A private therapeutic day school for students with special needs could relocate to DeKalb on North Sixth Street, according to a development proposal headed to the city for review this week.

The spot would be where special education Camelot School used to be. Camelot was acquired by the applicant in early 2021, according to the city.

Because of that, the building is well-equipped to be a school for students who require specific learning tools.

Specialized Education of Illinois Inc. has petitioned the city for a special use permit as the organization seeks to lease land at 315 N. Sixth St. for High Road Day School. If approved, a parking lot would at the southwest corner of North Sixth and Oak streets, documents show.

The proposal is expected to be heard by the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission at 6 p.m. Monday. It’s the commission’s final meeting of the year. The body also will review final plans for Safe Passage’s new crisis facility and shelter at 217 Franklin St., expected to begin construction in 2026.

“The applicant partners with school districts to provide educational, therapeutic and other services to students whose needs often cannot be met in traditional school settings,” according to city documents. “Students served by the applicant include those with emotional, learning and intellectual disabilities; other health impairments;specific learning disabilities; and traumatic brain injuries.”

Jobs at the site would include teachers, therapists, educational support staff and other staff needed to assist students throughout the day.

The day school would serve those ages 3 to 21, according to the plan. High Road School of Beldivere currently is in Garden Prairie. If the petition is greenlit, the school would be moved and renamed High Road School of DeKalb, part of a larger nationwide chain of educational facilities.

The DeKalb school, if approved, would be large enough to accommodate 100 students and 64 staff. Not all employees would be at the site, however, until 10 classrooms are built out, which could take up to 18 months, according to the plan.

If the City Council also approves the proposal, the day school could move into the space by July 2026 and open a month later.

High Road Day School of DeKalb would be funded primarily through the school districts the facility serves, according to city documents. The facility is listed as a nonpublic school program according to the Illinois State Board of Education.

The city is recommending that approval come with a stipulation that would require the day school’s employees to park north of the building or in the lot across Oak Street.

City staff are recommending approval of the petition, calling the plan “essential.”

“The therapeutic day school will serve some of the most vulnerable population of students who require specialized and unique educational and therapeutic services,” staff wrote in a synopsis attached to the petition. “The applicant’s proposed therapeutic day school will provide that to those students, and the programs have proven to provide significant improvements to its students’ lives.”