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Best Special Needs Schools in Round Lake, Illinois (2026)

Compare 2 special needs schools in Round Lake. Explore the ranked list and find a program that feels right for your child.

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School listings in Round Lake

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Village Elementary School - Round Lake

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Round Lake, ILGrades K-5Tuition-free

Village Elementary is one of five elementary schools in Round Lake Area Schools, Community Unit School District 116, located on West Nippersink Road in Round Lake. We give students plenty to do beyond the classroom: art club, band, choir, game club, STEM club, theatre club and student council all meet here. Fourth and fifth graders who want to play sports can join our intramurals program, which teaches skills, teamwork and health habits through games and wellness activities. Our social-emotional learning work uses a schoolwide behavior matrix that spells out clear, positive expectations for every setting, and families can use it at home too. Families come together at our Hispanic Heritage Celebration, Fall Family Night, and bingo and loteria night, and our PTO supports school events. District transportation and a school nurse serve our students.

  • Public elementary school
  • Social-emotional learning
  • Public school
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Planning guides

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How to choose a special needs school

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IEP process guide

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Comparing school options in Round Lake

Round Lake families deal with two public school districts. Round Lake Area Schools District 116 serves Round Lake along with Round Lake Beach, Round Lake Heights, Round Lake Park and Hainesville, and Community Consolidated School District 46, based in Grayslake, serves parts of Round Lake and runs Park Campus, a K-8 neighborhood school on Townline Road.

Village Elementary enrolled 321 students at about 11.1 per teacher in 2023-24, and Park East, listed in federal data at the Park Campus address on Townline Road, enrolled 331 at about 12.7. In 2021-22 federal civil rights data, 65 of Park East's 318 students had IEPs, as did 48 of Village Elementary's 349.

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Frequently Asked Questions About Special Needs Schools in Round Lake

Is there a school for kids with learning disabilities in Round Lake?
Yes, inside the public schools. District 116 runs Instructional programs at every elementary school for students who need a smaller class, individual support and a modified curriculum for most of the day, joining co-taught general education classes when that fits. Federal rules count dyslexia as a specific learning disability and ADHD as an other health impairment, so both can lead to an IEP. In middle school, the cross-categorical Small Group Instructional program keeps PE and exploratory classes with peers.
Where do autistic students in Round Lake go to school?
Most attend D116 or D46 buildings with IEP supports. For students who need a self-contained room, D116 runs Educational Life Skills classrooms with a functional curriculum and small classes, including one at Ellis Elementary built around autism and intensive language needs. Both districts belong to SEDOL, the Special Education District of Lake County, a 31-district cooperative that runs specialized programs plus vision, hearing, adapted PE and transition services.
Does my Round Lake address go to District 116 or District 46?
Two districts run schools in Round Lake, so check which one covers your street. Village Elementary on Nippersink Road belongs to D116. Park Campus on Townline Road is D46's one K-8 neighborhood school. The district that covers your address evaluates your child and writes the IEP, so call its office with your address before you send a request.
How do I request a special education evaluation from District 116?
Put it in writing to the principal of your child's home school; D116 handles screening and evaluation for kindergarten through eighth grade in each building. Illinois rules give the district 14 school days to decide whether an evaluation is warranted and to ask for your consent. Eligibility and the IEP meeting must follow within 60 school days after you sign. Homeschooled children living in D116 qualify too, and their requests go to the Transition and Outplacement Coordinator.
Public or private school in Round Lake: how does cost work?
Village Elementary and Park Campus charge no tuition and must carry out your child's IEP. Private schools set their own tuition and are not required to write IEPs, so get any learning support in writing. A third route exists for children with significant needs: when the IEP team finds the district cannot meet them, it can place the child in a private special education school, which federal rules make free to parents, and Illinois law requires the district to provide transportation.
Does Illinois offer a private school scholarship or voucher?
Invest in Kids, the state tax-credit scholarship that helped income-eligible families with nonpublic school tuition, expired on December 31, 2023. Illinois still offers an education expense credit on the state income tax return: 25 percent of tuition, book and lab fees above $250 per student, capped at $750 per family. Families with adjusted gross income over $500,000 on a joint return, or $250,000 for other filers, cannot claim it.
What should I ask a Round Lake school about special education?
Ask how many students in the building have IEPs; in 2021-22 that was 48 at Village Elementary and 65 at Park East. Ask whether your child would be co-taught in general education or placed in an Instructional or Life Skills room, and who the case manager is. D116 sends IEP goal updates every marking period, so ask to see a sample. Ask which related services, such as speech, occupational therapy or assistive technology, happen in the building.
Who helps a Round Lake toddler or preschooler with delays?
Before age 3, call Child and Family Connections #2 at the Lake County Health Department in Waukegan (847-377-8900), the Early Intervention office for Lake County. Illinois Early Intervention serves children under 3 with at least a 30 percent delay in one area, and evaluations carry no fee. At 3, D116 children enter the Early Education Center on Nippersink Road, home to Preschool for All and Early Childhood Special Education classrooms, through preschool screening or a transition from Early Intervention.

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