Souris Valley Special Services

What Souris Valley Special Services does

Souris Valley Special Services (SVSS) is a public education cooperative headquartered in Minot, North Dakota that delivers special education services to 18 member public school districts across western North Dakota (Garrison, Glenburn, Kenmare, Lewis & Clark, Max, Nedrose, New Town, Parshall, Sawyer, South Prairie, Surrey, Turtle Lake-Mercer, Underwood, United, Velva, Washburn, White Shield, and Wilton). The organization operates as a shared services unit, deploying specialized staff — including consultants in speech-language/preschool/autism/Medicaid, vision and deaf/hard of hearing, learning disabilities, and secondary transition; school psychologists; social workers; occupational therapists (COTA/OTR); and physical therapists (PT/DPT) — directly into member districts that lack the scale to employ such specialists independently. Total disclosed staff is approximately 19.

SVSS is governed by a board composed of representatives from each member district (Chair: Wayne Stanley of South Prairie), with Shannon Routledge serving as Director and Section 504 coordinator. The cooperative's core mandate is to ensure free appropriate public education (FAPE) for students with disabilities in compliance with IDEA and Section 504. Services are funded through member-district contributions and public education funding mechanisms; the organization does not publish commercial pricing and operates without private equity, venture, or parent company ownership. Distribution is purely direct: staff are deployed to district schools and facilities. The organization has no proprietary technology product, no mobile app, no API, and no AI/ML capabilities; the most recent strategic operational event is a website relaunch in January 2026, designed by giraffe systems, which formalized public access to compliance documents (Web Accessibility Policy, Nondiscrimination & Anti-Harassment Policy, Section 504 Grievance Procedure).

Name

Souris Valley Special Services

Legal name

Souris Valley Special Services

Website

https://svssnd.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1991

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Souris Valley Special Services is a public education cooperative in Minot, North Dakota that deploys licensed special education staff (psychologists, OT/PT, social workers, consultants) to 18 member K-12 districts across western North Dakota to deliver IDEA and Section 504 services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Special Education Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Vocational Rehabilitation Services (6243)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Special Education Staffing & Contracted Providers (Paras, Therapists, Specialists) (EDAJAKAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

IEP/504 Planning, Case Management & Compliance (EDAJAKAB), Specialized Instruction & Resource Support (Inclusion, Pull-Out, Co-Teaching) (EDAJAKAC), District Student Services Administration (Special Ed, Counseling, Health) (EDADABAJ)

Keywords

• Special education services
• School psychology services
• Occupational therapy services
• Speech language pathology
• Rural education cooperative

Headquarters

HQ city

Minot

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Special Education Services to Member Districts: SVSS provides specialized staffing and services to public school districts as a cooperative unit. Funding comes from member district contributions and public education funding mechanisms for special education services.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Souris Valley Special Services is a public education cooperative that partners with 18 member school districts in western North Dakota to deliver special education services. It deploys specialized staff—consultants, school psychologists, social workers, occupational therapists, and physical therapists—to member districts to ensure free appropriate public education for students with disabilities and to coordinate compliance with IDEA and Section 504.

Product overview

Souris Valley Special Services (SVSS) is a special education cooperative that operates as a unified service organization, not a technology product company. It provides a coordinated portfolio of special education services to 18 member school districts in North Dakota. The core offerings include consultant services (speech language, autism, vision, deaf/hard of hearing, learning disabilities), school psychology, social work (behavioral support, family resources), and therapy services (occupational and physical therapy). These services are delivered by a multidisciplinary team of specialists and are designed to ensure free appropriate public education for students with disabilities across the member districts.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Special Education Services Cooperative special education services that partner with 18 member public school districts in western North Dakota to ensure free appropriate public education for all students with disabilities, through consultation, assessments, and direct therapeutic interventions.
• Consultant Services Specialized consultants covering Speech Language/Preschool/Autism/Medicaid, Vision/Deaf & Hard of Hearing, Learning Disability strategies/Academic assessment trainings, and ID/ED/OHI/Secondary Transition services for member districts.
• School Psychology Services Licensed school psychologists provide psychological assessment, consultation, and intervention services to member school districts.
• Social Work Services Social workers address behavioral concerns, residential placements, CPI Training, and provide resources for families in member school districts.
• Occupational Therapy Services COTA and OTR staff provide occupational therapy assessment and intervention services to students with disabilities in member districts.
• Physical Therapy Services Licensed physical therapists (PT, DPT) provide physical therapy services to support student mobility and function in member districts.

Named customers18 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• PathfindersminorOthersParent resource organization providing support and information to families of children with disabilities in North Dakota
• Family VoicesminorOthersFamily advocacy organization for children with special healthcare needs and disabilities
• Federation of FamiliesminorOthersNorth Dakota family mental health organization providing resources for families
• Center for Parent Information and ResourcesminorOthersNational resource hub for parents of children with disabilities providing information on IEPs, rights, and services
• North Dakota Department of Human ServicesminorOthersState agency providing human services including Medicaid which may support services for children with disabilities
• Minot Infant Development ProgramminorOthersEarly intervention program for infants and toddlers with developmental delays in the Minot area

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights2 records

Emerging players

• PresenceLearning: Provider of online special education, speech, mental health, and school psychology services to K-12 districts. Adjacent to SVSS's school psychology and therapy services but delivered via a remote/virtual model — a potential substitute or complement for rural districts.

Broad incumbents

• The Stepping Stones Group: National provider of school-based and pediatric therapy, behavioral, and special education staffing across multiple states. Broader and larger than SVSS but competes for the same school-district demand for OT/PT/school psychology services.
• Pediatric Therapeutic Services (PTS): National school-based therapy and special education staffing provider offering OT, PT, speech, and behavioral services to K-12 districts. Comparable service mix to SVSS but operating across many states as a private commercial provider.
• TherapyTravelers: National school-based therapy and special education staffing company placing therapists and specialists in K-12 districts. Overlaps directly with SVSS's therapist staffing function but at much larger scale and geographic scope.
• Sunbelt Staffing: National K-12 allied health and special education staffing firm providing therapists, psychologists, and support staff to school districts. Comparable in service lines (OT, PT, school psych) but at far broader scale than SVSS.

Direct peers

• South East Education Cooperative (SEEC): North Dakota regional education cooperative serving member districts in the southeastern part of the state. Operates the same multi-district pooled-services model for special education and shared staffing.
• Dakota Prairie Special Education Unit: North Dakota special education unit serving a cluster of rural public school districts. Comparable in target population (rural districts, IDEA services) and cooperative funding model.
• Lake Region Special Education Unit: Another North Dakota special education cooperative/unit providing multidisciplinary staffing and related services to member school districts. Same operating model and regulatory environment as SVSS, making it the most direct structural peer.
• Roughrider Education Services: North Dakota regional education cooperative providing shared special education and related services to member districts. Directly comparable in cooperative structure, funding sources, and service scope.
• Missouri River Education Cooperative (MREC): ND-based education cooperative serving member school districts with special education staffing and compliance services. Same multi-district shared services model as SVSS.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/souris-valley-special-services

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 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 Souris Valley Special Services