Mission: The mission of the Special Education Department of the School of Education, Health Professions & Human Development is to provide knowledge of the legal, social and cultural aspects of disability. Professionals are prepared to assess, teach, reinforce and evaluate children and adults with disabilities so they may reach their learning and behavioral potential.

Students must pass a comprehensive examination on the content of one education core course and the content of two courses in their plan area One question must come from the faculty advisor and one question must come from faculty outside of the SPED teaching core. Students are eligible to take the comprehensive exam either the semester before or during the semester they intend to graduate. Students who fail one part of the exam may re-take the exam within the same semester in which it was first attempted. Students who fail more than one part of the comprehensive examination must wait until the next semester before they may re-take the examination. A subsequent failure will result in required remedial work and may delay graduation. After three failures, students will be withdrawn from the program and, therefore, be deemed ineligible for graduation.