Specials are opportunities for students to do work in specific areas of curricular interest—Lego Robotics League, Anime Book Club, Civilization League, Spoken Word, and so on— or for one-on-one tutoring of students who may want or need extra help in reading or numeracy.
By the sound of it, specials act like more of a study hall, yet with more free control? I honestly feel like this is a great idea. If they need help, they can get help. If they do not need help, and would rather explore their interests, they can do that too!