Best Special Needs Schools in Richfield, Minnesota (2026)

South Education Center serves students from kindergarten through transition age 23 in special education programs run by Intermediate District 287. We partner with 12 member school districts in the West Metro, and students come to us through referrals from those districts and their IEP teams. Our schools are trauma-responsive and healing-centered. Classes are small, and students work on emotional regulation, self-advocacy, and social skills alongside literacy, math, and other traditional academics. Sensory rooms and calm learning spaces help students regulate so they can access learning, and our elementary programs keep familiar routines such as circle time, recess, and physical education. Counselors, mental health staff, nurses, social workers, and psychologists work alongside our special education teachers, and itinerant specialists provide physical, occupational, and speech-language therapy. We practice restorative justice, positive behavior supports, and AVID, and the goal for each student is to build the skills to return to their home district. Breakfast and lunch are free for all students.

• Public special education day school (K to transition)
• Trauma-responsive programming
• Small class sizes
• Sensory support