAuken
Campus: 1326 Thomas St. SE, Grand Rapids
VanAuken: 1353 VanAuken St. SE, Grand Rapids
Provides services to children birth through age five with developmental delays.

Grand Rapids Oral Deaf (GROD)
1353 VanAuken St. SE, Grand Rapids
Develops listening, language, and speech skills in children who are deaf or hard of hearing birth through grade 5 and beyond.

Kent Education Center (KEC) at Oakleigh (K-8) and Beltline High School
Oakleigh: 2223 Gordon St. NW, Grand Rapids
Beltline: 1606 Leffingwell Av. NE Grand Rapids
Provides services to students with severe emotional impairments.
Kent Vocational Options (KVO):
864 Crahen Rd. NE, Grand Rapids
Provides services to students aged 17 to 26 with cognitive impairments and autism spectrum disorder on-site and throughout the Grand Rapids community.

Physical Impairment (PI) Programs at Ken-O-Sha
Park Elementary, Alger Elementary, Alger Middle,
and Ottawa Hills High School
Ken-O-Sha: 1353 Van Auken SE, Grand Rapids
Alger: 921 Alger St. NE, Grand Rapids
Ottawa Hills: 2055 Rosewood Ave, SE, Grand Rapids
Provide services to students requiring significant academic self care, mobility, and therapeutic support due to a physical impairment.

Lincoln Developmenta l Center (LDC)
862 Crahen Rd. NE, Grand Rapids
Provides services to students aged 5 to 26 with severe multiple impairments and autism spectrum disorder.

Lincoln School
860 Crahen Rd. NE, Grand Rapids, MI
Provides services to students aged 5 to 26 with moderate to severe cognitive impairments and autism spectrum disorder.

Pine Grove Learning Center
2101 52nd St. SW, Wyoming
Provides services to students aged 5 to 26 with moderate to severe cognitive impairments and autism spectrum disorder who mostly reside in the southwest end of KISD..