Collier Co, FL: 81 place school for students with "significant autism" opens

Aug 25, 2025, Gulf Coast Life: New public charter school in Collier County tailored to autistic students and their families

https://www.wgcu.org/show/gulf-coast-life/2025-08-25/new-public-charter-school-in-collier-county-tailored-to-autistic-students-and-their-families 

A new public charter school in Collier County just welcomed students for the first time — the first class includes 81 students in all, from kindergarten through age 22. While it’s the seventh charter school sponsored by Collier County Public Schools, it’s the first one that is tailored to students with significant autism.

Autism Collier Charter School was spearheaded by Stephanie Nordin, who is also co-founder of the Autism Collier Resource Center, alongside former Collier County Public Schools Board member Jen Mitchell and exceptional education leader Emily Kafle.

It’s modelled after successful autism-specific schools across the country, including the South Florida Autism Charter School (SFAC) in Hialeah, Florida, which was founded in 2008. This new Autism Collier Charter school is designed to provide an educational environment that is both effective and respectful of students' diverse needs — and one that is supportive of families, and it is free because it’s a public school. We hear their origin story and how things are going so far.