Northeast Indiana Special Education Cooperative

What Northeast Indiana Special Education Cooperative does

Northeast Indiana Special Education Cooperative (NEISEC) is a public education cooperative founded in 1970 and headquartered in Kendallville, Indiana. It is the largest Special Education Cooperative in Indiana, delivering a full continuum of special education services — consultation, classroom inclusion with support, pull-out services, and self-contained classrooms — to approximately 4,500 students with disabilities ages 3 through 22 across 12 member public school districts in Noble, Steuben, DeKalb, and LaGrange counties. The cooperative is governed by its member districts and led by Executive Director Katie Yoder, with county-based directors (Rachel Burley in DeKalb, Jeff Radel in LaGrange, Joel Luckey in Noble, and Ben Morgan in Steuben) providing localized service delivery and accountability.

Service delivery is built on a shared-staff model: NEISEC provides certified special education teachers, school psychologists, itinerant personnel, transportation, and professional development to member districts, enabling cost-effective access to specialized expertise that individual rural districts could not sustain independently. The cooperative also runs Child Find identification and evaluation services, supports IDEA and Indiana Article 7 compliance, and maintains documentation systems to meet Indiana Department of Education standards. Revenue is generated through member district contributions and public education funding mechanisms rather than direct customer billing; the entity is not publicly traded and has no parent company, private equity, or venture capital ownership.

The underlying technology footprint is minimal: the cooperative's website is built on Wix, staff use Incident IQ for support tickets, and there is no proprietary software platform, API, or AI/ML offering. NEISEC markets primarily through its website, organic social media, local earned media, and referral partnerships with community preschools, childcare centers, and the Indiana Department of Child Services. The entity is structured as a cooperative — members are simultaneously customers, governance participants, and funders — making it a public-purpose service organization rather than a commercial enterprise.

Name

Northeast Indiana Special Education Cooperative

Legal name

Northeast Indiana Special Education Cooperative

Website

https://neisec.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1970

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

NEISEC is the largest Special Education Cooperative in Indiana, serving approximately 4,500 students with disabilities ages 3-22 across 12 member school districts in four Northeast Indiana counties. It delivers shared special education staff, evaluations, compliance support, and professional development funded through member district contributions and public education funding.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Special Education Cooperative Services

NAICS

Educational Services (611), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Specialized Programs & Classrooms (Autism, Emotional/Behavioral, Intellectual/Developmental, Multi-Disability) (EDAJAKAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

IEP/504 Planning, Case Management & Compliance (EDAJAKAB), Specialized Instruction & Resource Support (Inclusion, Pull-Out, Co-Teaching) (EDAJAKAC)

Keywords

• Special education services
• Special education cooperative
• IDEA compliance services
• Child find evaluation
• IEP support services

Headquarters

HQ city

Kendallville, Indiana

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Others

Revenue model

1. Public Education Funding: As a public education cooperative established in 1970, NEISEC is funded through member school district contributions and public education funding mechanisms. The cooperative receives funding based on student enrollment and services provided to member districts.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

NEISEC is a public education cooperative that delivers a full continuum of special education services to approximately 4,500 students with disabilities ages 3-22 across 12 member school districts in four Northeast Indiana counties. Core offerings include consultation, classroom inclusion with support, pull-out services, self-contained classrooms, Child Find identification and evaluation, eligibility evaluations under IDEA and Indiana's Article 7, and professional development for special education staff.

Product overview

NEISEC provides a unified portfolio of special education services across twelve school districts in Northeast Indiana, serving approximately 4,000-4,500 students with disabilities. The core offerings include a full continuum of special education services (consultation, classroom inclusion with support, pull-out services, and self-contained classrooms), Child Find identification and evaluation services, and professional development for staff. The cooperative operates as a single coordinated service delivery model rather than modular products.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Special Education Services A full continuum of special education services for students with disabilities ages 3-22, including consultation, classroom inclusion with support, pull-out services, and self-contained classrooms. Delivered to students enrolled in the 12 member school districts across Noble, Steuben, DeKalb, and LaGrange counties.
• Child Find Services Identification and evaluation services for students ages 3-22 who may need special education, including children who are homeless, wards of the state, highly mobile, or attending nonpublic schools. Designed to locate, identify, and evaluate students who may qualify for special education services under IDEA.
• Special Education Evaluation Services Educational evaluation services to determine eligibility for special education services under IDEA and Indiana's Article 7. Supports procedural safeguards and parental rights throughout the evaluation process for parents and member districts.
• Professional Development High-quality professional development opportunities for special education staff including on-site training, off-site training, and webinars designed to enrich knowledge and skills in serving students with disabilities. Offered to staff across the 12 member districts.

