Most autistic children in the Boston area are educated in their public schools through an IEP — and Massachusetts also has one of the country's deepest benches of specialized private autism schools for kids who need more. This page explains both paths and how families move between them.
Massachusetts special education law (Chapter 766) predates and in some ways exceeds the federal IDEA, and the state approves a network of private special-education schools that districts can be required to fund. That means Boston-area families have real options — but also a system that rewards knowing your rights. Here we cover how special education works locally, where the well-known autism schools are, and how placement and funding actually happen.
The public district that serves most autistic students in the city through IEPs across inclusion, specialized, and substantially separate settings. The special education office is the starting point for in-district evaluation and IEP development.
Visit siteAn established ABA-based day and residential school in Southborough (about 20 miles west of Boston) serving autistic students ages 3–22 since 1975. Placement typically runs through a district IEP; the school also operates staffed residences across MetroWest.
Visit siteOne of New England's first autism-specific schools, in Walpole, offering day and residential programs for a range of ages and using the evidence-based SCERTS model. Placement generally flows through the district IEP process.
Visit siteThe association of DESE-approved private special-education schools in Massachusetts, with a searchable directory families can use to identify approved autism and special-education programs across the region.
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