Top 5 Best Special Needs Schools in Omaha, Nebraska (2026)

Connected Roots Care Center (CRCC), formerly known as Children's Respite Care Center, operates the School Age Level 3 District Partnership Program at its Southwest center on South 138th Street in Omaha. The program is designed specifically for students ages 5 through 21 with complex medical, physical, cognitive, and multiple developmental disabilities whose intensive healthcare and specialized learning needs require comprehensive clinical and educational wrap-around care. Classrooms are fully sensory-adapted and staffed by certified special education teachers, paraprofessionals, and on-site pediatric registered nurses. CRCC coordinates directly with public school districts across Douglas, Sarpy, and neighboring counties through the IEP process, delivering individualized functional academics, assistive technology communication, and activities of daily living. On-site rehabilitation therapies including physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech-language pathology, and Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) are woven into the school day, providing an integrated educational and medical home for medically fragile children.

• School Age Level 3 district partnership program
• complex medical needs
• physical disabilities
• Developmental delays

Heartland School is an accredited private Level 3 therapeutic educational facility located on South 108th Street in southwest Omaha. Founded in 1987 as the Midlands Level 3 Program through a joint educational initiative by area public school educators, Heartland School provides a specialized, highly structured academic and behavioral environment for students in grades 3 through 12 who experience verified emotional, behavioral, and mental health challenges. Serving approximately 50 students referred from school districts throughout eastern Nebraska, the program emphasizes intensive small-group instruction and low student-to-staff ratios. Certified special education teachers and behavioral interventionists implement individualized behavioral plans alongside standard academic curricula, focusing on emotional self-regulation, interpersonal social skills, conflict resolution, and personal accountability. Heartland School works closely with sending school districts, mental health providers, and families to help students build coping mechanisms and academic confidence, with the ultimate objective of returning students to their resident public school settings.

• Level III therapeutic educational program
• emotional disabilities
• behavioral challenges
• ADHD

Madonna School & Ability Alliance (rebranded in 2025 as Madonna Ability Alliance to reflect its expanded lifespan services) is a Catholic special education institution located on Pine Street in central Omaha. Founded in 1969, Madonna provides educational and transition programming tailored specifically for children and young adults with mild to moderate intellectual disabilities, autism spectrum disorder, Down syndrome, and other developmental conditions. The organization offers an educational model that spans early childhood through young adulthood. For elementary students in preschool through 8th grade, Madonna partners with local Omaha Catholic elementary schools to provide fully supported inclusive classrooms paired with specialized resource instruction. At the central Pine Street campus, Madonna operates its dedicated secondary program for grades 9 through 12, focusing on functional academics, activities of daily living, and social development. Beyond high school graduation, Madonna facilitates Project SEARCH and the Young Adult Program, providing intensive community job training, workplace internships, and adult life coaching that prepare students for meaningful, integrated employment and lifelong community independence.

• Private special education program
• Intellectual disability
• developmental disabilities
• Autism

The Omaha Home for Boys School (OHB School) is an accredited, year-round secondary education program located on the historic Omaha Home for Boys campus on North 52nd Street in north Omaha. Established to support high school-age youth residing in the organization's residential and transitional living programs, the school provides an individualized, trauma-informed academic environment for young men who have experienced academic delays, behavioral setbacks, truancy, or disruption in standard public high schools. With small class sizes and low student-to-teacher ratios, the OHB School enables certified secondary educators to deliver personalized, self-paced instruction and accelerated credit recovery. In addition to core academic disciplines required for high school graduation, the school integrates comprehensive hands-on vocational coursework through its Skilled Trades Program and 4-H activities, offering instruction in welding, electrical work, building maintenance, and automotive mechanics. Staff collaborate directly with each student's resident school district to fulfill state graduation requirements or prepare students for post-secondary technical careers, military service, or college enrollment.

• Year-round therapeutic alternative school
• academic credit deficits
• behavioral support needs
• emotional challenges

Simplistic Learning Academy (SLA) is an independent specialized private academy and clinical learning center located on South 143rd Street in Omaha, Nebraska. Operating under Simplistic Solutions, the academy serves neurodiverse children and adolescents from preschool through 12th grade who have learning differences such as dyslexia, dyscalculia, ADHD, autism spectrum disorder, executive dysfunction, and related classroom anxieties that make traditional school settings challenging. The academy features micro-class sizes, individualized learning plans, and an evidence-based multisensory instructional philosophy. Reading instruction is grounded in structured literacy methodologies, utilizing certified Orton-Gillingham, Barton Reading & Spelling, Wilson Reading, and Heggerty phonemic awareness curricula. High school students benefit from customized coursework blending individualized teacher mentorship with accredited online curricula through Acellus Academy. Under the same roof, students have seamless access to diagnostic evaluations, pediatric speech therapy, occupational therapy, and play therapy, creating a comprehensive educational and clinical haven where students develop academic confidence and self-advocacy.

• Private school for learning differences
• Dyslexia
• ADHD
• Autism