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Best Special Needs Schools in Piqua, Ohio (2026)

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

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School listings in Piqua

1

CORS Head Start - Piqua

Listed
Piqua, OHAges 2-5

Our Piqua Head Start center on Robert M. Davis Parkway is run by the Council on Rural Services, a private nonprofit that offers early childhood programs in nine west-central Ohio counties. The center is open on weekdays for infants, toddlers and preschoolers up to age 5. Families pick from three options. Full-day, full-year classrooms serve birth to 5, and full-day school-year classrooms serve 3- to 5-year-olds; both run 6.5 hours a day, five days a week, with individualized learning plans, small-group activities and a low teacher-to-child ratio. The home-based option follows the Parents as Teachers curriculum, with weekly 1.5-hour home visits and group socialization days at the center. Early Head Start also supports pregnant women with weekly home visits and a postnatal visit from an on-staff certified nurse. Breakfast, lunch and a midday snack are served at no cost. Children play on a fenced playground divided by age group, and the entrance stays locked. We offer programming for children with special needs, and families receive physical health, mental health and nutrition services. CORS Head Start centers have held Step Up to Quality ratings since 2008.

  • Head Start and Early Head Start center
  • Low teacher-to-child ratio
  • Parents as Teachers
  • Financial aid
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Entrance to the Hahn-Hufford Center of Hope
2

Nicholas School

Listed
Piqua, OH

An ungraded, developmentally oriented program lets us teach students at an individual pace at Nicholas School. We combine academic instruction with perceptual motor skill training, bringing work on attention, sensory needs and fine and gross motor skills into the full school day. Teachers provide individual and small-group instruction for kindergarten through eighth-grade students who learn differently. Our program serves children with learning disabilities, ADHD, autism, Tourette syndrome, Down syndrome and effects of brain injury. Smaller classes and one-to-one attention are part of our approach, and students have access to the Rehabilitation Center's Brain Wellness Center. We connect academic content with developmental practice rather than assigning every learner the same instructional pace. As a nonpublic, state-chartered school, we follow Ohio's operating standards for elementary and secondary schools. Our approved provider status allows families to use the Ohio Autism Scholarship or Jon Peterson Special Needs Scholarship. During summer, our program combines art, music and STEM with movement, reading, mathematics and neurological exercises. These activities continue the school's connection between academic learning and motor, sensory and attention needs.

  • School
  • Learning differences
  • Twice-exceptional
  • Private 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

Bring your IEP, progress evidence, and focused questions to conversations about evaluations, services, or placement.

Comparing school options in Piqua

Nicholas School on Garbry Road gives Piqua a private, nonsectarian school that federal data classifies as a special education school. Most Piqua children with IEPs attend Piqua City Schools, and families of babies and preschoolers can look at CORS Head Start on Robert M. Davis Parkway.

This page lists Nicholas School and CORS Head Start - Piqua. The answers below explain what each one is, how Ohio's Autism and Jon Peterson scholarships work for 2026-27, and how to ask Piqua City Schools for an evaluation.

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Frequently Asked Questions About Special Needs Schools in Piqua

Is there a special needs school in Piqua, Ohio?
Yes. Nicholas School, at 1306 Garbry Road, is a private, nonsectarian, coed school that the federal Private School Universe Survey classifies as a special education school. It is a program of the Rehabilitation Center for Neurological Development, whose mission is to help people with special needs reach their maximum potential through individual neurodevelopmental, neuroeducational and wellness programs. The same organization runs a Brain Wellness Center and an Aquatic Wellness Center.
How small are classes at Nicholas School in Piqua?
Very small. The 2021-22 federal survey counted 37 students and 6 full-time-equivalent teachers, about 6.2 students per teacher, with a 7.6-hour school day across 182 days a year. A low ratio tells you about attention, not about which therapies happen inside the classroom, so ask who works with your child each day and how that time is scheduled.
Can my child use the Ohio Autism Scholarship in Piqua?
Only at a school or provider that participates in the program, so ask Nicholas School directly. For fiscal year 2027, which runs July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027, the scholarship is capped at $34,000. Piqua City Schools is the gatekeeper. Your child needs either a district IEP identifying autism or a private autism diagnosis written into a district IEP or Autism Education Plan, and children can apply once they turn three. Families sign up with the provider before applying and cover anything that costs more than the award.
What help is there in Piqua for dyslexia or ADHD?
Start with Piqua City Schools. Under federal special education rules, dyslexia falls within specific learning disability and ADHD usually within other health impairment, and a district IEP in either category also makes your child eligible for the Jon Peterson Special Needs Scholarship. The award follows the disability on the Evaluation Team Report. In fiscal year 2027 that means $13,069 for a learning disability or a minor other health impairment, and $24,080 when the health impairment is major. You must agree with the finalized IEP before applying.
Does CORS Head Start in Piqua take children with delays?
CORS Head Start - Piqua, run by the Council on Rural Services, serves expectant mothers and children from birth to age five. Early Head Start covers babies and toddlers up to age three, and Head Start covers ages three to five. Families can choose full-day, full-year care, a full day on the school-year calendar for ages three to five, or a home-based option using the Parents as Teachers curriculum. The center describes unique programming for children with special needs and holds a Step Up To Quality Gold rating.
How do public and private school costs compare in Piqua?
Piqua City Schools charges no tuition and must evaluate and serve children with disabilities who live in the district. Nicholas School is private, so ask for its current fee sheet. An Ohio scholarship can cover part of a private cost, with one exception. A child whose only category is speech or language impairment gets $10,045 for related services, and Jon Peterson will not pay private school tuition in that category.
How do I request a special education evaluation in Piqua?
Write to your child's Piqua City Schools principal or the district's special education office, date the letter and keep a copy. Under Ohio rules, the district has 30 calendar days to either ask for your consent or send prior written notice explaining a refusal. After you sign consent, the evaluation must be done within 60 days, and the Evaluation Team Report it produces decides your child's scholarship category.
What should Piqua parents ask when visiting a school?
At Nicholas School, ask how the neurodevelopmental approach shows up in a typical day and whether it accepts the Autism or Jon Peterson Scholarship. For a teenager, Piqua City Schools offers College Credit Plus and the option to attend Upper Valley Career Center, so ask how an IEP follows your child into those classes. At Head Start, ask how staff share progress with you.

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