School districts try to balance instruction in functional skills and academics with providing custodial care.

School districts across the country have struggled to find a balance between instruction in functional skills and academics while providing custodial care.

Under a move by the Bloomberg administration, principals at 1,500 schools must enroll all but the most severely disabled students by fall 2011.

Under a move by the Bloomberg administration, principals at 1,500 schools must enroll all but the most severely disabled students by fall 2011.

In affluent areas, occupational therapists have taken their place among those helping successful students

The New York City Department of Education has signed a $55 million contract with a company to overhaul the way it tracks information about students with disabilities.

The school said it would continue to operate the Little Room, a preschool for special-needs children, until all of the current students finished the program.

On Tuesday, Brooklyn Heights Montessori School’s board of trustees is to decide whether to move a program for special needs children or to close it down, possibly as early as next summer.

New York officials hope to gain more control over the students’ education and keep them integrated in their communities by opening more in-state schools.

Three women have co-founded a school that balances special needs students and those developing more typically.