PCSD celebrates Special Education Day

PCSD students and teacher Tara Bacon smile for a photo. Photo: Park City School District

PARK CITY, Utah — Park City School District celebrated Special Education Day on Friday, December 2.

This year, Special Education Day marked the 47th anniversary of the signing of the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) into law. This law guarantees access to a free appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment to every child with a disability.

“Celebrating Special Education Day is all about recognizing the milestones of progress made since the 1975 signing of IDEA,” Jaclyn Knapp, the PCSD special education director, said in a press release. “We’ve made such strides with the climate and culture in Special Education since IDEA. In my career, there has been a growing recognition of the rights of kids.”

Dan Gallery, a special education teacher at Ecker Hill Middle School, has helped to implement the Peer Tutor program at PCSD. This program partners students together throughout the learning process and, according to Gallery, has helped to influence a “kinder, gentler, more empathic generation.”

“The impact of IDEA is felt by the entire community,” Gallery said in a press release. “Our highest need students see many more gains when they work with their neurotypical peers.”