• SUN Program: Designed to meet the needs of special education students with severe disabilities with a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder, DCD: Severe to Profound, DCD: Mild to Moderate, and Severely Multiply Impaired (other diagnosis also accepted). Many of the students have minimal to no verbal skills. Behaviors and communication skills are main focuses of this program. Referrals are made by the school district.
• Bridges Program: Designed to meet the needs special education students who are having behavior issues in their resident school district. In addition to academics, programming includes social-emotional learning classroom instruction with licensed professionals provided based on the individual student’s educational needs. Referrals are made by the school district and do not require a Rule 79 diagnostic assessment or children’s mental health care management services through the county of residence.

• meet MN SpEd Disability Criteria
• have a current Individual Education Plan (IEP) that includes a Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP)
• have a specific behavioral goal
• have a current Evaluation Report (ER) that includes a Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA)
• demonstrate an educational need for a Federal Setting IV program, having spent at least 60% of the school day in Federal Setting III SpEd setting

• If the student is already receiving SpEd services from SWWC, notify your Director or Assistant Director of SpEd, who will work with our Intake Specialist.
• If the student is NOT receiving SpEd services from SWWC, complete the ELC Referral Packet and fax it to our Intake Specialist. 

All of the ELCs work directly with SWWC Behavioral Health Services. These services are also available to school districts for those students who don’t meet the referral requirements for one of our educational learning centers but have challenging behaviors. Contact Amber Bruns for additional information at amber.bruns@swwc.org.