Top 5 Best Special Needs Schools in Draper, Utah (2026)

Autism Solutions Academy's Draper campus serves students with autism in preschool through 9th grade. Autism Solutions Academy is a private school network in Utah serving students with autism from preschool through 9th grade. Classrooms pair structured academics with autism-specific supports developed by the Autism Solutions team. Families may use the Carson Smith Special Needs Scholarship, and the school publishes an Inclusion Matters focus on community belonging for students with disabilities. This south-valley location gives families in Draper and southeast Salt Lake County a campus close to Autism Solutions' clinical network.

• private
• Autism
• Preschool through 9th grade
• Inclusion Matters

Draper Academy is a school in Draper, UT for families exploring education options for children with special needs, IEPs, learning differences, or changing support requirements. Submit an inquiry through Special Needs USA to ask about grade levels, admissions, tuition or enrollment steps, and student support services.

• Private school
• Elementary
• Middle School

Gateway Academy (listed in directory as Gateway House) is a Draper therapeutic day school and residential treatment program for teens with anxiety, depression, and neurodevelopmental challenges. The accredited school pairs clinical care—including nursing and psychiatric support—with academics, life skills, fitness, outdoor experiential learning, and family therapy. Gateway has served adolescents for more than 20 years.

• Therapeutic day school / residential treatment
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Neurodevelopmental disorders

Juan Diego Catholic High School serves grades 9 through 12 on the Skaggs Catholic Center campus in Draper, which also houses a Catholic elementary school, a middle school and a daycare. Learning support runs through the Saint Katharine Drexel Program, begun in January 2001. Its graded Drexel course requires an existing 504 plan or IEP, psychoeducational testing data, and approval from the Director of Student Services. Enrolled students use the period for coursework, study skills, organization and communication, complete makeup tests and assignments, and work one on one with the teacher, with student tutors assisting remediation when available. Accommodations such as extended time are not automatic with enrollment and depend on documentation or testing results. A separately numbered course called Learning Center is not a support setting: it is a no credit, pass/fail study period open only to students carrying three or more AP or concurrent enrollment classes with a GPA of 3.0 or above. Counselors assigned by grade level handle academic advising, college counseling and mental health support. A Director of Educational Resources sits on the administration team, though that role's duties are not described publicly. The parent handbook states the school follows Section 504 and the Americans with Disabilities Act to the extent they apply to private educational programs. Tuition, set by the Diocese of Salt Lake City, runs $12,600 plus fees at the Catholic rate, $14,269 plus fees at the full rate and $15,428 plus fees at the cost to educate tier, with more than 40 percent of families receiving need based adjustments assessed through FACTS. Juan Diego appears on the approved Utah Fits All Scholarship school list for 2025-26, and aid routes include the Carson Smith Opportunity Scholarship, merged in 2024 with the Special Needs Opportunity Scholarship and administered by Children First Education Fund, plus ACE Scholarships. Families begin with a campus tour or the admissions office.

Grades six through eight sit at Saint John the Baptist Catholic Middle School, part of the Skaggs Catholic Center campus in Draper that it shares with an elementary school, Juan Diego Catholic High School, and a daycare. Its student support program centers on a Learning Center offering specialized support to students who require accommodations or who struggle with academic concepts, which the school calls an award winning initiative. A professional counselor works with students on academic pressure and personal issues, Claudia Moreno is assigned to student support on the faculty roster, and Fr. Michael Augustine serves as campus chaplain. Mentorship on safe social media use rounds out the program. The parent student handbook sets out limits worth knowing before applying. It states that the middle school does not have special education classes and is not able to provide an adequate program for serious learning disabilities, and that all students are admitted on one year probationary status. The diocesan inclusion policy the school follows commits to serving children with special needs in general education classes to the extent possible, and treats inclusion as a teaching philosophy rather than a program or a placement. Tuition is $9,250 at the Catholic rate, $9,500 at the full rate, and $11,000 for families choosing the cost to educate tier, with international students at $15,296. More than 69 percent of families receive need based tuition adjustments through FACTS Grant and Aid Assessment. The school lists the Carson Smith Opportunity Scholarship, merged with the Special Needs Opportunity Scholarship and administered by Children First Education Fund, which covers preschool through grade 12, runs in renewable three year terms, and can be applied to tuition, books, supplies, and education related therapies or treatments. Utah Fits All and ACE Scholarships are also accepted. Enquiries and visits go through campus admissions at (801) 984-7650.