Quantifiable outcome

• Serves approximately 4,500 students with disabilities
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers13 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Central Noble Community School CorporationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1970Member school corporation that participates in the cooperative to provide special education services to its students with disabilities. The cooperative model enables resource sharing and specialized expertise.
• DeKalb County Central United School DistrictcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1970Member school district participating in the cooperative for shared special education services.
• DeKalb County Eastern Community School DistrictcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1970Member school district participating in the cooperative for shared special education services.
• East Noble School CorporationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1970Member school corporation participating in the cooperative for shared special education services.
• Fremont Community SchoolscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1970Member school district participating in the cooperative for shared special education services.
• Garrett-Keyser-Butler School CorporationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1970Member school corporation participating in the cooperative for shared special education services.
• Hamilton Community SchoolscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1970Member school district participating in the cooperative for shared special education services.
• Lakeland School CorporationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1970Member school corporation participating in the cooperative for shared special education services.
• MSD of Steuben CountycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1970Member school district participating in the cooperative for shared special education services.
• Prairie Heights Community School CorporationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1970Member school corporation participating in the cooperative for shared special education services.
• Smith-Green Community SchoolscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1970Member school district participating in the cooperative for shared special education services.
• West Noble School CorporationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1970Member school corporation participating in the cooperative for shared special education services.
• Westview School CorporationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1970Member school corporation participating in the cooperative for shared special education services.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Regional players

• nigms Special Education Cooperative: Smaller-scale special education cooperatives in other Indiana or Midwest regions operate similar models but lack NEISEC's scale. They illustrate the competitive market for district membership in the cooperative model.

Broad incumbents

• Educational Service Districts (ESDs) – Washington: Washington's regional ESDs deliver specialized services — including special education support — to member school districts on a shared-services basis. Operates under a similar cooperative ethos with state-level funding and regulatory alignment.
• BOCES (Boards of Cooperative Educational Services) – New York: New York's statewide network of BOCES provides shared educational services — including special education — to component school districts. Comparable cooperative model and shared-services ethos, though broader in scope and covering many service areas beyond special education.
• Iowa Area Education Agencies (AEAs): Iowa's statewide network of Area Education Agencies provides special education services and educational support to school districts. Comparable in mission (regional cooperative service delivery for districts) and regulatory compliance role, though system-wide in scope.
• Regional Offices of Education (ROEs) – Illinois: Illinois Regional Offices of Education provide intermediate services to school districts including special education oversight and support. Comparable regional governance model serving multiple districts with shared special education expertise.

Direct peers

• Bonnie's Classroom / Other Indiana Special Education Co-ops: Indiana is home to multiple special education cooperatives with similar legal structures, funding mechanisms, and service offerings. NEISEC's positioning as 'the largest' implies a peer set of smaller Indiana co-ops competing for district memberships.
• Area 30 Special Education Cooperative: Another Indiana special education cooperative operating a shared-services model for member school districts. Directly comparable to NEISEC in structure, regulatory scope, and service delivery, though smaller in scale.
• Wabash Valley Special Education Cooperative: Indiana-based special education cooperative serving a member network of school districts. Operates under the same IDEA/Article 7 framework and provides a comparable continuum of special education services to a similar member-district base.

Others

• Indiana Public Schools (Member Districts): The 12 member school districts (e.g., East Noble, Lakeland, DeKalb County Central) are simultaneously NEISEC's customers/owners and its service-delivery partners. They represent the demand-side counterparts in the cooperative model.
• Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) – Special Education Division: The state agency that funds, regulates, and oversees all special education cooperatives in Indiana. Relevant as a regulator and counterparty, setting the compliance framework within which NEISEC operates.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/northeast-indiana-special-education-cooperative

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Northeast Indiana Special Education Cooperative