• Welcome to the Special Education District of Lake County. SEDOL is a cooperative educational system working with 31 local school districts to serve their students facing physical, emotional, and other learning challenges. Our mission is to provide "Exceptional Services for Exceptional Students".

    Our Beliefs

    • All persons shall be valued and treated with respect and dignity;
    • All students can succeed;
    • Students shall be educated in or as close to their home school as appropriate;
    • Students shall be provided services based upon their individual needs;
    • Quality educational services shall be made available to all students; and,
    • Schools, families, and communities shall work cooperatively to provide and promote appropriate educational services for all students.

    Our History

    VIKING HOUSE The Special Education District of Lake County, more commonly known as SEDOL, is a special education cooperative organized in 1960 under the provisions of The Illinois School Code. The purpose of the joint agreement is to provide cooperative program planning, instructional programs, related services and professional staff development in order to assure an appropriate education for children with disabilities from birth through age 22, residing within the boundaries of SEDOL’s 31 member school districts. SEDOL’s geographic area covers about 400 square miles within Lake County, Illinois and provides educational programs for approximately 1300 students with moderate to very severe disabilities within our 31 member districts. Additionally, SEDOL annually provides diagnostic services for over 1,200 children and their families. SEDOL employs over 800 staff to serve children with disabilities. Employees are teachers, teacher assistants and a wide variety of support staff including audiologists, nurses, occupational therapists, physical therapists, prevocational coordinators, psychologists, social workers, speech/language pathologists, and numerous other support staff including office and custodial/maintenance staff.

    SEDOL’s mission has changed significantly over the years. When the organization was first formed, SEDOL instructional programs were provided for virtually all children with disabilities from our member districts. As a result of the Regular Education Initiative and the emphasis on inclusion programming, SEDOL has progressively moved toward encouraging districts to provide more inclusive programs that are closer to students’ homes and their home school districts. SEDOL continues to support inclusive education environments where appropriate, while recognizing the need for a full continuum of educational service options tailored to the unique needs of individual children and their families.

    SEDOL Administration Building

    SEDOL Administration Building