OCEANSIDE —— One might have trouble these days finding a special education-only course at Oceanside High School. Why? Because, for the most part, they don't exist anymore.

For the first time ever, about 90 percent of the school's 300 special education students are now enrolled in mainstream classes alongside their peers, according to Oceanside High special education teacher Paulette Raye.

And the only time those students will break away from their regular classes is for a once-a-day academic assistant class or to take an extra math or English class —— known as a "ramp up" course —— to help them keep up with the general education students.

For students who still need the extra help, the school is offering optional, special education-only, after-school tutoring in half a dozen courses.

The new changes are designed to target students who are classified as "resource special education," meaning they are not severely handicapped but suffer from learning disabilities.

Raye said the new way of life for special education is a big step away from the times when most of those students had schedules pumped with slower-paced classes, along with a unstructured study skills class for extra help. At times, some students just sat around and did nothing, she said.

In the past, student were invited to mainstream after-school tutoring, but most were reluctant to go because they were afraid that their peers would find out they were in special education, she said.

And the new approach to tutoring will offer students a "safe" environment for help, Raye said.

"Many of our kids don't want anyone to know they have a learning handicap," she said. "They don't want to raise their hands in class."

So far in the second week of school not many students have attended the after-school tutoring, which is being offered in six main subjects, including English, history and science. Math will be added to the curriculum soon.

This new approach to handling special education students is a good one, according to Raye, a special education teacher for most of her long career in education and a parent of a special education student.

She said teachers have a tendency to "enable" special education students by not challenging them. This new approach allows students to be more responsible for their education and to challenge themselves alongside their peers, she said.

But it won't be easy, she added.

"We are offering the most support to special education students ever," she said. "But it is up to them to take advantage of it."

As for the philosophy behind the shift in the special education program, Principal Kimo Marquardt said higher expectations have much to do with it.

Streams of recent mandates ——- including the federal No Child Left Behind reform, which expects students to perform at grade level no matter what, and the state's own California High School Exit Exam, which starting this June will be a graduation requirement —— have forced schools to re-think how to handle special education, he said.

"In the past we had these watered-down courses (for special education)," he said. "Now we have all these requirements so we're trying something new."

Contact staff writer Louise Esola at (760) 901-4151 or lesola@nctimes.com.