Top 5 Best Special Needs Schools in Calabasas, California (2026)

Arthur E. Wright Middle School serves grades 6 to 8 in Calabasas as part of Las Virgenes Unified School District. Our GATE program started in 2013 with one teacher and a single cohort of thirty students. Today eight teachers lead three gifted cohorts in each grade, grouped together for English language arts, social science and science, and students qualify through testing with the school psychologist. Every student chooses year-long electives. Options include beginning, intermediate and advanced band, beginning strings, concert orchestra, robotics, Spanish, yearbook, fine art, school service, and Battle of the Spartans, an academic competition class covering language arts, social science, math and science. Our bands perform at festivals, concerts and Disneyland. Clubs meet after school most days, including debate, chess, art, animation and video games, Dungeons and Dragons, Odyssey of the Mind, and the Green Team, which works with our school garden. The Media Center stays open until 4:00 p.m., and students enrolled in the district's LVUSD Plus aftercare ride to the A.C. Stelle site. Students can also join Leadership and the Honor Society.

• Public middle school (6-8)
• Gifted and talented
• GATE cohorts
• Music

Every class at Lupin Hill Elementary spends 40 minutes a week in our Outdoor World Lab, a two-acre outdoor classroom on our Calabasas campus with 20 raised garden beds, an orchard, farm-style growing rows, a greenhouse, a mud kitchen, an archaeology dig zone and a musical instrument meadow. Students in TK through 5th grade grow plants from seed, transplant and tend them, then harvest, prepare and taste their crops, and we mark the Spring Equinox and Winter Solstice together outdoors. A permaculture food forest and a native pollinator garden are being built now. Indoors, students design and build in our Tinkertown Makerspace. We are part of Las Virgenes Unified School District, and families in other neighborhoods can apply through a School of Choice permit. LVUSD+ after-school care runs on campus with arts and crafts, hands-on science, social-emotional activities and homework help, with play-based reinforcement for TK and kindergarten students. Families gather for our Food & Culture Festival, family dances, a talent show, a Halloween parade and Trunk-or-Treat, and students take part in schoolwide service projects.

• Public elementary school (TK-5)
• Outdoor garden classroom
• Makerspace
• Hands-on learning

MUSE Global School, located in the serene Santa Monica Mountains of Calabasas, California, offers a unique educational experience for students from early childhood through 12th grade. The school's core mission is to inspire and prepare young people to live consciously with themselves, each other, and the planet. As a mainstream private school, MUSE Global provides inclusive education with support for learning differences within its holistic educational framework, but does not operate specialized special needs or therapeutic programming. The school employs innovative teaching methodologies centered around passion-based learning and eco-literacy, ensuring that each child's individual interests are integrated into their daily curriculum. MUSE Global's Five Pillars framework emphasizes connection with the community and sustainability while fostering self-efficacy among students. With manageable class sizes, educators build genuine relationships with students, allowing for personalized attention that nurtures their growth. The school offers experiential learning through outdoor education opportunities, field trips, and passion projects, with an impressive record of 100% college acceptance rates on its eco-friendly campus.

• Private educational institution
• Private school

Qualia: The School for Deeper Learning, serving grades 5-12, is a progressive private school specializing in gifted and twice-exceptional (2e) learners. The school provides robust support for students with language-based learning disabilities, dyslexia, dysgraphia, ADHD, and other exceptionalities within a highly gifted educational framework. At the heart of its mission is a commitment to individualized, flexible programming that encourages students to explore their passions through a rich, inquiry-driven curriculum. Qualia employs innovative pedagogical approaches, including Socratic methods and seminar-style classes with an average student-teacher ratio of 7:1, ensuring personalized attention and deep engagement in learning. Unique offerings such as inquiry-driven honors classes, advanced STEM programs, and a senior honors thesis foster an academic culture that values curiosity and creativity. The school specifically serves neurodiverse learners, providing specialized support for twice-exceptional students who are both gifted and have learning differences. This holistic approach guides students toward college readiness while cultivating authentic voices prepared to contribute meaningfully to society.

• School
• ADHD
• dysgraphia
• Dyslexia

Viewpoint School is dedicated to creating exceptional readiness for extraordinary futures, serving students from Transitional Kindergarten through 12th grade. With a mission to foster critical skills, a courageous mindset, and a resilient identity, the school embraces a diverse range of learners in an inclusive environment. As a mainstream private college preparatory school, Viewpoint integrates innovative educational programs designed to meet individual needs while promoting academic excellence. The school offers some learning support resources for students with disabilities as part of its general inclusion practices. A hallmark of the school is its low student-teacher ratio, which enhances personalized attention and nurtures strong family partnerships. Unique community events further enrich the student experience, allowing for collaboration and growth in a supportive environment. This mainstream private school provides some special needs support within its inclusive framework, but is not a specialized special needs or therapeutic program.

• High school
• Private school