THOUSAND OAKS : Special-Education Programs Added

Instead of taking buses to schools designated for special-education students, about 15 Conejo Valley pupils with multiple learning disabilities will now be able to enroll at Park Oaks and Maple elementary schools.

Other Conejo Valley schools already integrate special-education students with other pupils for part of the school day, but Park Oaks and Maple never had the facilities or staff to accept students with special needs.

Both Thousand Oaks elementary schools will now be able to accept neighborhood children with learning disabilities, so the kids no longer have to take buses across town. The Conejo Valley Unified School District approved the programs this week.

“It’s a pilot program for the non-severely handicapped,” school board member Dorothy Beaubien explained. “This is something that these two schools have elected to do, and I’m sure they’ll have some good success.”