Best Special Needs Schools in Riverside, California (2026)

A clinical psychologist raising a daughter with autism started Beacon Day School in 2004 because she could not find the resources her own family needed. We are a California non-public school for students with autism and related disorders, and our Riverside campus serves families and school districts across the Inland Empire, alongside a sister campus in La Palma. Students move through three programs: our Academy for ages 5 to 14, high school for ages 14 to 18, and an 18 to 22 program built on independent living and job skills through community based instruction and work experience. Seven Board Certified Behavior Analysts lead our behavior department, which runs ABA, Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports, and functional behavior assessments. Speech therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, adapted physical education and counseling happen on site, and lessons follow Universal Design for Learning toward each student's IEP goals, with music, painting and cooking used to teach academic and social skills. Our own fleet of vans and sedans, tracked by GPS, carries students to and from school and on community outings, with a behavior interventionist riding along to give 1:1 help.

• Non-public special education day school
• Autism
• Developmental disabilities
• ABA support

The California School for the Deaf, Riverside is a state special school in the State Special Schools and Services Division of the California Department of Education. Instruction values American Sign Language and English. The school serves Deaf and hard of hearing students from age three to 22 whose primary educational needs relate to deafness, with or without additional disabilities. Counties served include Imperial, Inyo, Kern, Los Angeles, Mono, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura. A student must be registered with the local school district before the district refers an application. Review is followed by an Assessment of Suitability of Placement of up to 60 days, then an IEP meeting. Day and residential programs have separate eligibility. The campus is at 3044 Horace Street, Riverside, CA 92506.

• California state special school for Deaf and hard of hearing students
• Hearing Impairment
• Preschool
• Elementary

We serve students ages 5 through 22 at our Riverside campus in a California state-certified nonpublic school program. Our classrooms are small and structured, and staff develop an IEP for each student. Instruction and support address autism spectrum disorders, developmental disabilities or delays, emotional disorders and behavioral challenges. Depending on each student's needs, staff use positive behavior intervention and supports, PBIS Rewards, functional skill development and vocational assessments. Academic and transition instruction may draw on Unique Learning Systems, Edmentum/Exact Path, and TeachTown/Transition to Adulthood. Families and school teams take part in IEP planning. Our program also includes transportation to and from both campuses, educational field trips, and an onsite kitchen where students practice life skills.

• Special education school
• Autism
• behavioral challenges
• developmental disabilities